Oral argument for AT&T's and others' challenge to the FCC 6 GHz order is Sept. 17 at 9:30 a.m. EDT, said a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit order posted Wednesday (in Pacer; see June 23 oral argument entry). AT&T asked the court to overturn the order because it would result in “harmful interference” (see 2104050033).

The FCC released rules for the 3.45 GHz auction, to start Oct. 5, in a Wednesday Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics public notice. The FCC will auction 4,060 10 MHz flexible-use licenses in the contiguous 48 states and Washington, D.C., the PN said. All will be for 15 years and renewable. Licensees may hold up to four 10 MHz blocks in the band in any market. Short-form applications are due July 21, upfront payments Sept. 2. Staff rejected complaints by the Rural Wireless Association and Blooston carriers that the timing is too aggressive. The timing “is not only consistent with the Commission’s historical timing between spectrum auctions, it is actually considerably longer than the period between most recent spectrum auctions,” the FCC said: “Neither RWA nor Blooston have made any attempt to explain how this auction differs from previous spectrum auctions such that potential applicants need an entire year to prepare.” The agency adopted a $25 million cap on bidding credit discounts for an eligible small business and $10 million on discounts for an eligible rural service provider, same as proposed. “We are unpersuaded by comments suggesting that the adoption of a $25 million cap has inhibited participation by small businesses in recent auctions,” the PN said. It relented on minimum bids. “Given the totality of the comments regarding the proposed minimum opening bid amounts and how they might affect potential new entrants and small carriers, we adopt revised, lower minimum opening bid amounts … as proposed by Verizon and supported by US Cellular and T-Mobile,” the FCC said. The notice adopts 3 cents per MHz/POP for partial economic areas 1-50, .006 cent for PEAs 51-100 and .003 cent for all other markets, with a minimum bid of $1,000. The agency had proposed 6 cents/MHz/POP for PEAs 1-50 and 2 cents elsewhere. The PN rejected AT&T’s request to address the “no excess supply” rule in cases where a bidder wishes to reduce demand from two blocks to none and only one block of that reduction can be applied due to insufficient excess demand. “We disagree with AT&T’s premise that a license for a single block of spectrum in the 3.45 band cannot be used efficiently,” the FCC said. “This auction will bring us closer to 5G service that is fast, secure, resilient, and most importantly, available across the country,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. It had sought comment in a notice commissioners OK’d 4-0 in March (see 2103170061).

Regulatory fees for non-geostationary orbit satellites and a fight between cable and direct broadcast satellite operators dominated comments posted at the FCC Friday in docket 21-190 on proposed changes to regulatory fees. SpaceX slammed the FCC for trying to “allocate increased NGSO regulatory fees based on the 12 GHz rulemaking proceeding, which the NGSO operators strongly urged the Commission not to initiate.” Allocating fees “to the victims of such an effort” would be “inequitable” and “set a precedent that encourages speculation and gamesmanship,” SpaceX said.

Top officials from the Edison Electric Institute and Alliant Energy told FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington it's important to protect the 6 GHz band for electric utilities. “EEI is very concerned about the impact of interference on electric company microwave links from unlicensed devices operating in the 6 GHz band, particularly as such devices proliferate,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. EEI also said it convened a CEO-level task force “to explore how investor-owned electric companies can best play a role as solution partner in closing the digital divide.”

Thirteen months after the FCC approved opening 1.2 GHz in the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi, disagreements remain, FCBA heard during a webinar Monday. It got an update on 5.9 GHz, reallocated partly for Wi-Fi in November (see 2011180043).

Tech companies urged the FCC to act on an order allowing client-to-client operations in the 6 GHz band, the subject of a January notice (see 2101110031), in a call with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Apple, Broadcom, Facebook, Google, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm participated. The companies discussed “how client-to-client operations can enable important new use cases, subject to strict limits to protect incumbents from harmful interference,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. “When client devices are near one another it’s more spectrally efficient for them to transfer data directly using lower transmit power levels,” they said: “Using lower transmit power conserves power and precious battery resources.”

Jessica Rosenworcel's tenure as FCC acting chairwoman has featured bipartisan unanimity. Former commissioners and others don't see her running out of noncontroversial agenda items soon. They told us to expect issues that could be contentious, such as revisiting net neutrality and new orbital debris rules, to be back-burnered until a third Democratic commissioner is appointed, breaking the current 2-2 balance. Current commissioners credit Rosenworcel including them in decision-making and communicating with them.

Zebra sought FCC action on its waiver request to operate its Dart positioning system in the 7.125-8.5 GHz band, in a call with an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The need is urgent due to the growing use of unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band “requiring immediate alternate solutions,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-17. The request was filed in December 2019, the company said. The system is primarily used to track balls and players at NFL facilities.

The FCC approved 4-0 an NPRM -- with tweaks, as expected (see 2104200063) -- on wireless mics in the TV and other bands, plus an order ending the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding. Commissioners offered brief statements on both items, neither of which faced opposition before the vote at Thursday's meeting.

The NPRM proposing to allow the use of new wireless multichannel audio system (WMAS) technology by wireless mics is expected to be approved 4-0 Thursday, though a few tweaks are possible based on ex parte filings, FCC officials told us. The NPRM hasn’t faced opposition since circulation by acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. A few questions were raised on implications for the 6 GHz band, which the FCC reallocated for Wi-Fi a year ago. An order terminating the 800 MHz rebanding proceeding is also expected to get unanimous approval.