The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a stay of the FCC’s April order allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users to share the 6 GHz band. APCO sought the stay, with the support of electric utilities (see 2009180044). Wi-Fi proponents said the Thursday decision is important in that the court considers the merits of a challenge in deciding whether to grant a stay. The court also declined a request for an expedited hearing. Wi-Fi industry officials said the first devices are likely this year, with rollout accelerating into 2021.

The pandemic is slowing 5G standards development and will delay Release 17 to as late as the end of 2021, Brian Daly, AT&T assistant vice president-standards and industry alliances, told the FCC Technology Advisory Council Tuesday. The focus of the meeting was on updates from the four working groups, including Daly’s 5G/IoT/open radio access network WG. 3rd Generation Partnership Project meetings have moved online, which may continue through 2020, Daly said. Continuous virtual meetings “are reducing productivity and increasing overall fatigue,” he said. “Who actually has the voting rights in these elections?” he asked: “That could influence everything from who leads the groups to who is going to set the stage for what gets into the various releases.” Release 16 was supposed to be done in March but was just approved, he said. U.S. companies are participating more, since travel isn't required, and so are Chinese officials, which is “a bit worrisome,” he said. “We still may see further down scoping as the pressures of COVID-19 impact the electronic meetings,” he said. The U.S. is pushing to include 6 GHz in the standards, amid “firm objections” from the Chinese, Daly said. “It was really a roller coaster ride at the last week's plenary meetings,” he said: “Even though it's a regional requirement, it was clearly a political blocking by the Chinese to try to push those requirements out of Release 17.” Planning is starting on Release 18, with no clear timeline, he said. TAC next meets Dec. 1. “We’re now into the sprint part of the year,” said TAC Chairman Dennis Roberson: “We’ve really got to hustle.”

APCO made its case for why the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should stay the FCC’s April order allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users to share the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059), in a filing (in Pacer) Friday in docket 20-1190. “The Commission has a statutory mandate to protect public safety,” APCO said: “It failed to honor that mandate, and that failure is likely to endanger the nation’s public safety communications systems.” The FCC argued (in Pacer) against a stay, saying the order was “based on its expert judgment and thorough consideration of the administrative record, including the needs of public safety operations in the 6 GHz band.” The Edison Electric Institute, Utilities Technology Council, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and American Public Power Association supported (in Pacer) the stay. Opponents argue that there's "no indication that any interfering devices will be on the market in the near future, and that a stay will harm the public because the devices must be allowed on the market as soon as possible,” the utility groups said: “Respondents cannot have it both ways. If the devices will not be on the market in the near future, then staying the Order while the Court determines the merits of the petitions presents no harm.”

A Thursday House Communications Subcommittee hearing is expected to feature partisan dueling assessments of the FCC's performance under Chairman Ajit Pai, capping off subcommittee Democrats’ often-rancorous relationship with commission Republicans this Congress (see 1901160031). Communications Democrats said the hearing will focus on FCC “lost opportunities” during President Donald Trump’s administration, including actions they say widened the digital divide (see 2009100066). The hearing begins at 10 a.m.

The FCC made the right decision on Ligado, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told Incompas Tuesday during its virtual conference. Pai stressed FCC focus on 5G, saying the upcoming C-band auction will be “massive.” Pai said more is coming, including on the 5.9 GHz band and a follow-up order on 6 GHz (see 2008200040). “We have a lot of big irons in the fire,” he said.

More than 105 5G networks are deployed worldwide, said 5G Americas Thursday, based on a report by Rysavy Research. The report predicted “billions” of IoT devices will be deployed over the next decade. “Operators are transitioning to standalone architecture, lowering network latencies, improving coverage, addressing industrial IoT, and simplifying operations,” the report said. Beamforming and massive multiple-input and multiple-output "are enabling use of spectrum above 6 GHz, as well as improving performance in lower bands.”

An order reshaping how the 5.9 GHz band is allocated could slip from the FCC’s Oct. 27 meeting to the Nov. 18 meeting as the Office of Engineering and Technology works through technical details, industry and agency officials said. The later meeting would be after the election, but Chairman Ajit Pai has broad support for opening the band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, and approval likely won’t be an issue, officials said. NTIA added a further wrinkle, proposing exclusion zones for the spectrum, in a letter to OET (see 2009090025).

APCO asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay the FCC’s April order allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users to share the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059). “In adopting the Order establishing the new rules, the Commission sacrificed the reliability of the nation’s public safety systems to indulge the possibilities of faster WiFi routers and other devices,” APCO said in a Friday motion in docket 20-1272 (in Pacer). “Public safety agencies nationwide have used the 6 GHz band for decades to support mission-critical operations such as dispatching first responders and maintaining voice communications during emergencies,” APCO said: “Without immediate relief, untraceable and unrecallable unlicensed devices will flood the market before the holiday season. Interference from these devices will disrupt mission-critical public safety communications.”

The 2021 introduction of 5G functionality in Qualcomm’s 4 Series of Snapdragon processors will speed the mass scaling of entry-level 5G smartphones globally, said Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon in an opening IFA 2020 keynote Thursday. Amon spoke via prerecorded video before a physical audience in a Messe Berlin exhibition hall. The hybrid physical/virtual IFA 2020, the first tech trade show in the COVID-19 era with in-person attendance (see 2008310024), opened with the theme “Tech is Back.”

David Wells, senior adviser at the Department of Energy, slammed FCC actions opening the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and on Ligado during a Utilities Technology Council virtual conference Tuesday. Fred Moorefield, DOD deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications, said the interagency system worked until recent months. Utility executives said this week 6 GHz concerns aren’t going away (see 2008310049). In an unusual petition, NTIA asked the FCC to reconsider the Ligado order (see 2006120033).