The Wireless ISP Association praised the FCC's Friday order approving the launch of automated frequency coordination providers in the 6 GHz band (see 2402230050). “WISPA expects that this newly expanded marketplace will bring unimagined internet capacity quickly, flexibly and cost-effectively to places once thought ‘off the map,’” the group said: “This will enable connection of more Americans to life-bettering broadband.” WifiForward also praised the order. The databases launched “build upon a long line of innovations that the FCC has authorized to promote coexistence of different applications, which means better, faster connectivity for consumers, economic value and greater peace of mind for incumbent operators,” it said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Friday approved the applications of seven 6 GHz automated frequency coordination (AFC) providers to launch operations by standard-powered unlicensed devices, closing out a multi-year process. The development is one of the most significant for 6 GHz since the 2020 FCC order opening the spectrum for unlicensed use, industry officials said.

Delegates to the World Radiocommunication Conference last year dealt with a slew of proposed future agenda items for WRC 2027, Michael Mullinix, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, said during a panel discussion at an FCBA webinar Wednesday (see 2402140051). Similarly, an unusually large number of items on the 2023 agenda remained from 2019, Mullinix said. The U.S. delegation offered a “whopping” 18 proposals for the 2027 agenda; more than 40 proposals came from other regions, he said. “That’s a lot of proposals, and more importantly, a lot of priorities for each country that submitted them,” he said. The goal is narrowing the focus to a “manageable” 15 to 18 topics during the four-year study period, Mullinix said. “The work is already underway toward WRC-27 decisions today,” he said. It’s already clear that the biggest focus of the U.S. in 2027 will be making more mid-band spectrum available for full-power licensed use, he said. Recent studies suggest U.S. wireless networks will “fall short” of meeting expected demand “absent new spectrum access,” he said. Mullinix said 7/8 GHz, which will get further study under the administration’s national spectrum strategy (see 2402090059), is “now the global harmonization target for expanding capacity for 5G and beyond.” Spectrum policy is critical to ensuring that trusted equipment suppliers have “the global economies of scale needed to compete, and don’t have to develop unique equipment just for the U.S. market,” he said. HWG’s Tricia Paoletta said it’s also clear the U.S. will continue pressure at the next WRC to protect the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and unlicensed use. “The U.S. is also the global leader in the Wi-Fi ecosystem,” which next year is expected to be worth $5 trillion, she said. U.S. companies “hold the vast majority of intellectual property rights … so it’s a very critical area for the United States’ economy too,” she said. Chinese operators, led by Huawei, will continue pressuring other countries to allocate the 6 GHz band for international mobile telecommunications, Paoletta said. Hogan Lovells’ George John noted that 7/8 GHz is already used for unlicensed operations, earth exploration and space research. It's important because the amount of space research services spectrum available is limited, he said. All the bands to be studied for licensed use will present complications for policymakers, John predicted. U.S. leadership in 5G and 6G is “super important,” but “we also need to love the incumbents,” he said.

The U.S. has slowed down on providing licensed spectrum for 5G, and on some levels “stopped entirely,” said Umair Javed, CTIA senior vice president-spectrum at the State of the Net conference Monday. Some say “all the low-hanging fruit has been plucked” and “we have to accept tighter times ahead,” Javed said, but he disagrees. He noted that since 2018, U.S. carriers have invested $160 billion in their networks, “the largest investment in our nation’s technology base in history.” Making the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands available for licensed use would reverse a negative trend, Javed said. U.S. policymakers should look at ways to “segment” the lower 3 GHz and create “a full-power, licensed opportunity in the 3.3-3.45 GHz range,” he said. The 7/8 GHz band offers “an opportunity for the U.S. to plan ahead and lead in the development of a new global 5G band,” he said. That band has been identified by the ITU “as a future harmonization target” and would let the U.S. “match global deployments planned in the 6 GHz band, meaning we will realize economies of scale and be able to participate in a broader equipment market,” he said.

Seven 6 GHz automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems have completed the testing and public trial phase of certification but are waiting for the FCC to release the AFC certification public notice, the Wireless Innovation Forum said Tuesday in a monthly update. The forum said it’s also still waiting for Federal Register publication of the FCC’s Further NPRM proposing a geofencing system for very-low-power (VLP) operation above 14 dBm equivalent isotropic radiated power in the 6 GHz band (see 2310190054). Revised VLP rules take effect March 8, the forum noted. “The WInnForum 6 GHz committee is continuing to work on additional items to support AFC certification and future operation as well as reviewing the FNPRM in consideration of possibly commenting,” it said: “The Data Task Group is looking at data requirements to support VLP geofencing. The AFC Test and Certification [Working Group] is working to ensure all test specs are current.”

David Zumwalt, who became president of the Wireless ISP Association in June 2022, told us during an exclusive Communications Daily Q&A that the NTIA’s broadband, equity, access and deployment program shouldn’t be used to inject artificial competition into markets that WISPA members already serve. WISPA has fought to have BEAD fund projects that rely partly on using unlicensed spectrum (see 2302090063).

APCO representatives raised concerns about Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez. The expanded use of unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band “presents a substantial threat of interference to public safety,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 18-295. “Real-world testing has raised doubts over the technical assumptions underlying the Commission’s decision to open the band,” APCO said. A 6 GHz multistakeholder group “failed to meaningfully address interference concerns or otherwise provide value beyond consensus that incumbents should perform baseline testing of their systems in anticipation of interference,” APCO said: “Public safety agencies lack the resources to promptly detect, identify, and eliminate interference from unlicensed devices, and viable alternatives to support mission critical communications in the event 6 GHz becomes untenable have yet to be identified.”

The FCC should address the remaining issues raised in a 2020 Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, urged during a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Anna Gomez. “In particular, I explained why the authorization of a somewhat higher maximum power level … for indoor-only use is particularly crucial for digital equity and inclusion, for continued U.S. leadership in next generation Wi-Fi, and for virtually all consumers, businesses and community anchor institutions,” he said, according to a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295.

The FCC will continue updating Congress about the affordable connectivity program's status in hopes of convincing lawmakers for money to keep it running, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters Thursday after the commissioners’ open meeting (see 2401250064). The FCC expects the initiative will exhaust its $14.2 billion allocation in April. The Wireline Bureau said earlier this month it would freeze new enrollments Feb. 8 as part of the program's wind-down process (see 2401110072).

NTIA is expecting detailed comments from federal agencies this week about the proposed implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048), Scott Harris, NTIA senior spectrum adviser, said during an FCBA webinar Wednesday. NTIA has shared with the agencies its initial thoughts, he said. Next, it will prepare “a full draft” implementation plan, which it will also share, and “kick off” interagency meetings seeking “government-wide” consensus, Harris added.