Leaders of the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition hope for FCC action by year-end on rules to allow fixed-wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. Comments were due Wednesday on a Further NPRM, which commissioners approved 4-0 in May, examining fixed-wireless and unlicensed use of 12.2-12.7 GHz spectrum (see 2305180052). That FNPRM was part of a complicated series of items addressing the 12 and 13 GHz bands.
Consumer advocates, industry and local officials want more details in the five-year action plan California will submit to NTIA as part of the broadband, equity, access and deployment program Many in comments posted Tuesday in docket R-23-02-016 (see 2307180013) sought additional information in the final plan about affordability and digital equity efforts.
DENVER -- Sen. John Hickenlooper sees no hurdles to broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program success, the Colorado Democrat said Tuesday. At the Mountain Connect conference, Hickenlooper, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) and multiple states' broadband officials largely sounded upbeat on achieving universal access within a decade. Also, Hickenlooper expects “tremendous pressure” to reup the affordable connectivity program (ACP), but said debt concerns might limit how much funding it receives from Congress.
NTIA announced the first three winners under the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, a $1.5 billion federal fund aimed at spurring the growth of open radio access networks and advanced spectrum sharing. NTIA unveiled the grants Tuesday at Northeastern University in Boston, one of the recipients.
Dish Network's proposed buy of EchoStar, announced Tuesday, should help debt-laden Dish shore up its finances as it spends heavily to complete its terrestrial 5G network, analysts told us. The deal is considered unlikely to face antitrust or other regulatory challenges. Dish spun off EchoStar in 2008.
The FCC's default spectrum-splitting mechanism for dealing with non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service satellite systems interfering with one another had both backers and detractors in docket 21-456 Tuesday. The comments were in response to an NGSO spectrum sharing order and Further NPRM adopted in April (see 2304200039), with the FNPRM seeking input on technical aspects of the order. Multiple operators were critical of an aggregate interference cap.
Sponsors of kids’ privacy legislation have the support of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told reporters Thursday. Blumenthal was scheduled to meet with Schumer just before the start of the August recess (see 2307270058), after the Senate Commerce Committee passed the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) (S-3663) by voice vote. He was in "active, ongoing conversations" with Senate leadership about moving KOSA, a Blumenthal aide said Monday: Schumer’s office didn’t comment.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears to be teeing up an order on revised rules for the 6 GHz band for one of the commissioners' open meetings before the World Radiocommunication Conference, which starts Nov. 20 in Dubai. The WRC includes an agenda item on whether to identify the upper 700 MHz of the band for international mobile telecommunications, which the U.S. opposes, and the order would lay down a strong U.S. marker in favor of unlicensed use of the band, Wi-Fi advocates told us.
Senators, communications sector lobbyists and other observers are bracing for the potential impact that a pending DOD study’s recommendations for repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band could have on prospects for Capitol Hill to reach a deal on a spectrum legislative package that allocates some future auction revenue to pay for telecom projects. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., cited the study’s release as a reason to object to efforts to renew the FCC’s spectrum auction authority for a period ending before Sept. 30, which led to the mandate’s March expiration (see 2303090074).
Amazon's decision to charge for public IP4 addresses on its cloud network could help spur businesses to move to IPv6, backers of the technology said. They have been pushing for years to persuade internet companies to move away from IP version 4 (see 1806070001). Now the cost-benefit analysis for IPv6 is shifting, leading to hope for a swifter transition.