Howard Buskirk

Industry experts were still parsing the net neutrality rules Friday, looking at language about some hot-button issues such as 5G network slicing. On slicing, the draft doesn't reach conclusions about whether it should be exempt, noting carriers are just in the early stages of adopting slicing (see 2404040064). Slicing lets providers create multiple virtual networks on top of a shared network. How slicing should be treated has been hotly contested (see 2404010032).

CTIA told the FCC that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act doesn’t apply to robocalls and robotexts from wireless service providers to their subscribers. Indeed, CTIA added that the FCC has affirmed this "multiple times." However, consumer groups said nothing in the TCPA “justifies special treatment for wireless providers.” Comments were posted Friday in docket 02-278. Commissioners approved an order and Further NPRM in February seeking comment on the wireless provider exemption (see 2402160048).

The FCC’s Consumer Advisory Committee, which will have a special focus on AI, held its first meeting under its new charter Thursday at FCC headquarters. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said the FCC eagerly awaits the group’s work on AI and robocalls. The group also heard reports from FCC staff about several consumer issues before the agency, including the affordable connectivity program's demise (see 2404020075). CAC last met in August (see 2208300059).

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the redacted version of the Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing Feasibility Assessment demonstrates the importance of the lower 3 GHz band to U.S. defense. DOD released the report Wednesday (see 2404030052). “Modern equipment vital to our nation’s defense, including aircraft and radar, requires access to the entirety of the lower 3 GHz band,” Fischer said. “To protect this country from adversaries like China, the DOD must retain that access. … NTIA can no longer overlook the facts included in this report.” DOD shouldn’t be viewed “only as the pot of spectrum gold at the end of the rainbow,” she said. “It’s very clear the DOD is still upset that it had to vacate the 3.45-3.55 GHz band,” Reconanalytics Roger Entner told us. But the U.S. military uses its systems globally, Entner said, and the 3.3 to 3.8 GHz band was harmonized internationally for 5G. “I am not sure what the U.S. military is going to do when it operates outside the U.S. territory,” he said. Entner noted there could be problems along the borders with Canada and Mexico if those countries use the spectrum for 5G. “Acknowledging the global coexistence of 5G with these defense systems, we underscore the necessity of exploring effective approaches beyond traditional spectrum sharing, including relocation and optimization of federal spectrum use, to make more spectrum available for commercial services,” a spokesperson of 5G Americas wrote in an email. “The report confirms what experts have been saying all along -- dynamic spectrum sharing in the lower 3 GHz band can unleash U.S. innovation and commercial 5G uses without weakening national security, if the right interference mitigation techniques are applied,” said Spectrum for the Future, a pro-sharing group.

NTIA appears to be putting the finishing touches on its Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee, with a meeting expected as early as June, industry officials told us. But NTIA reportedly hasn’t notified members that they have been selected to participate.

DOD on Wednesday released a redacted version of the Emerging Mid-Band Radar Spectrum Sharing Feasibility Assessment (EMBRSS), which DOD and NTIA forwarded to Congress in September (see 2309280087). The report examines military systems located in lower 3 GHz spectrum, with an eye on potential sharing but not on clearing as sought by CTIA and carriers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit gave Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua a partial victory Tuesday, ruling that the FCC’s definition of critical infrastructure is “overly broad.” However, the three-judge panel rejected arguments that video cameras and video-surveillance equipment the companies manufacture shouldn’t have been placed on the agency’s “covered list” of unsecure gear.

The 5G Fund order that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated March 20 raised long-standing concerns that the agency releases drafts for "meeting" items but not for those voted electronically, regardless of their relative importance. For those items, industry groups and companies must schedule meetings with commissioner staff and the bureaus and offices to ask about details.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association and Incompas told the FCC they support allowing broadband internet access to “monetize networks in new ways through the use of non-BIAS services,” including network slicing. But the rules shouldn’t create a loophole that benefits only some companies, they said. The treatment of slicing has emerged as a large issue as the agency moves closer to an expected vote on new rules (see 2403290057). “How the Commission addresses non-BIAS data services in the Order is one of the most critical issues in this proceeding,” said a joint filing posted Monday in docket 23-320: “As currently proposed -- without expanded guidance and clarity-- the rule could create a large loophole that undercuts the FCC’s otherwise strong open internet rules.” Free Press raised concerns in meetings with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The forthcoming order would benefit by stating explicitly that supposed non-BIAS data services may not be used to evade the rules and the order’s conduct standards,” Free Press said. CTIA, meanwhile, explained to the FCC why network slicing is important and should be protected from regulation under proposed net neutrality rules. The filing adds detail to comments the group offered last week (see 403290042). “Network slicing is a technology that can provide innovative, virtualized wireless offerings targeted to users’ needs and is just emerging in the U.S.,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-320. “Network slicing will allow wireless providers to offer over a single physical network a series of virtual networks configured to satisfy different use cases -- including those that benefit from low latency, low jitter, high speeds, or heightened security, as well as those that can tolerate lower speeds, more jitter, or more delay than a typical [broadband internet access service] offering,” CTIA said. Use cases are still emerging and may include public-safety communications, robotic surgery, smart grids and other infrastructure, and communications at crowded events, the group said. Slicing also improves spectrum management, the group explained, allowing carriers to “manage finite spectrum resources more efficiently,” and can enhance network security and privacy “by isolating traffic in its own network slice, so that data and traffic cannot be intercepted or faked by entities of another network slice.”

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears likely to circulate proposed net neutrality rules for a vote at the commission’s April 25 meeting, which would mean releasing a draft Thursday under current commission policy. A prime motivation for moving now would be avoiding having the order overturned by a Congressional Review Act vote, should Republicans take the House and Senate in the November elections, said industry officials supporting and opposing new rules.