The Wireless Broadband Alliance notified the FCC it’s opening a portal for public tests of its 6 GHz automated frequency coordination system (see 2308300018). The portal will be available Tuesday through Nov. 24, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-352.

National Emergency Number Association representatives said the group’s i3 standard and an ATIS standard for IP multimedia subsystems are “complementary, and not competing, specifications and systems implementing them are expected to be fully interoperable,” in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. NENA said the largest barriers to next-gen 911 deployment are “with business and policy, and not with standards or technology,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-479. ”A significant barrier to interoperability is the lack of a network connection between systems,” NENA said: “In the i3 standard this is addressed with an expectation that secure, standards-based traffic can take place between far away systems over the internet. It would also be possible that a nationwide backbone connecting all systems could be implemented.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved an application by Intelligent Transportation & Monitoring Wireless to transfer parts of an automated maritime telecommunications system (AMTS) license to PTC-220, a consortium of the nation’s Class I freight railroads, for the deployment of positive train control and other rail safety. One party filed an objection, which wasn’t timely, the bureau said Tuesday. “We emphasize that the waiver relief we grant today will only apply to use of the AMTS spectrum to deploy PTC and related rail safety systems in the defined rail corridors in AMTS Region 1 … thereby limiting the area of potential interference,” the bureau said. The license covers the northern Atlantic region.

A new paper by the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) urges regulators worldwide to take advantage of dynamic spectrum management systems (DSMS), like one being deployed in the U.S. in the 6 GHz band, and makes recommendations for faster adoption of sharing. “Regulators in a number of countries have authorized automated and even dynamic frequency coordination databases to manage assignments in shared bands,” the paper argues: “These dynamic spectrum management systems have proven they can protect incumbent operations, including military and public safety systems, from harmful interference.” Regulators should “work towards a dynamic shared access approach in any underutilized band (e.g., 6 GHz, 3.8-4.2 GHz) where coordinated sharing is appropriate and practical to implement,” DSA recommends. They should adopt clear rules “but not prescribe particular technologies or standards for DSMS,” the paper advises. Using a representative multistakeholder process “to develop and assist in implementing the DSMS can help to conserve agency resources and leverage industry expertise,” it said. Regulators should consider the adoption of best practices from industry or used elsewhere “particularly when that can speed time to market and promote harmonization regionally or globally,” the report says. Regulators should also “consider the benefits of certifying a private sector entity to manage the DSMS -- or, if demand justifies it, multiple and competing DSMS providers -- but always in strict adherence to agency rules.” Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, wrote the report.

CommScope agreed to sell its Home Networks Business to France’s Vantiva. CommScope said Tuesday it had been seeking a buyer since April 2021 and “determined that Vantiva is the best partner for this business.” CommScope gets in return a 25% stake in Vantiva and “earnout” of up to $100 million based on Vantiva earnings. “For the past 2 years, we have methodically and thoughtfully considered the strategic alternatives for our Home Networks business which would provide the highest value for our shareholders and the best partner to support our customers,” said CommScope CEO Chuck Treadway: “Our Home Networks business is currently in a challenging environment, and by combining these two businesses we believe it provides the best opportunity for future success.”

CTIA applauded the transmission of the 3.1 GHz report from DOD to the Department of Commerce (see 2309280087). “America needs more 5G spectrum to meet surging demand, grow our economy, counter China’s ambitions and secure our leadership of the industries and innovations of the future,” emailed CTIA President Meredith Baker Tuesday: “5G already coexists with U.S. military systems in the lower 3 GHz band in more than thirty countries around the world, including here in the United States along the border with Mexico, and we are encouraged to see the DOD and Department of Commerce commit themselves to further exploring all options for making this spectrum available.”

The Cybersecurity Coalition raised concerns about a voluntary smart device labeling program, proposed by the FCC in August (see 2308100032). “The Coalition supports several aspects of the Commission’s proposed rule, particularly the binary and layered structure of the voluntary label,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-239. But the proposed rule “envisions a labeling system that is overly complex, unwieldy, costly, and untested, and ... this risks suppressing adoption of the label,” the coalition said: “We are concerned with the proposed required data elements, upfront product assessments, creation of new standards, and centralized registry. We are skeptical that these aspects are necessary for effective operation of a basic labeling program, and we believe they are of questionable value to most consumers. While enabling close comparison of technical security nuances will provide value to some consumers, it is unclear that a sufficiently large segment of consumers will use this information to justify the resources required to maintain a more complex labeling program.” The coalition represents some major tech companies.

Dish Network met June's band-specific 5G deployment commitments and two of its three nationwide 5G deployment commitments, with one nationwide commitment still to be verified, FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt told the company in a letter last week. That remaining commitment requires Dish to use a drive test -- which simulates actual user experience under ordinary use -- to verify it has deployed a nationwide 5G network using Dish spectrum, and that network provides download speeds of at least 35 Mbps to at least 70% of the U.S. population, said the agency letter. The bureau said it will verify compliance with that remaining commitment after Dish submits drive test results, and Dish has six months to do the test and submit the results. Dish included the letter in an SEC filing Monday. The company was largely expected to meet its 2023 deployment milestones (see 2306130013).

Two notices published Friday follow up on an FCC April order and NPRM on decisions of the World Radiocommunication Conferences in 2015 and 2019. One Federal Register notice “makes non-substantive, editorial revisions to the Commission’s Table of Frequency Allocations,” effective Oct. 30. A second notice seeks comment on the NPRM (see 2104260053). Comments are due Oct. 30, replies Nov. 28, in docket 23-120.

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted a temporary waiver of rules for volume control testing requirements sought by the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force (see 2304060053). “Under the terms of the time-limited waiver we grant today, a handset may be certified as hearing aid-compatible under the 2019 ANSI Standard if it meets the volume control testing requirements described in this Order as well as all other aspects of the 2019 ANSI Stand,” the bureau said Friday. The order lays out the technical standards devices still must meet to be certified. “By taking these steps, we ensure that when the exclusive use transition period ends” Dec. 5 “new handset models can be certified as hearing aid-compatible using the 2019 ANSI Standard as modified by the conditions established in this Order,” the bureau said: “Our actions allow consumers with hearing loss who use hearing aids or cochlear implants to benefit from wider availability of handsets offering improved hearing aid compatibility under the 2019 ANSI Standard’s radio frequency interference and inductive coupling requirements.”