Bluetooth SIG announced a specification development project to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6 GHz frequency band. “Expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum band will ensure the community can continue to make the enhancements necessary to pave the way for the next twenty years of Bluetooth innovation,” said Bluetooth SIG CEO Mark Powell Wednesday. The Wi-Fi Alliance “looks forward to collaborating with the Bluetooth SIG to ensure our successful co-existence in the band,” said Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Kevin Robinson.

Apple representatives spoke with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff about technical problems, including radio local access network/fixed service interference in the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. The meeting last week came three days after a similar meeting Apple and Qualcomm had with OET staff (see 2211100045). “We discussed methodologies for probability analyses used to assess RLAN/FS interactions, including an overview of the structure and interpretation of Monte Carlo analyses; the analytic advantages of Monte Carlo analyses for the study of interference probabilities over large geographic areas; and the differences between the methodology employed” in tests in the E.U., and in models by RKF and CableLabs in the U.S., Apple said.

Qualcomm representatives met with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff about the company’s geolocation technologies for standard power devices used in the 6 GHz band and how they will “operate in conjunction with an Automated Frequency Coordination system,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. OET recently conditionally approved AFC systems in the band, subject to testing (see 2211040055).

Apple and Qualcomm representatives met with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff to discuss “the parameters that underlie probability analyses assessing” radio local access network and fixed service “interactions” in the 6 GHz band. The discussion noted “the importance of including parameters accounting for far-field loss, different bandwidths, different power-levels, instantaneously transmitting devices, propagation loss, RLAN and FS height, transmit power control, antenna patterns, polarization mismatch, feeder loss, and FS noise,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. The companies cited “differences in the probability analyses already on the record,” including analyses by RKF, the EU and CableLabs, the filing said.

Southern Co. urged continuing caution as the FCC considers approving automated frequency coordination providers in the 6 GHz band. The agency issued a public notice last week (see 2211030066). Some proposed AFC providers expect required tests to be completed by early next year (see 2211040055). Southern officials met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. Southern asked the FCC to require broader tests using Wi-Fi 6E systems available at the University of Michigan. “Southern noted the particular value of collecting data on current Wi-Fi operations to the successful development and implementation” of AFC, the company said. Southern “remains very concerned about the potential for harmful interference to licensed 6 GHz systems that support critical electric utility and public safety operations and the potential consequences of any disruptions in public safety communications or in utilities’ ability to monitor and control the electric grid,” the filing said: “Southern appreciates the urgency of making additional unlicensed spectrum available for use but urged the Commission not to rush and to take the time needed to ensure the effectiveness of AFC in supporting unlicensed use and protecting incumbent operations in the band.” The Wi-Fi Alliance in a call with an aide to Rosenworcel urged action. The FCC should finalize “procedures for obtaining certification for 6 GHz standard power devices” and issue “as soon as possible, the further Public Notices contemplated by the AFC Conditional Approval Public Notice that will provide additional details on AFC testing protocols,” the alliance said.

Reports T-Mobile is seeking partners for a fiber joint venture aren’t new or surprising, but doing so likely makes long-term strategic sense for the carrier, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Tuesday. Reports suggest T-Mobile could invest up to $4 billion in the venture, he said. Last year, T-Mobile quietly launched a “very limited” fiber internet pilot in New York City to supplement fixed wireless coverage (see 2108110056), covering buildings in Manhattan. “We have argued for some time that in the long-run T-Mobile (and others) will need a terrestrial network,” Chaplin said. “First, the product market for fixed and mobile is converging. T-Mobile is accelerating the convergence with the tremendous success they have had with FWB [fixed wireless broadband]. FWB is capacity limited, and so they will need terrestrial broadband offering at some point,” he said. “Second, the industry will burn through spectrum below 6 GHz over the next 5-10 years and will need to start using millimeter wave spectrum. Deploying this spectrum without a terrestrial network will be extremely costly, leaving T-Mobile at a disadvantage to carriers with a terrestrial network.”

Companies provisionally approved as automated frequency coordination providers in the 6 GHz band could complete tests by early next year, industry experts told us. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology conditionally authorized all 13 applicants still before the commission to begin the testing process (see 2211030066). Experts note the use of AFC is particularly important because it could have implications for sharing in other bands.

Speakers at a Utilities Technology Council virtual event Thursday issued a warning about the risks still posed by unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band and said utilities may have to take other steps to protect critical communications. The FCC, meanwhile, conditionally authorized 13 automated frequency coordination providers to operate in the band. Industry officials said last month the FCC appeared close to taking the next steps on AFC (see 2210170075).

NAB has concerns about the FCC’s recently launched proceeding on the potential for expanded use of the 12.7 GHz band (see 2210270046), NAB said in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 22-352. NAB officials met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. As the notice of inquiry “acknowledges, broadcasters currently use spectrum in this band for Broadcast Auxiliary Services (BAS) operations,” NAB said: “As the Commission knows, protection of licensed mobile operations can pose particular challenges -- yet licensed mobile BAS operations are critical to broadcasters’ ability to cover live events and breaking news.” NAB hopes the FCC will “reserve just 55 MHz of the 6 GHz band exclusively for licensed mobile use until real-world data is available to justify the removal of such reservation.” A set-aside “would effectively serve as a pilot program to test the coexistence of unlicensed operations and licensed mobile operations and address our ongoing concerns regarding the potential for harmful interference to licensed mobile operations in the 6 GHz band,” the group said.

The Wireless Innovation Forum and Wi-Fi Alliance submitted documents to the FCC, after a meeting at the agency last month on a “joint roadmap of deliverables” for automated frequency coordination certification in the 6 GHz band. The groups filed a new revision of the “’Function Requirements for the US 6 GHz Band Under Control of an AFC System’ Specification” and “Version 1.0 of the AFC System Test Harness,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-352.