Commissioners are expected Thursday to approve 5-0 an order and Further NPRM allowing unlicensed sharing throughout 6 GHz, FCC and industry officials said in interviews last week. A few tweaks are anticipated, but no material changes, despite widespread concerns raised by many groups about harmful interference from indoor devices that don’t use automated frequency control (AFC). Chairman Ajit Pai said agency engineers fully vetted the technology and believe sharing doesn’t pose a risk to the huge number of incumbents across the 1,200 megahertz (see 2004060062).

The FCC’s April 23 meeting will be via teleconference and in a shortened format due to COVID-19, the agency said in a sunshine notice Thursday. As expected (see 2004150057), some major items will be voted during the meeting while the rest will be voted on circulation ahead of the meeting, the notice said. Commissioners will vote during the meeting on the 6 GHz rules and Further NPRM, the 5G rural USF fund and the orbital debris item. For the March meeting, some items were voted on the day before the meeting and others that morning, FCC officials said. In March, the agency prior to the meeting issued a deletion notice on the voted items.

Meetings continued on sharing the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi, a week before a commissioner vote on an order and Further NPRM. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai spoke with National Spectrum Management Association officials this week about their concerns, said a filing posted in docket 18-295. The filing was among more than a dozen that popped up Thursday as parties made closing arguments.

The April 23 commissioners’ meeting will be teleconferenced and possibly shortened in a manner similar to the March meeting, FCC officials told us. Though eighth-floor offices are discussing the final format, Chairman Ajit Pai's office proposed again voting on many of the items ahead of the meeting (see 2003310067), but having in-meeting votes and commissioner statements on major ones such as 6 GHz, officials said. One FCC official said commissioners are preparing full statements on all the major items. When the FCC changed the format for the March meeting, Chief of Staff Matthew Berry was in touch with the offices weeks in advance to discuss what to expect. A few days before that meeting, the chairman’s office said in an email to other offices the plan was to keep the session very short, the official said. Discussions over the format of the April meeting are in progress, several officials said. The commission didn't comment Wednesday.

CTIA is hinting at a legal challenge to FCC rules, set for a vote April 23 (see 2004060062), allowing low-power devices throughout the 6 GHz band without automated frequency control. Reliance on restrictions in the draft rules “as a basis to conclude that an AFC-free regime will protect licensees from harmful interference would be arbitrary and capricious under well-established standards,” CTIA said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. The group questions the studies and assumptions the FCC makes on the interference risk.

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition asked the FCC to change its draft 6 GHz order to better reflect the interference risk from uncontrolled devices in the band, as lobbying continues before commissioners vote next Thursday (see 2004020073). "Portions" are "erroneous based on the undisputed record and would therefore be subject to reversal on appeal,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295: “Some modifications” would “better serve the Commission’s purposes without upsetting the Commission’s overall regulatory scheme.” The NFL, which uses ultra-wideband, asked for the ability to register its stadiums within the automated frequency control system. The league said it's not seeking a change to the draft rules to provide additional protection for UWB, which it has sought in the past. AT&T spoke with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on its concerns about indoor operations without AFC (see here and here).

Carriers will lead the bidding in the July citizens broadband radio service band auction, but questions remain about the COVID-19 pandemic's effect on credit markets, said Joe Madden, chief analyst at Mobile Experts. The FCC delayed the auction for a month to July 23 (see 2003250052). Speakers Tuesday said another delay isn’t likely.

The National Spectrum Management Association wants a more comprehensive survey of how 6 GHz is used before opening the swath for sharing with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users, it told the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Commissioners vote April 23 (see 2004100047). “Especially during this time when the nation is heavily reliant on these exact mission-critical networks … it is a requirement that well-known, actual-deployment, spectrum management tests be conducted well prior to confirming rules,” the group said in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. Comcast said the FCC is too conservative here, with the record showing low-power indoor use at radiated power spectral density of 8 dBm/MHz won't cause harmful interference. But it said “the Draft Order imposes a lower 5 dBm/MHz PSD limit based solely on an unsupported assertion that an 8 dBm/MHz limit would result in a ‘materially higher risk of harmful interference.’” The cable provider spoke with aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. AT&T said the agency goes too far and should require automated frequency control for all unlicensed devices. Allowing “low power indoor devices to operate without such a capability would be reckless, irresponsible, and unlawful,” AT&T told aides to O’Rielly and Starks (see here and here). Tech companies sought clarity. “Clarify that client device and subordinate access point power limits are based on the regulatory limits of the access point to which they are associated to align them with the text of the order and avoid creating an incentive to increase the power of access point transmissions,” they said: “Limiting client device power based on the actual transmit power of the associated access point would encourage access points to use maximum power.” Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook and Google were among filing signers. Broadcom separately sought additional OET clarity.

APCO asked the FCC to delay allowing unlicensed devices to share 6 GHz, set for a commissioner vote April 23 (see 2004020066). “The Order fails to address several fundamental issues, including basic measures to prevent and promptly eliminate harmful interference,” APCO said: “This likely stems from a pattern of the proponents of expanding unlicensed use … blindly pushing for more spectrum while ignoring the real-world consequences to public safety agencies.” NAB also objected, in calls with aides to the commissioners other than Chairman Ajit Pai, and with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. “In the face of a public health emergency and an evolving economic crisis, it has rarely been more critical to ensure that the nation’s broadcasters have [news] tools they need,” NAB said: “One of the most important of those tools is spectrum necessary to cover news events, including 6 GHz.” Southern Co. said uncontrolled low-power devices would “result in harmful interference to incumbent 6 GHz operations.” The FCC should approve the order as written, Intel CEO Bob Swan said in a call with Pai. Swan said the December C-band auction “will be an important enabler for new 5G deployments.” Filings were posted Friday in docket 18-295.

The Wireless ISP Association asked FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff for tweaks to a draft order allowing unlicensed devices to share the 6 GHz band. Commissioners vote April 23 (see 2004020066). WISPs welcome the plan to allow standard power outdoor use, with automated frequency control (AFC), in 850 MHz, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. WISPA suggested making clear access point “is not technology-specific.” Among proposed changes for a Further NPRM, “seek comment on allowing higher powered operation under AFC control" and on accounting for directional antennas, WISPA asked. Berkshire Hathaway Energy amplified "concerns by other utilities regarding the significant harm that interference to utility 6 GHz microwave links would have.” The utility said its links must “remain free of interference or RF saturation that will take away fade margin and ultimately compromise the reliability.” Encina Communications asked to allow operations only with AFC.