The overall goal of the DOD/NTIA 5G Challenge is to drive the move to “true plug-and-play operation” with open radio access networks, said Julie Kub, program lead for the challenge, Thursday during an Informatech virtual conference. The challenge is focused on finding new entrants, promoting multivendor interoperability and reducing barriers to entry, she said.
A draft ATSC 3.0 order on sunsets for the substantially similar and A/322 physical layer requirements remains a moving target that's unlikely to be voted quickly, said FCC and industry officials (see 2303130068). The draft report and order circulated in February would extend the substantially similar and A/322 physical layer requirements indefinitely, but broadcasters said there should be a specified date for the requirements to end. Under current FCC rules, the substantially similar requirement would end in June without FCC action. The A/322 physical layer was to sunset in March, but that was temporarily stayed by the agency last month.
Tech companies need to build mobile devices that allow police “lawful access by design” and strike a better balance in the end-to-end encryption debate, FBI Science & Technology Branch Section Chief Katie Noyes said Thursday. The longstanding debate is over law enforcement’s desire to create backdoors into encrypted devices (see 2004060064). Companies should be thinking about statutes that allow lawful access during the design phase, not when products have already been deployed, she said during a Center for Data Innovation livestream.
Mobile networks are expected to nearly double their power consumption between 2020 and 2025, the GSM Association noted in an October 2022 report. Mobile communications services consume more energy than ever, meaning energy conservation and emission reductions for telcos aren't simply a social responsibility but also "a critical requirement for energy cost savings." Failure to make energy efficiency part of network transformation to 5G could jeopardize a telco's competitiveness, GSMA said. Many operators have heeded the "green" call, but many challenges remain, it said.
T-Mobile is turning up the heat on the FCC to issue licenses bought in last year’s 2.5 GHz auction, linking the failure to do so to the agency’s focus on closing the digital divide. Neville Ray, T-Mobile president-technology, argued for issuing the licenses in a Thursday blog. Lawyers active in the proceeding said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel continues to believe the FCC doesn’t have the authority to issue the licenses after expiration of its auction authority, though the Office of General Counsel is studying the issue.
A group of incumbent satellite operators is trying to prod the FCC to move faster on establishing rules for C-band Phase II accelerated clearing. The Wireless Bureau is seeking input on proposed procedures for the filing of phase II certifications of accelerated relocation, due April 20 (see 2303200040), but SES, Intelsat and Telesat floated a process in advance that they developed with the C-band relocation coordinator for FCC review and approval of Phase II accelerated relocation certifications that would start June 1.
Comments were sharply divided on a waiver request by the Wi-Fi Alliance of rules for the predictive propagation models that an automated frequency coordination system must employ in the 6 GHz band (see 2303210039). The alliance asked to be able to incorporate building entry loss (BEL) in its AFC model for specifically identifiable “composite devices” designed to operate in both low-power indoor (LPI) and standard power modes.
The telecom industry recoiled at the new direction for a California Public Utilities Commission rulemaking that previously focused on state USF charges. The CPUC has no business investigating provider-imposed charges, said phone, cable and wireless companies in comments Wednesday. Consumer advocates welcomed the review into discretionary charges they said aren’t always expected by customers.
Legal advocates are discussing how to challenge the EU’s cross-border data transfer agreement with the U.S. for a third time, Max Schrems said Wednesday, discussing expectations for Schrems III (see 2211170005). President Joe Biden's executive order initiating an EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework didn’t solve the fundamental issues between U.S. and EU surveillance policies, said Schrems during the International Association of Privacy Professionals Global Privacy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Consumer advocates and local broadband officials emphasized the need for states to engage community stakeholders as they prepare their digital equity plans funded by the Digital Equity Act, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday (see 2211020082). Some urged additional funding for the FCC's affordable connectivity program to ensure low-income households can adopt broadband once NTIA's grant programs are implemented.