Summit Ridge, which serves as the 3.45 GHz Clearinghouse, updated the FCC on its progress, in a report posted Tuesday in docket 19-348. “Clearinghouse costs, including both accepted hard and soft incumbent clearing expenses and Clearinghouse operating expenses, are as a whole, running close to its initial budget,” the report said. The clearing timeline is delayed some three months “because NBCUniversal has yet to complete its clearing operations and submit its final costs,” the report said. Summit Ridge said there were no disputes so far from new licensees or incumbents.
The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comments due May 2, replies May 18, on a February petition seeking launch of a rulemaking that authorizes 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band. Petitioners argue that “expanded 5/5 megahertz broadband will support growing demand for wide-area, private, and secure wireless broadband networks for utilities, critical infrastructure, and business enterprise entities, among other benefits,” the bureau said Tuesday. The Enterprise Wireless Alliance, Anterix and electric utilities filed the petition (see 2402290064). “We seek comment generally on the Petition and its request that the Commission provide an option for 5/5 megahertz broadband networks in the 900 MHz band through a voluntary transition process,” the bureau said: “In particular, we seek comment on whether existing rules would be sufficient to protect incumbent narrowband operations from interference, as well as whether those rules would be sufficient to protect operations in adjacent spectrum bands.” Comments should be filed in docket 24-99.
The FCC continues getting pressure to provide an exemption for 5G network slicing under proposed net neutrality rules, expected to be unveiled this week (see 2403290057). “The debate surrounding ‘network slicing’ is welcome because it rather convincingly demonstrates the inherently problematic nature of the proposal to impose public utility regulation on Internet service providers in a technologically dynamic marketplace,” Free State Foundation said in a comment Tuesday. Slicing will “help enable more efficient use of wireless networks, while also enabling capabilities and services that will support investment to deploy and add capacity to next-generation wireless networks,” Verizon said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-320: “Placing unnecessary restrictions on this technology could stifle it in its infancy, to the detriment of consumers and our nation’s leadership position in the mobile economy.” Verizon representatives spoke with aides to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks.
5G technology company Airspan Networks said it crafted an agreement with its creditors to emerge as a private company through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Through an agreement with Fortress Investment Group, Airspan will receive up to $95 million of new equity financing, eliminating existing debt, Airspan said this week. The deal has the support of 97.4% of Airspan’s funded debt creditors, the company said. “We are excited about the Company’s long-term growth opportunities,” said Drew McKnight, Fortress co-CEO and managing partner: “Our significant commitments through this Agreement reflect our conviction that a recapitalized Airspan can further solidify its leadership position within the wireless industry.” The company went public three years ago.
Consumer Cellular requested a waiver from the FCC of a Jan. 22 deadline to file data in the commission’s one-time collection of foreign ownership information from international Section 214 authorization holders. The carrier said it holds one authorization but never received notice of the need to file until “well after the deadline.” In addition, the carrier said it “acted expeditiously to submit the required information but has been unable to do so because the portal for submissions is now closed.” A waiver “would serve the public interest by helping ensure the accurate reporting of the information requested,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-134. FCC commissioners agreed to the data collection in April 2023 (see 2304200039).
Samsung Electronics America and others refuted objections NCTA raised against Samsung's request for an FCC waiver for a 5G base station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see [Ref:2309130041). “Samsung’s proposed 3.5/3.7 GHz multiband radio will have substantially the same radiofrequency profile as a standalone 3.7 GHz radio collocated with a standalone 3.5 GHz radio” with no “practical impact” on CBRS deployments “when compared to the deployment of two standalone radios,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-93. Ericsson, Qualcomm and Verizon also signed the filing. NCTA opposition “in the face of measured test data demonstrates this is best understood as a collateral attack on the Commission’s rule limiting the out-of-band emissions from 3.7 GHz base stations into the CBRS band,” they said. The general objection to a current FCC rule should be dismissed as “irrelevant and improper to this waiver proceeding, especially because Samsung is not seeking a waiver of the 3.7 GHz OOBE limits.”
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation last week called for greater cooperation between the U.S. and Europe on cybersecurity labeling of IoT products. Last month, the FCC approved the U.S. program (see 2403140034). The report urges coordination on technical standards and “potentially” a mutual recognition agreement. “An aligned EU-U.S. approach would allow firms to only test once in order to comply with both systems,” ITIF said: “Cooperation on IoT cybersecurity labeling would avoid creating yet another regulatory point of conflict in the transatlantic trade and technology relationship.”
CTIA officials, led by President Meredith Baker, urged the FCC to tweak proposed net neutrality rules to exempt network slicing and other evolving services. In a call with staff for FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, CTIA questioned generally the need to impose Communications Act Title II authority as part of the rules. Proposals to “narrow or restrict” non-broadband internet access data services “would deny the benefits of new technology such as network slicing to broadband users, unduly limit wireless innovation, and undermine American leadership in the mobile economy,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-320. “Network slicing will allow wireless providers to offer over a single physical network a series of logically defined virtual networks configured to satisfy use cases currently under development that may include, for example, public safety communications, robotic surgery, smart grids, and communications at crowded events,” CTIA said.
Florida Power & Light urged the FCC to establish a regulatory framework for uncrewed aircraft systems by authorizing shared use in a portion of the 5030-5091 MHz band for control and non-payload communications. “Doing so would promote more efficient use of the 5 GHz band and growth of the emerging UAS industry, especially with regard to innovative use cases involving critical infrastructure industries,” the utility said in a filing posted Friday in docket 22-232. “Just as importantly, the Commission can make meaningful progress in shaping the 5 GHz band’s future while it waits for Congress to renew its spectrum auction authority,” the utility said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Friday extended the deadline for Gogo Business Aviation and other carriers to remove, replace and dispose of Huawei and ZTE equipment from their networks. The deadline for Gogo was extended from July 21 to Jan. 21. “Gogo states that it has encountered ongoing supply chain issues arising from high demand, material scarcity, and labor shortages, particularly in machine manufacturing, which continue to cause a lack of availability of necessary equipment and extended lead times,” the bureau said. Gogo maintains the disruptions “are particularly significant because it has aviation operations, which call for custom radio equipment, rather than off-the-shelf solutions, for both its ground infrastructure and its airborne components,” the bureau said. In addition, the bureau extended the deadline for Bluesky from April 18 to Oct. 18, for Gallatin Wireless from March 23 to Sept. 23 and for Mediacom Communications from April 15 to July 15. NE Colorado Cellular got two different extensions for parts of its network, from May 3 to Nov. 3 and from June 3 to Dec. 3.