A study by utility FirstEnergy said contention-based protocols or low-power-indoor operations aren’t enough to curb interference to fixed-service operations by utilities in the 6 GHz band. “The experimental results confirm an additive interference effect when more than one [device] is simultaneously operating co-channel with the FS system,” the report said: “The study only represented a small sampling of sites and there are anticipated to be hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of future unlicensed Wi-Fi 6E sources of interference along each microwave path.” Researchers studied the effects of two Wi-Fi 6E devices on two microwave paths of an existing, incumbent FS station in central New Jersey. Commissioners approved a Further NPRM 5-0 in April 2020 (see 2004230059) that examines further liberalization of the agency’s 6 GHz rules.

Wi-Fi equipment makers disputed arguments by AT&T that the FCC shouldn’t provide further flexibility for unlicensed 6 GHz devices without a requirement for automated frequency coordination. “There is no time urgency to act on the proposals to raise the LPI [low power indoor] power limit or to authorize VLP [very low-power] operations because it is now apparent that the use cases supporting those proposals can be realized under AFC control,” AT&T said last month (see 2209120027). “AT&T’s assertion is simply incorrect,” said the equipment makers' filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. “There are significant costs to develop, deploy, and operate an AFC-coordinated device,” the companies said: Costs include “geolocation capabilities, additional installation requirements, support for the AFC-to-device protocol interface, changes to radio resource management algorithms to incorporate AFC frequency and power inputs, updates to the user interface to reflect AFC operational aspects, and recurring costs associated with the AFC system. AFC coordination also introduces significant complexity for installation and ongoing operational management.” Cisco, Extreme Networks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Juniper Networks signed the letter.

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition opposed Encina Communications’ proposal to use Part 101 frequency coordination procedures as an alternative to automated frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band (see 2209060034), in an FCC filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. “Encina’s request now incorrectly suggests its proposal enjoys wide support,” the coalition said: “Encina’s characterization ignores the Commission’s own rejection of Encina’s inclusion zone proposal and opposition to its repetitive Part 101 proposals from licensed and unlicensed 6 GHz stakeholders alike.”

Representatives of the Wi-Fi Alliance met virtually this week with aides to all four FCC commissioners, asking for action on further changes to 6 GHz rules, proposed by the commission in 2020. Final comments have been in since July 2020 (see 2007280033). “We urged the Commission to act on the Further Notice … and rely on its expertise to make a public interest judgment based on the robust record supporting the adoption of final rules for the 6 GHz band,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. “Action on the Further Notice will allow the Commission to continue to demonstrate international leadership on the use of the 6 GHz band for unlicensed operations and promote use of the band to close the homework gap and bridge the digital divide,” the alliance said.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said the FCC should launch a rulemaking on higher power levels for the citizens broadband radio service band, saying that could be helpful to wireless ISPs, in a prerecorded interview with new WISP Association President David Zumwalt. The interview was aired Wednesday at a WISPA meeting in Las Vegas. “It’s worth asking the question, teeing it up,” Carr said. “There are certainly some use cases, particularly in rural communities where upping the power … might allow you from your existing tower site to reach one more home, one more business,” he said of CBRS changes: “At the end of the day, WISPs are so connected to their communities. … WISPs are scrappy. WISPs are getting the job done.” The FCC didn't comment. Carr said the FCC needs to get moving on other spectrum initiative as well, including on client-to-client devices in 6 GHz and the UNII2c band. WISPs are “looking for ways to have some stability in the ability to plan on what kind of spectrum they need to be prepared for, whether it’s licensed or unlicensed, and over what period of time they can roll that out,” Zumwalt said. His members are paying close attention to all the spectrum decisions being made at the FCC, he said. The FCC wants to offer licenses covering smaller geographic areas where possible, Carr said. “Maybe every single auction we might not get right ... but hopefully, over a course of years, we are doing some small geographies, some large geographies, and people are seeing a healthy mix,” he said. WISPA members have continuing concerns about NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) and appreciate the questions that have been raised by Carr (see 2207210064), Zumwalt said: “It should have been more technology neutral and inclusive.” Carr said it looked to him like NTIA made “a lot of the right cuts” in the NOFO but “there was some political turning of the dials at the last minute.” Carr agreed about the need to refocus the NOFO. “We love fiber, we want tons of fiber,” he said. “But we need to be open-minded … for last-mile technologies, including fixed wireless,” he said. “We love fiber too,” Zumwalt responded: “But we love fiber in the right place, in the right circumstance.” Carr said insisting on a fiber-only approach means telling people “you need to wait on the wrong side of the digital divide years longer than necessary.” The FCC faces challenges delivering on a broadband map, expected in November, Carr said. “I don’t know that we have to hit a bulls-eye” with the initial map “but we have to at least get it in the strike zone,” he said. Carr said he hopes the FCC doesn’t revisit reclassifying broadband as a Communications Act Title II service. “That’s just a backward looking debate,” he said. Title II and possible price controls, “really that’s a 2005 debate,” he said.

