The COVID-19 epidemic is clouding the timeline for the Senate to act on Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s renomination to a second full FCC term. He nonetheless stands a good chance of confirmation, communications sector officials and lobbyists told us last week. President Donald Trump renominated O’Rielly in March to a term ending in 2024 (see 2003180070). O’Rielly’s current term ended in June. He would have to leave in January absent a Senate vote.

The FCC will allow indoor operations over the full 1,200 megahertz of 6 GHz, without automated frequency control and at power levels lower than what the cable industry and others sought, said a draft order released Thursday. As expected, the FCC will regulate indoor use on a power-spectral density (PSD) basis (see 2004010065). The draft proposed these devices be limited to 5 dBm/MHz radiated PSD, lower than the 8 dBm/MHz sought by cable and others (see 2003260049). Industry officials said that means less throughput for devices using the wide channels. The draft proposes higher limits for outdoor devices using AFC.

Updated orbital debris rules for satellite operators and possibly expanding video description requirements to other markets will be among the topics on April 23's FCC agenda, Chairman Ajit Pai blogged Wednesday. The items are expected to be released Thursday. Pai will also seek a vote on Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band and on a 5G Fund for Rural America (see 2004010065).

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday he will seek a vote at the April 23 commissioners' meeting on opening the 6 GHz band to sharing with Wi-Fi unlicensed (see [Ref2004010053]). Some consider it a capstone to his legacy. A few key details remain unclear. More will be revealed Thursday when the draft is released.

Automated frequency coordination and “other interference mitigation safeguards are vital” to protecting utilities if the FCC allows sharing in 6 GHz with unlicensed devices, Edison Electric Institute officials told Nick Degani, an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “Members require strenuous protections against harmful interference to microwave communications systems in the band,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. Zebra and NFL officials spoke with Pai about the use of Zebra technology for player and ball tracking, and potential impact of proposed rules. Broadcom representatives told an Office of Engineering and Technology staffer it seeks rules that don’t “inadvertently restrict common home-networking configurations by applying client-device power restrictions to devices that comply with the indoor-only restrictions we have proposed for low-power indoor access points.”

Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told reporters his expectation is the FCC will vote on a 6 GHz item at the April 23 commissioners’ meeting (see 2003300053). “I certainly hope it is part of that agenda for next meeting,” he said Tuesday: “We’ll see it tomorrow. You’ll see it in a couple of days. … I worked with my colleagues and the commission staff to get it on [the April] meeting.”

Commissioners approved secure telephone identity revisited and secure handling of asserted information using tokens call authentication rules electronically before their abbreviated meeting Tuesday (see 2003310012). No items were discussed in detail. Commissioners released statements expressing some concerns about Stir/Shaken authentication rules and urging more action in response to COVID-19. The meeting lasted about 14 minutes.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai confirmed Wednesday he will seek a vote at the commissioners' March 23 meeting on making 1,200 megahertz available for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band. The draft rules are to be posted Thursday.

Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to announce Wednesday he will seek a vote at the April 23 commissioners’ meeting on an order that would open 6 GHz to sharing with Wi-Fi, industry and FCC officials said in interviews. The issue has seen heavy lobbying in recent weeks. Much recent debate involved when the FCC will require automatic frequency coordination (AFC) or allow low-level use without. The agency is expected to post the draft item Thursday.

Companies weighed in about sharing the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed devices, in filings posted Friday in docket in 18-295. Lobbying has intensified with an announcement expected this week on whether Chairman Ajit Pai will seek a vote at the April 23 commissioners’ meeting. AT&T said the FCC shouldn’t approve unlicensed use of the entire band, absent automated frequency coordination (AFC). “Even if the probability of harmful interference for each individual unlicensed device were low, the overall impact would still be enormous due to the very high number of potentially interfering devices (nearly a billion) and the crucial nature of the components of the Nation’s infrastructure that rely on those licensed uses,” AT&T said. "Absent AFC protections, interference from these devices could not be stopped, nor could so many devices be retrieved once released into the wild.” Sony Electronics said the FCC shouldn’t require AFC in an RF environment that contains both “managed” and “unmanaged” access points. It's "difficult for an AFC system to identify the precise source of any harmful interference in a scenario where both managed and unmanaged access points operate on the same frequency channel,” Sony said. Model rules on those for the 5.15-5.25 GHz band, which “accommodate both outdoor and indoor operation, while imposing additional requirements on outdoor deployments to protect licensed services,” Sony said. Tech companies said power levels for very-low-power (VLP) devices are critical. “A Commission decision to establish a maximum power level of less than 14 dBm for a 160-megahertz channel would render VLP devices unreliable based on our examination of body loss and battery drain in typical usage scenarios,” said Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm. Broadcom, Cisco, HPE, Intel, Qualcomm and Ruckus Networks separately commented on power levels to protect the 5.9 GHz band. “The Commission should adopt its proposal to limit emissions from fixed 6 GHz ... devices below 5925 MHz and above 7125 MHz to -27 dBm/MHz, provided that compliance is verified using the same assumptions as those included in this record,” they said. “The -27 dBm/MHz average emissions limit for fixed devices will protect licensed operations in the bands immediately below and above the 6 GHz unlicensed band.” Verizon told Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr the FCC should consider licensing part of the band, as urged by CTIA.