FCC High-Band Order Changed to Seek Comment on Aerostats

The FCC’s 70/80/90 GHz order, approved by commissioners ahead of last week’s open meeting (see 2401240077), saw a noteworthy change with the agency now seeking comment in a Further NPRM on the potential inclusion of ship-to-aerostat transmissions as part of maritime operations. The FNPRM also seeks comment on including fixed satellite service (FSS) earth stations in the light-licensing regime for the 70/80 GHz bands, though that was in the draft. The order was posted in Monday’s Daily Digest.

Adding aerostats to the FNPRM was, in part, responding to Aeronet's requests, the item says. Aerostats are airborne transmitters operating within a small area, below 1,000 feet of elevation. Aeronet "expressed concern that ship-to-aerostat links are critical to the operation of its maritime system and that the maritime broadband services otherwise authorized in the Report and Order depend on the availability of a return link,” the high-band order says: The agency seeks comment “on whether to authorize such transmissions, including input on the potential impact on federal and other non-federal operations.” Comment deadlines will be set in a Federal Register notice.

The final order also adds language instructing the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology to move “expeditiously” to establish specific procedures for coordinating and registering aeronautical and maritime stations and associated transmissions.

The FCC is taking steps “to keep us all connected -- even at 30,000 feet in the air or miles out in the ocean,” Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement added to the high-band item. “We are opening up underutilized spectrum in the 70, 80, and 90 GHz bands to provide more innovative ways to provide and use broadband in aviation and maritime settings,” she said. The FCC is also “maximizing the use of these bands by allowing them to also be used for small, lower-cost antennas that can assist with 5G backhaul,” she said.

Most of the FCC’s recent attention has been on mid-band spectrum, said Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. “But over the long term, I wouldn’t be surprised if the very short wavelengths all the way up in the 70/80/90 GHz bands also end up serving as a backbone of U.S. communications networks,” he said. The other commissioners didn’t release statements.

Aeronet praised the order in a Monday news release. “Aeronet has developed a state-of-the-art, commercial system that combines air-to-ground and mesh networking to provide multi-gigabit per second links to individual airplanes and ships,” the company said: “In testing authorized by the FCC, Aeronet demonstrated its ability to provide a truly ‘at-home-like broadband experience’ over a single Aeronet link to passengers, as well as unrestricted crew access and real-time corporate-systems operations. These capabilities substantially increase passenger satisfaction and provide increased efficiency for operations such as inventory utilization and engine data downloads even before landing.”

In addition, the FCC also posted in Monday’s Daily Digest an order approved 5-0 Thursday (see 2401250044) requiring carriers to implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls and real-time texts to 911. Consistent with statements at the meeting, the final LBR order was little changed from the draft, based on a side-by-side comparison.

The order addresses, and rejects, CTIA's request for confidential treatment of some information carriers must submit under the order. “Based on the current state of the record, we decline to establish a presumption of confidentiality for the one-time certification and reporting requirements adopted today,” the order says. Providers may seek confidential treatment “under the Commission’s existing confidentiality rules for materials submitted pursuant to these new requirements, specifying the information they wish to keep confidential and providing the required justification,” the FCC says.

The final order also instructs the Public Safety Bureau to issue a public notice prior to the deadline for nationwide providers to file compliance certifications including the “necessary instructions” for carriers “to file certifications and reports in compliance with the requirements adopted.” The final order also mandates providers that have implemented the capability for real-time text communications to 911 must file a certification within 60 days “after the 24-month deadline for deploying a technology that supports location-based routing for RTT communications.” The item includes written statements by the FCC’s three Democratic commissioners.