OMB OK'd information collection requirements in the FCC 6 GHz order, which commissioners approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059), says Friday's Federal Register. OMB pegged compliance at $72.5 million.

Tech companies sought action on a pending Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, in meetings with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The order adopted carefully considered rules that will protect incumbents while permitting innovation in fixed unlicensed equipment and operations,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CommScope, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm were on the calls. A Hogan spokesperson said the suit "highlights how not only are there real policy problems with the digital ad tax, but also serious legal questions surrounding it as well." The Maryland attorney general's office declined comment on pending litigation.

The FCC approved 4-0 an NPRM proposing revised rules for a program to pay for the replacement of equipment from Huawei and ZTE in U.S. networks, as expected (see 2102110053), at the commissioners' meeting Wednesday. Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel stressed that even more than the previous administration, she's emphasizing coordination with other parts of the federal government in her approach to supply chain risks. Commissioner Brendan Carr said the U.S. must stay tough on China.

The FCC defended its April decision to allow unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band, in a filing posted Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (in Pacer) in docket 20-1190. “The Commission’s decision was made after careful consideration of the evidence presented by both proponents and opponents of unlicensed operations,” the FCC said: “Over the course of a nearly three-year rulemaking, the agency reviewed a voluminous and highly technical record that included roughly 100 studies and thousands of filings from interested parties.” AT&T, APCO, NAB, electric utilities and others challenged the rules (see 2012180057). The FCC said the rules protect incumbents.

Southern Co. representatives raised concerns about the lack of interference testing in the 6 GHz band as the band is opened for Wi-Fi (see 2102090067). “Southern described the ongoing problems that it and other incumbents have had in obtaining the cooperation of unlicensed proponents with any form of testing or test program,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295: “Manufacturers and proponents of unlicensed use have consistently ignored or rejected repeated requests to participate in any field testing.”

The 1,200 MHz of spectrum the FCC opened for Wi-Fi at 6 GHz is spurring action by regulators worldwide, experts told the Fierce Wireless Wi-Fi Summit Tuesday. Raghuram Rangarajan, Amazon engineering leader, told us adoption of the band will happen quickly. Wi-Fi 7, with 320 MHz channels, is a few years away, speakers said.

Refrain from acting to curb 6 GHz unlicensed use, the Wi-Fi Alliance urged the FCC in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295: The need “was significant pre-pandemic and has only increased with hundreds of millions of Americans relying on Wi-Fi."

Reject calls for a pause in equipment certifications for 6 GHz unlicensed low-power indoor (LPI) devices until more testing is done (see 2101270037), CTA wrote Thursday in FCC docket 18-295. “This misguided proposal threatens the important role the Commission’s equipment-certification process plays in advancing U.S. technological innovation, far beyond the context of this 6 GHz proceeding,” CTA said. “CTA members and other equipment manufacturers of all kinds, using bands across the radiofrequency spectrum, depend on a predictable, reliable and timely FCC equipment certification process."

Global adoption of 5G and "increasingly complex technical requirements" are driving a multiyear industry transition that “plays to our strength,” said outgoing Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf on a fiscal Q1 call Wednesday. See quarterly materials here. Strong demand for 5G handsets, and growth in RF front-end, automotive and IoT, drove a record 62% year-over-year increase in revenue to $8.2 billion for the quarter ended Dec. 27. Profit jumped 165% to $2.5 billion, but “the strong performance and outlook would have been even stronger had we not been supply constrained,” said Mollenkopf.

Pause additional equipment certifications for 6 GHz unlicensed low-power indoor (LPI) devices “until rigorous testing is conducted to demonstrate that unlicensed devices can coexist with incumbent fixed-microwave licensees in the 6 GHz band,” 6 GHz incumbents said in a letter to FCC commissioners. “Such action is necessary to satisfy Congress’s recent directive to the FCC to provide a report on progress towards ‘ensuring rigorous testing related to unlicensed use of the 6 gigahertz band’ and is the only prudent course given recent showings in the record that LPI devices pose a significant interference risk,” said a Wednesday posting in docket 18-295. The Utilities Technology Council, Edison Electric Institute, American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Petroleum Institute, American Water Works Association, American Gas Association, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs and APCO signed. “The FCC reviewed an extensive and detailed technical record over multiple years and correctly decided that the risk of harmful interference from indoor Wi-Fi devices to fixed link operations in 6 GHz is insignificant,” an NCTA spokesperson responded: “The recent call by fixed link incumbents to stop the 6 GHz equipment certification process does not change the facts and is another attempt to relitigate settled issues and unnecessarily delay the substantial benefits of Wi-Fi 6E and more for American consumers at a time when they rely on Wi-Fi more than ever before.”