Howard Buskirk

Industry lawyers and analysts expect a busy start for the FCC in 2024, with the 3-2 Democratic majority able to approve items without the FCC’s two Republicans, and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel eager to address priorities before the usual freeze in the months before and after a presidential election.

The White House “deeply believes” it’s critical that Congress restore FCC auction authority, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser-cyber and emerging technology, said Thursday during a CES event. “Think about how much making spectrum available has enabled innovation,” she said: “That’s something that we’re working on closely with the Hill, and it’s an area that we know needs to be addressed.”

NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson sounded a warning about AI during remarks at CES Thursday. Davidson said nearly every booth at the conference hypes AI and claims that the products offered leverage it, he said. “We’re here today because of the growing power of technology in all of our lives -- that power, along with its inherent risks, has really been the animating force in my career,” he said. Humanity can build technologies that will be a force for good, he said: “It also has the power to build tools to monitor our population, divide our societies, weaken the vulnerable or even destroy life itself.” The global discussion around AI and machine learning is the best example of policymakers looking closely at technology's impact, he said. Responsible AI will “bring enormous benefits" and “transform every corner of our economy,” Davidson said. Yet policymakers must address the “very serious and real risks” that AI already presents, he said. Those include concerns about safety, security, privacy, bias, risks from disinformation and the effect on the labor market, he said. As a result, “there is a strong sense of urgency today across the Biden administration and among governments around the world,” he said. Davidson called President Joe Biden’s executive order (see 2310300056) “the most significant government action to date on AI.” Last year, NTIA launched an accountability initiative and will soon release the results, he said. The department is also looking at AI openness and the benefits and risks different AI models pose, he said.

NTIA posted comments it received last week on the implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy (see 2401030059). Among noteworthy comments, public safety groups pressed the administration to also consider public safety spectrum. Utilities sought additional spectrum for their networks. T-Mobile and Verizon urged a focus on high-power licensed spectrum.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez warned at the CES in Las Vegas that the U.S. could fall behind other nations unless the agency once again has authority to conduct spectrum auctions. The remarks were her first at a CES as an FCC member. Meanwhile, Commissioner Brendan Carr, also at the show, said the FCC is moving backward on spectrum. Carr slammed the administration’s national spectrum strategy for not opening any new spectrum (see 2401100032), which he called “a bit of a miss.” CTA officials said Carr and Gomez toured the CES show floor together Wednesday.

CTA is fighting the same policy battles today it has been fighting for years, CTA President Gary Shapiro said at the start of CES in Las Vegas Tuesday. Every company “can be, or perhaps should be, a tech company,” he said. “We’re urging policymakers in Washington, and around the globe, to adopt rules and laws that protect consumers but also promote innovation and growth,” Shapiro said. “That means developing lighter touch rules” supporting existing businesses and those seeking market entry, Shapiro said.

In other comments to NTIA on an implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance urged consideration of the needs of its members, who operate primarily on spectrum regulated under Parts 22, 90, and 101 of FCC rules. “These businesses are critical for meeting the day-to-day needs of the American public,” EWA said. The group appreciates the importance of commercial networks and Wi-Fi, but the strategy should “achieve a balance between those interests and the spectrum requirements of enterprise entities.” Ericsson warned, as did other industry players (see 2401030059), of a “looming licensed spectrum deficit” facing the U.S. “While the industry has suggested an allocation of 1.5-2.2 gigahertz” for licensed use “that amount is barely enough to keep the United States in the middle of the pack globally,” Ericsson said. Though the strategy identifies nearly 2,800 MHz of spectrum for study, “it does not identify an amount of spectrum to be repurposed for commercial use suitable for 5G, 6G, and beyond,” the company said. The U.S. needs more licensed, shared and unlicensed spectrum, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) advised. “Studies should be started and finished as quickly as possible, making sure there are adequate opportunities for the public and private sectors to weigh in, while also keeping an open mind about sharing technologies and methodologies where appropriate,” ITI said. “The Implementation Plan and its deliverables should provide early clarity regarding the study processes, methodologies, and principles for the bands under study, including their timing, inputs, and outputs. Such processes should be data-driven -- consistent with this Administration’s focus on data-based decision-making -- and increase transparency into current and future federal and non-federal spectrum use.” Wi-Fi is “an American success story” and U.S. companies lead the world “in Wi-Fi chipset production, modular radios used in other manufacturers’ finished products, and enterprise equipment,” WifiForward said. The group urged NTIA to focus on 7 GHz, the “only location available in the foreseeable future to support the Nation’s ever-growing unlicensed spectrum needs.” While other bands are studied for licensed use “there is no ‘Plan B’ for heavily used Wi-Fi services that carry the bulk of data in our homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions,” WifiForward said. The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) urged allocating spectrum “with licenses adapted towards a spectrum usage rights method that has the minimum necessary technical restrictions to provide adequate protection against harmful interference.” Optimal use of spectrum is more likely “if the market, and not the regulator, decides what technology or service should be provided in a particular frequency band,” WInnForum said.

An order set for a vote during the FCC’s Jan. 25 open meeting would require nationwide wireless carriers to implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls to 911 within six months of approval, according to a draft order released Thursday. Smaller carriers would have 24 months. Both would be required to use the technology for real-time texts within two years. An order and further notice on outage reporting during disasters would make updating the FCC's disaster information reporting system mandatory for cable, wireline, wireless and VoIP providers and seek comment on doing the same for broadcasters, satellite providers and broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

CTIA and other industry players sought to keep pressure on the Biden administration to make more mid-band spectrum available for 5G and eventually 6G in comments on the implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy. Others stressed the importance of spectrum sharing. NTIA has not yet posted the comments, which were due Wednesday.

FCC commissioners this month will tackle mitigating risks from space debris and potentially controversial rules addressing misrouted wireless calls to 911, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday in her “Notes from the FCC.” Also on the Jan. 25 open meeting agenda are mandatory outage reporting rules and revised rules for the 70/80/90 GHz bands. Rounding out the meeting is a judicatory matter from the Media Bureau and five enforcement items.