Supplemental coverage from space (SCS) service is in dire need of additional spectrum, AT&T Assistant Vice President-Public Policy Navid Motamed said Monday during an FCBA CLE. Regulatory and company speakers also noted that SCS issues of cross-border interference and coordination need to be settled. While some nations are crafting SCS rules frameworks, others are in a wait-and-see stance.
The company challenging Hobbs Act limits on lower court review of an FCC decision in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case told the U.S. Supreme Court the government and its supporters are seeking “a strikingly broad reading” of the act. SCOTUS is scheduled to hear McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Jan. 21, a case from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The FCC Wireline Bureau on Friday reminded recipients of funding through the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program of their obligation to file reimbursement spending reports. The next reports are due by Feb. 10.
The Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association (GWTCA) and state departments of transportation in Utah and Washington defended their motion for a partial stay of an FCC requirement that current 4.9 GHz licensees provide the agency with granular licensing data not later than June 9 or face cancelation of their licenses (see 2412230048). They responded to the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance, which opposed the request (see 2412310023). PSSA, which supports giving the FirstNet Authority effective control of the band, said proponents of a stay didn’t meet FCC requirements for granting one.
Google, Federated Wireless and Sony asked that the FCC recertify them as spectrum access system operators in the citizens broadband radio service. Last month, the FCC released procedures for the six current SAS providers to renew their certifications (see 2412090062). The three had to act first because their initial five-year terms as administrators expire Jan. 27, and the agency asked them to certify their compliance with FCC requirements “no fewer than 14 days before the expiration of their existing certification.” In a filing posted Friday in docket 15-319, Google certified “that it will continue to comply with any expanded SAS capabilities or obligations -- including the provision of service in additional U.S. Territories and Possessions and the support of spectrum manager leasing -- authorized since our initial certification.” Federated said that “since its initial certification in January 2020, Federated Wireless has consistently operated in full compliance with the Commission’s rules and policies, the conditions of its SAS authorization for full commercial service, adjustments to the federal-commercial sharing regime announced by” the FCC “and requests for information from the Commission.” The company said it has played “a pivotal role in the successful implementation of the [CBRS] framework, ensuring dynamic spectrum sharing, safeguarding federal and non-federal incumbent operations, and enabling the widespread adoption of CBRS spectrum for commercial and public-sector use.” Sony said it “remains fully compliant with FCC regulations and fulfills its obligations as a SAS administrator.”
The FCC on Friday modified the licenses of 28 entities that received waivers to operate intelligent transportation systems in the 5.9 GHz band prior to adoption of final rules for cellular-vehicle-to-everything use of the band in November (see 2411210054). The licensees are primarily state departments of transportation and local governments. “The proposed modification would ensure that after their waiver authority expires, the C-V2X Waiver Recipients’ original licenses will be modified to comply with the final CV2X-based rules adopted in the 5.9 GHz Second Report and Order,” said an order posted Friday by the FCC Public Safety and Wireless bureaus. The modifications are “within the Commission’s statutory authority, consistent with prior Commission practice, and will promote the public interest, convenience, and necessity, given the role these licenses play in supporting public safety networks and improving transportation safety,” the FCC said.
EchoStar certified on Friday that, as of the end of 2024, it offers 5G broadband service to more than 268 million people in the U.S., or 80.08% of U.S. POPs. In addition, it has “begun offering a low-cost 5G plan and device to consumers nationwide,” said a filing in docket 22-212: “This plan offers mobile data and voice with 30 GB of data per month for $25.00 to both prepaid and postpaid customers. EchoStar also offers an EchoStar-certified 5G device for $109.99.” The company offered updates in an appendix on the build out of its network using 600 MHz, Lower 700 E-block and AWS licenses. EchoStar also filed granular data on its coverage areas, which was redacted from the public filing.
T-Mobile has started responding to a letter the FCC sent in late December (see 2412270031) probing the carrier’s proposed buy of wireless assets from UScellular. A full response is due Jan. 17. T-Mobile submitted an encrypted hard drive “containing a copy of its organizational charts showing the company’s senior leadership and their direct reports,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 24-286. All the information was redacted.
The FCC Wireline Bureau sought comment Friday on a vCom proposal to sell its operations, including FCC licenses, to AppSmart. Comments are due Jan. 24, replies Jan. 31, in docket 24-657. “vCom’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, QuantumShift and QuantumShift Virginia, provide intrastate and interstate communications services entirely on a resale basis, and they do not own or operate any communications facilities,” the bureau said: “Licensees work with a range of facilities-based and reseller carriers, and resell IP services, mobile voice and data, and both traditional local and long-distance switched voice service as well as interconnected VoIP service.” Applicants state that they will “continue to exist and operate under the same name and will continue to provide services pursuant to then-existing rates, terms, and conditions for the near term and any future changes will be undertaken pursuant to customers’ contracts and applicable law,” the bureau said. AppDirect announced in November plans to buy vCom and QuantumShift.
T-Mobile and UScellular countered opposition filed against their deal that has T-Mobile acquiring “substantially all” of the smaller provider’s wireless operations, including about 30% of its licensed spectrum. Numerous commercially sensitive details were redacted from the filing posted Friday in docket 24-286. In December, the Rural Wireless Association, EchoStar and Communications Workers of America asked the FCC to reject the deal (see 2412100044), which was announced in May. In the filing, T-Mobile and UScellular pointed to the transaction's economic benefits, laid out (see 2409160029) in a September public interest statement (PIS). “Unsurprisingly, the petitioners and commenters questioning the consumer benefits described in the PIS fail to provide any credible evidence or technical analysis to support their allegations,” the filing said. “Instead, these parties baselessly assert that the Transaction will harm competition among mobile wireless providers and result in higher prices for consumers.”