Howard Buskirk

Panelists clashed during a Federalist Society webinar Thursday over the future of the lower 3 GHz band, a top target of carriers for 5G and 6G. They also disagreed on some details of how federal bands should be studied for sharing or licensed use.

CTA warned that one of the proposals in the FCC's “bad lab” NPRM could hamper the commission's authorization of some wireless devices. Other groups also raised concerns. Approved by commissioners 5-0 in May, the NPRM proposes barring test labs of entities on the agency’s “covered list” of unsecure companies from participating in the equipment authorization process and other changes in gear authorization rules (see 2405230033). Comments were due this week in docket 24-136.

Wireless carriers stressed the importance of spectrum to 6G in response to a May request for comment on the state of 6G development (see 2405230010). Comments were due Aug. 21. NTIA posted them this week. Some groups released their comments when they filed them (see 2408220043).

The record reflects consensus on the need for federal funding for consumer education that will make the FCC’s voluntary cyber trust mark program a success, CTIA told the FCC in reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 23-239. Other aspects of the program require “further consideration and clarification,” CTIA said: “In particular, the Bureau should reduce uncertainty about the role of [cybersecurity labeling administrators] and minimize the burdens that will be placed on CLAs.” FCC commissioners approved 5-0 in March a voluntary cyber-mark program while adopting a Further NPRM seeking comment on some details (see 2403140034). Reply comments were due Tuesday. Initial comments last month urged the regulator to proceed cautiously when crafting rules for the CLAs and for the lead administrator, who will oversee an IoT product registry under the program (see 2408200037). The Electronic Privacy Information Center stressed the importance of a fair and transparent process in selecting CLAs. “We support the [Public Safety] Bureau’s proposals that the standards, testing criteria, and label design be stakeholder consensus-based, but urge that the relevant stakeholder entities should include representatives from consumer advocacy groups and not merely … representatives from industry groups,” EPIC said. The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation called on the FCC to accept and conditionally approve CLA applicants provided they meet the requirements standard 17065 from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). “The principles of ISO/IEC 17065 ensure the technical competence in undertaking the scope of work; the need for resources to fulfill the work is reviewed and satisfied; suitable policies and procedures are established and implemented to undertake the work with integrity; impartiality in practices is maintained and confirmed; and operations are supported with a quality management system,” the group said. Somos said the IoT registry should include sensor data, while protecting consumer privacy. “The IoT registry should include general information about sensor types and their cybersecurity features, without revealing specific personal or sensitive data collected by these sensors,” Somos said: “This approach aims to provide transparency regarding device capabilities and risks while protecting user privacy.”

China is ahead of the U.S. on many fronts in its plans to emerge as the world leader in 5G, and eventually 6G, experts warned Wednesday during a webcast by the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. The group released a paper urging that the U.S. reassert leadership in wireless technology.

Verizon isn’t stressing about the November election, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, executive vice president and CEO of Verizon Consumer Group, said Wednesday at a Bank of America financial conference. Verizon has “a very strong track record of working with both the Democrats and the Republicans,” he said: “We know how to work with them to get better outcomes and connectivity for everyone.” Priorities for Verizon include a program like the expired affordable connectivity program and support for rural broadband, he said. Verizon is also focused on Communications Act Title II “reforms” and tax policy. The company had 1.1 million ACP customers, and 65% are now paying customers, Sampath said. He projected further growth in Verizon’s fixed wireless access offering, and expects the program to hit 4 million this quarter. “Very soon, we have to come back and explain how we grow the next tranche,” he said: “We have a lot more capacity. As they say, they build the church for Easter.” Sampath said the wireless industry will continue to add customers, partly as a result of “strong immigration,” which adds several million potential subscribers each year. Verizon is pleased with its prepaid position. “With our Tracfone acquisition, plus some of our brands that we put into the mix that were legacy Verizon, we have what is, I think, the best prepaid business in the market today.” He projected the carrier will have net positive prepaid adds this quarter, excluding any SafeLink ACP losses, after losing customers in recent quarters. Sampath declined to comment, in general, on media reports that Verizon is considering acquiring Frontier. “We like to own our own fiber assets for the most part,” he noted. New Street said Wednesday it views the reports as “credible.”

The ultimate makeup of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that hears the review of the FCC’s net neutrality order may not make much difference, some legal experts told us, in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. They doubted that the panel (docket 24-7000) will delve deeply into case law, instead simply deciding that going forward it's Congress, not the FCC, that must address any case that raises "major questions." Oral argument is scheduled for Oct. 31.

Maurine and Matthew Molak filed a petition Thursday seeking review of a July FCC order that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024), in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Molaks previously sought reconsideration of the July order, which three public interest groups and T-Mobile opposed last week (see 2408280029).

Progeny stressed in a progress report on the status of the construction and operation of its multilateration location and monitoring service licenses that its parent NextNav is seeking revisions to the rules for that spectrum. The changes “would enable highly accurate, widescale geolocation services, greatly enhancing the efficacy and utility of Progeny’s terrestrial position, navigation, and time (PNT) services as a complement and backup to the Global Positioning System,” said a filing Friday in docket 12-202. NextNav’s proposal for the 902-928 MHz band has proven controversial. Amateur radio operators have opposed NextNav’s request, making hundreds of filings ahead of a Thursday deadline for initial comments (see 2408120024). “The Commission’s action on the Petition will enable the deployment of a widescale terrestrial PNT complement and backup without the need for federal funding,” Progeny said. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority also raised concerns. The authority’s licensed RFID devices “are tuned to different frequencies on a site-by-site basis to avoid interference with existing operators,” said a filing posted Friday: “If all existing licensed and unlicensed users of the lower 900 MHz frequencies are compressed into a significantly reduced portion of spectrum, Metro will face potential significant difficulties identifying frequencies that can be used for its transponder communications without being subject to interference moving forward.” The authority also questioned the lack of a guardband to protect its operations and NextNav's real-world testing. NextNav’s plans “call for higher-powered devices (two orders of magnitude more powerful) and significantly larger volumes of traffic than are currently in use on these frequencies” and the potential impact on Metro’s roadside antennas, readers and in-vehicle transponders “have not been properly evaluated,” the authority said. The band provides connections for “tens of millions” of smart-home and smart-building devices and industrial solutions, said Reliable Controls, which offers products that use the frequencies, including its EnOcean line. “The reallocation of this spectrum would potentially render these devices inoperative, potentially causing widespread disruption and resulting in billions of dollars in economic loss to schools, hospitals, government buildings, offices, companies, industry and individuals,” the company said.

The Rural Wireless Association expressed disappointment after the FCC released an order Thursday launching a multi-round reverse auction that will pay up to $9 billion to bring voice and 5G mobile broadband service to rural areas of the U.S. otherwise unlikely to see 5G deployments (see 2408290022). The Competitive Carriers Association also expressed concerns.