Expect 1,800 to 2,400 new low earth orbit satellites to come online this year, ABI Research predicted Wednesday. It said widespread satellite-to-handset adoption isn't imminent, though this year and next will have a role in priming consumer interest, and the economy will keep the smartphone market from bouncing back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic level. ABI predicted outdoor use cases such as airfields and shipping ports will drive demand for private cellular networks, though indoor deployments will remain weaker. It said private 5G won't take off this year, as large-scale availability of Release 16-capable devices won't be available at scale until early 2024, and forecast that 4G LTE will remain the dominant cellular connectivity tech until at least 2027. This year should have widespread adoption of location-enriched mobility such as range optimization and intelligent speed assistance, ABI said. It said the industrial sector is well aware of cybersecurity threats, but cybersecurity spending will be moderate in the face of a moribund global economy. ABI said automated frequency control systems will allow lifting 6 GHz outdoor use limits starting this year, diminishing 5G's advantages over Wi-Fi in outdoor settings and giving Wi-Fi equipment vendors the confidence to incorporate standard power 6 GHz access points into their production road maps. But don't expect 6 GHz spectrum harmonization this year, it said.

July tests of interference by low-power indoor devices in the 6 GHz band to FirstEnergy’s licensed operations there raised potential concerns, the company and Edison Electric Institute told the FCC. They reported on a virtual meeting last week with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology to discuss the tests, in a filing Thursday in docket 18-295. The 6 GHz incumbents noted the “additive nature of interference from LPIs operating both within and outside of the microwave beamwidth.” Tests confirmed “a single LPI can cause harmful interference” and the “limited effectiveness of contention-based protocol to reduce signal transmission power.” FirstNet said it did its study in the summer during peak foliage “to observe the impact of unlicensed LPI 6E” devices “during the ‘best case’ time of the year for minimizing interference.”

Executives with Encina Communications supported the company’s proposal to use Part 101 frequency coordination procedures as an alternative to automated frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band (see 2208150040), in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “In contrast to the lack of consensus and the timing uncertainty surrounding the development of an AFC system, there is unanimous agreement by fixed services operators that Rule 101.103(d) can successfully frequency coordinate outdoor standard power … networks, as the interference level requirement is the same as Rule 15.407(L)(2)(i). Rule 101.103(d), which was first adopted by the FCC in 1971, is generally viewed as the gold standard for coordination and is grounded in decades of practical experience,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 10-153.

AT&T countered arguments in favor of further liberalizing the rules for the unlicensed 6 GHz band (see 2212160034), in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. “Consider promptly and thoroughly the ever-mounting evidence in the record that already authorized, commercially available consumer 6 GHz [low-power indoor access points] pose a serious threat of harmful interference to primary fixed service incumbents -- some of which operate networks vital to public safety or the functioning of critical infrastructure,” AT&T said: “To date, four substantial field trials under real-world conditions have been undertaken, each documented in an extensive and comprehensive engineering report. Each of these trials has established that harmful interference is essentially inevitable.”

Wi-Fi Alliance President Kevin Robinson urged the FCC to wrap up work on several 6 GHz items, in meetings with the FCC commissioners, other than Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, plus a Rosenworcel aide and top staff at the Office of Engineering and Technology. “In each meeting we emphasized the transformative effect that the Commission’s decision to permit access to the … band for unlicensed devices has had on the Wi-Fi industry and the American public,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295: “We urged that the Commission (i) act on the outstanding Further Notice in the 6 GHz proceeding by permitting the use of very low power devices and low power indoor devices with higher power; (ii) resolve the issue presented to the Commission on remand by the Court of Appeals upholding the Report and Order; and (iii) issue, as soon as possible, the further Public Notices” required to certify automated frequency coordination providers.

Industry companies and groups disagreed sharply on the best way for the FCC to open the 12.7 GHz band for other users, and whether it should be offered for exclusive-use licenses or be the next big sharing band. Band incumbents urged caution. Comments were due Monday and posted Tuesday in docket 22-352. The FCC approved a notice of inquiry in October on what others call the 13 GHz band (see 2210270046).

Representatives of the Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the American Public Power Association and the Utilities Technology Council urged the FCC to focus on real-world tests of potential 6 GHz interference, in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The advocacy is consistent with the long-term focus of utilities on the need for testing (see 2211030066). “The Commission has a critical role to play in supporting such testing, which must be conducted in a collaborative, transparent and inclusive manner,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. “Although simulations do play an important part in assessing the interference potential of unlicensed 6 GHz operations, the Commission should also recognize the accuracy of real-world interference testing in developing measurements from actual deployments,” the groups said. “Underlying inputs and the algorithms” used in simulations also “need to be disclosed so that they are repeatable and transparent,” they said.

Citing a CableLabs analysis, NCTA said the power spectral density limit for 6 GHz low-power indoor access points floated in the 6 GHz Further NPRM isn't a big risk of causing harmful interference to incumbent fixed service links. It said in docket 18-295 Tuesday the analysis confirms its assertion that radio local area network power is only one factor affecting FS links, and not nearly as big a factor as link fading.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology appears to be taking a relatively conservative approach to interference mitigation in the 6 GHz band as it works through issues raised in an April 2020 Further NPRM (see 2004230059), industry officials told us. Apple and Apple/Qualcomm met with OET in recent days on the Monte Carlo simulations the tech companies are relying on to justify very-low power (VLP) operations in 6 GHz at the 14 dBm power levels proposed in the FNPRM.

Representatives from Miami-Dade County and APCO asked for help from the FCC, alleging interference in the 6 GHz band is keeping the county from using a new communications system. “Miami-Dade cannot fully utilize its new 6 GHz microwave system for the life-safety communications it was designed for until the interference is resolved,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. Officials met with staff from the Enforcement and Public Safety bureaus. An investigation tied the interference to part 15 devices used in an enterprise system managed by CitySpan, the filing said: “Interference … was causing a significant increase in noise floor and reduction in receiver threshold for the microwave links impacted. Identifying the source of interference was particularly difficult because the device’s frequency hopping made the interference inconsistent.” San Francisco-based CitySpan didn’t comment.