The citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) band has moved beyond the experimental stage and demonstrated its effectiveness, Salt Point Strategies’ Dave Wright said last week during a webinar hosted by consulting firm Senza Fili. CBRS “works,” said Wright, former president of the OnGo Alliance, which promotes the CBRS. “We’ve been doing it for five years. We’ve got 420,000 base station radios operating in the band,” and “we’ve had zero reports of interference” to the military systems that share the spectrum.

The FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday approved a waiver of Section 96.39(g) of commission rules that allows the University of Utah to operate a research tool using an experimental license over a small area in Salt Lake City. The rule section covers security requirements for citizens broadband radio service devices. In 2022, commenters raised concerns about the proposed waiver (see 2207190047), needed for wireless research using the university’s platform for open wireless data-driven experimental research (POWDER).

AST SpaceMobile is facing growing global opposition from the amateur radio universe about plans to use the 430-440 MHz band for telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) (see 2507170030). Since last Wednesday, docket 25-201 has received more than 2,100 submissions -- most from amateur radio advocates. Comments were due Monday on AST's request to use the band and operate an additional 243 satellites atop the five already authorized (see 2506200061).

Future rules for the 37 GHz band must protect licensed wireless operations in the upper 37 and 39 GHz bands and shouldn’t impose new emissions limits, CTIA said in comments on a Further NPRM aimed at spurring greater use of the spectrum. FCC commissioners approved an order and FNPRM on the band in April and comments were due Monday in docket 24-243. The National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) repeated its concerns (see 2409300028) about protecting the 36-37 GHz earth exploration satellite service (EESS) band, which is critical for science, it said.

The importance of AI and other new technology to wireless industry growth and success was a major topic at this week’s CTIA 5G Summit. Other discussions centered on the need for more high-power licensed spectrum in the U.S. and the threat from China (see 2505060036).

AT&T and CTIA urged that the FCC rethink citizens broadband radio service rules and questioned the band's success, filing reply comments to an August NPRM (see 2411070032). But most commenters said the FCC should only tweak the band. CBRS advocates largely defended the model as a sharing success story. Interest in the proceeding was strong, with more than two dozen reply comments posted as of Friday.

The FCC submarine cable NPRM now asks about ensuring cable licensees don't use equipment or services from entities on the agency’s covered list of organizations that pose a U.S. security threat. Commissioners at their open meeting Thursday unanimously approved the subsea cable NPRM, as expected (see 2411120001), as well as a robocall third-party authentication order. They also approved 5-0 an order creating a permanent process for authorizing content-originating FM boosters, which let broadcasters geotarget content within their broadcast reach for up to three minutes per hour (see 2411140053). The meeting saw the four regular commissioners praise Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, who said Thursday she would step down Jan. 20, the date the next presidential administration takes power. Minority Commissioner Brendan Carr, who is slated to become chair (see 2411180059), discussed his agenda with media (see 2411210028).

The FCC’s draft order on creating a standardized process for authorizing content-originating FM boosters necessary for geotargeted radio ads is expected to be unanimously approved during the commissioners' Nov. 21 open meeting, industry and agency officials told us.

Shortwave Modernization Coalition (SMC) representatives told the FCC the group met with other federal agencies about the group’s proposal that the commission launch a rulemaking to amend eligibility and technical rules for industrial/business pool licensees to authorize licensed use of frequencies above 2 MHz and below 25 MHz for fixed, long-distance, non-voice communications (see 2305010053). The proposal has faced pushback, particularly from amateur radio operators (see 2308180033). SMC met with spectrum officials at NTIA “and based on those discussions reached out to several federal spectrum users and were successful in having meetings with the spectrum staff” at NASA, NOAA, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Coast Guard, a filing posted Monday in RM-11953 said. SMC “explained that the shortwave band has been used for nearly nine years through multiple experimental licenses granted to several parties, and that multi-year experience mirrors the use that would be authorized by the pending proposal.”

NAB, NPR and other opponents of the FCC’s authorization of geotargeted radio used Thursday’s comments deadline to take additional shots at the technology, while proponent GeoBroadcast Solutions said the agency should “keep an open mind.” Two broadcast entities, Press Communications and REC Networks, have called for reconsideration of the agency’s order allowing content origination on FM booster stations. Geotargeted radio will “erode public confidence in FM radio broadcasting” and harm stations “baited into employing the technology,” NAB said in docket 20-401.