Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, drew some colleagues’ incredulity Wednesday after his office released a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking documents that could support his claim that military officials during the Biden administration circumvented federal lobbying restrictions by pressuring defense contractors to lobby against spectrum legislation.
Representatives from the Wi-Fi Alliance spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about how to “further unlock the full potential of 6 GHz Wi-Fi,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. The alliance discussed the importance of “allowing client-to-client communications under the control of a low-power indoor (LPI) access point” and allowing “higher spectral power density limits for LPI and Very Low Power (VLP) devices,” the filing said. Also discussed were “permitting standard-power access points to operate in motion or with directional antennas” and “alleviating the restriction on VLP devices operating on oil platforms.”
The recent Mobile World Congress came at “a critical juncture” for the wireless industry, said Prakash Sangam, principal of Tantra Analyst, during a Wireless Communications Alliance webinar Thursday. CTIA Chief Technology Officer Tom Sawanobori cited AI as another prominent theme at the GSMA's trade show in Barcelona earlier this month.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment Tuesday on a Tesla request for a waiver of FCC rules to allow authorization for an ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning system operating in the 7.5-8.5 GHz frequency range “to facilitate wireless charging of electric vehicles.” Comments are due March 27, replies April 11, in docket 25-101. “Tesla describes how it intends to use an impulse radio UWB system to enable peer-to-peer communications between a UWB transceiver installed on an EV and a second UWB transceiver installed on a ground-level pad -- which could be located outdoors -- to achieve optimal positioning to enable wireless charging for the EV,” OET said.
C3Spectra, approved by the FCC last month to operate an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system in the 6 GHz band (see 2501150018), asked if it could take building entry loss (BEL) into account for “composite” standard- and low-power devices that are restricted to operating indoors. “Allowing C3Spectra’s AFC system to account for BEL up to 6 dB will enhance indoor coverage and data rates, promoting efficient spectrum use while protecting incumbent services from harmful interference,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-352.
Wireless carriers must add spectrum and deepen their fiber commitment, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin said Wednesday. “Carriers should buy every piece of spectrum they can get their hands on … because we’re going to run out at some point relatively soon,” he told a Broadband Breakfast webinar. “There’s a scramble for both categories of assets, and they’re both imperative.”
The U.K.’s Office of Communications on Thursday announced a consultation that examines opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, while considering licensed use of part of the spectrum. The Ofcom proposal would provide for low-power indoor (LPI) use across the entire band on a license-exempt basis.
CTIA hopes the Donald Trump administration will continue the spectrum studies launched under the national spectrum strategy, though potentially with tweaks to account for earlier studies, said Doug Brake, CTIA assistant vice president-policy communications, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday.
The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition said the FCC has no choice but to overturn the waiver allowing automated frequency coordination systems in the 6 GHz band to take building entry loss (BEL) into account for “composite” standard- and low-power devices that are restricted to operating indoors. The coalition countered arguments in support of the waiver from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (see 2501220030). “The crux of the FWCC’s Application for Review turns on OET’s abject failure to articulate special circumstances justifying the BEL Waiver Order,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-107. “In light of the failure of the Oppositions, the waiver applicants, or the BEL Waiver Order to articulate a special circumstance, the Commission must reverse” the order, FWCC said.
With President Donald Trump yet to lay out with any detail what course he will chart on spectrum, experts warned Tuesday that the current administration faces the same issues as the last (see 2411140042). With various band studies underway, launched under Joe Biden, there are no obvious bands left to reallocate for exclusive licensed use, experts said at the RCR Wireless Wi-Fi Forum.