The new Coalition for Coordinated Sharing filed a petition for rulemaking at the FCC Tuesday, asking the agency to develop rules to open the 10-10.5 GHz band for point-to-point use on a shared basis. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to find greenfield spectrum below the 12 GHz spectrum band to connect tower sites, enterprises and devices,” the group said in a news release: “Sharing spectrum in the 10 GHz band represents the most viable means to solve congestion and meet consumer demand for more robust broadband and IoT services with incumbents.” The coalition's members are the Wireless ISP Association, Cambium Networks, the Open Technology Institute at New America and Public Knowledge. An official with the coalition told us it builds on a 2013 proposal by Mimosa asking that the band be set aside for outdoor and long-distance backhaul links at the power levels allowed under Part 90, subpart Z, of commission rules. The commission took comment in 2014 (see 1404150034). CTIA previously supported use of the 10 GHz band for licensed use (see 2011030051). Bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate urged an exam of the band in 2015 (see 1503030029). The coalition said sharing would be easier than the sharing in the citizens broadband radio service band, similar to the frequency coordination being developed for the 6 GHz band. “Over the last several years, the Commission has made thousands of megahertz of spectrum available for last-mile service,” the group said. “While those allocations have created significant public benefits, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the need for more point-to-point spectrum to relieve congestion in other bands and help meet the increased demand for fixed broadband service,” it said: “This is particularly true in rural areas and for other applications where devices are not proximate to available or affordable fiber.” The spectrum is currently occupied by DOD and possibly other federal incumbents in many areas, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Using a geographic coordination system, this underutilized band could also accommodate shared use with broadband providers in many rural, tribal and other underserved areas,” he said.

Incumbent users of the 6 GHz band asked the FCC to work with a new 15,500 Wi-Fi 6E access point network at the University of Michigan to do real world tests of the Wi-Fi standard, which incorporates the 6 GHz band. “The current unlicensed 6 GHz rules relied almost exclusively upon simulations and data provided by CableLabs -- measurements based on devices using the Wi-Fi 5 standard or older standards, as the Wi-Fi 6 standard for high speed and wider bandwidths was not certified until September 2019,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-295: “Unlicensed proponents’ own data demonstrate that since 2018, when those measurements were taken, wireless data rates have increased three-fold and the density of Wi-Fi access points has increased four-fold.” The filing was signed by the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance.

CommScope met with acting Chief Ron Repasi and other staff of the FCC Office of Engineering about the company's plan for geolocation of standard power access points in the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. CommScope said it also discussed automated frequency control testing and certification.

6G isn’t the next step after 5G, but similar to 4G there will be an interim stage -- 5G advanced -- speakers said during a GSMA webinar Thursday. GSMA also released a white paper on 5G-advanced. Experts forecast increased use of new technologies like integration of sensing and communication (ISAC) and unified time frequency-division duplexing (UDD). Upcoming 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release-18 will be “the inaugural release” for 5G-advanced, GSMA said.

In an updated report, Analysys Mason said the U.S. “continues to trail leading countries in available licensed mid-band spectrum, a trend expected to continue for the foreseeable future if no action is taken,” said CTIA, which commissioned the report released Tuesday: “The U.S. lags the top three studied nations -- Japan, the United Kingdom and France -- by 530 MHz on average. In five years, the U.S. will continue to lag, trailing the future top three countries by 415 MHz on average.” The report stresses the need for licensed spectrum in the 3-7 GHz range. It notes that only two countries plan to make more unlicensed spectrum available in the next five years and both will continue to trail the U.S. “The U.S. is also an outlier as the only country to make unlicensed spectrum available between 3.3 GHz and 4.2 GHz,” the analysis said. The U.S. targeted 6 GHz for unlicensed use, and China is considering licensing the band. “The FCC made great progress with recent mid-band spectrum auctions, but this study shows there is more work to be done,” said CTIA President Meredith Baker.