Republican condemnation of the FCC’s actions since it shifted to a Democratic majority in late September -- and Democrats’ defense of the commission’s recent record -- dominated a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing on agency oversight, as expected (see 2311290001). The hearing’s slightly rancorous tone signaled a return to more overtly partisan oversight, in contrast to relatively more bipartisan discussion when FCC commissioners testified in front of the subpanel in June, while the commission was still tied 2-2 (see 2306210076).

With the World Radiocommunication Conference starting Monday in Dubai, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and former Chairman Ajit Pai questioned how well the U.S. is positioned to score wins. They spoke during an American Enterprise Institute webinar Friday. Pai was chairman during the previous WRC four years ago.

PCTEL Wednesday unveiled a new embedded antenna platform for integrated radio deployments. “PCTEL’s embedded antennas help device manufacturers to overcome space limitations and meet aesthetic requirements without sacrificing performance,” the company said: The platform “consists of compact low-profile design solutions that provide wide coverage patterns in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz frequency bands. They are easy to install and integrate into tight spaces.”

The U.S. is handicapped headed into the World Radiocommunication Conference next week since it proposes only two bands for future studies, 3.1-3.3 and 13 GHz, while China has positions on all five bands proposed for study for international mobile telecommunications, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and other speakers said during an Atlantic Council webinar Wednesday. The WRC starts Monday in Dubai. Among the bands targeted by China for IMT is 6 GHz, where the U.S. is promoting an agreement supporting unlicensed use of the band (see 2310270047).

Europe won't back mobile identification in the upper part of the 6 GHz band (6425-7125 MHz) unless five conditions are met, the46-member European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) said in its European Common Position (ECP) for the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-23). Debate on the band will be intense and complicated and two other agenda items (AIs) are also likely to prove tricky, telecom consultants said. The conference runs Nov. 20-Dec.15 in Dubai.

FCC authorization of a slightly higher maximum power level for low-power indoor use of the 6 GHz band is “particularly crucial for digital equity and inclusion,” said Michael Calabrese of the New America Foundation’s Open Technology Institute in a meeting with aides to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Monday, according to an ex parte filing in docket 18-295. Failure to raise the power allowed could cause a “disproportionate number of lower-income and less tech savvy households to miss out on the full benefits of next generation Wi-Fi,” the filing said. The power increase now has greater support in the record than it did in 2020, and academic studies show that it wouldn’t pose an interference risk to incumbents, the filing said.

Representatives of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) completed a series of meetings at the FCC on the group’s push to use the 6 GHz band (see 2305260032), said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. SIG members met last week with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks, an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington and staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology. They earlier met with Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2310260030). SIG members “elaborated on the wide range of applications for Bluetooth technology, from wireless audio to connected consumer electronics, glucose monitors, and hearing aids,” the filing said: “They highlighted the importance of accessing the 6 GHz spectrum as a means to support and expand the technology and explained that their members are part of a cross-license patent agreement, which allows them to focus and spend their resources on growth and development.”

Despite changes in leadership in the months leading up to World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai, the U.S. is in a good position before the start of the conference next month, government officials said during a U.S. ITU Association conference. Steve Lang, who replaced Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the conference (see 2309120069), also spoke Thursday (see 2310260054). WRC-23 starts Nov. 20.

Representatives of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) met with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on the group’s push to use the 6 GHz band (see 2305260032). They “explained that they need access to the 6 GHz spectrum because the 2.4 GHz band -- which they currently use -- will not support this growth in their technologies,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. In response to questions from Gomez, SIG members “explained that the proposed framework does not currently provide for a narrow band service,” the filing said: The representatives “said they plan to move into the 5.8 GHz band, but it is insufficient to meet their needs for narrow band service and is not recognized on a global basis. They are working with the Wi-Fi industry to ensure that what they do works for them, as well as with U.S. and European regulators.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Wednesday extended by 15 days the deadlines for challenges to Comsearch and Federated Wireless public trial testing of their automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems that will manage access to the 6 GHz band. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) had asked for a 30-day extension (see 2310180053). “According to EPRI, it submitted a large number of test vectors to the common test portal prior to the beginning of the public trial period and did not receive the revised test results until a month after the public trial period had commenced for the two AFC applicants,” OET said: “EPRI is not requesting a time extension to establish an iterative process to make multiple challenges to the test responses as the Wi-Fi Alliance claims. Instead, EPRI is requesting additional time to perform an analysis of the revised test results which it received after a delay.”