Rural Wireless Association representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the group's concerns on a proposed 5G Fund (see 2309110053). A Further NPRM on the fund is set for a Sept. 21 vote (see 2308310059). “We discussed RWA’s concerns with the 5G Fund framework and how the current draft of the FNPRM fails to consider such concerns,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-32.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a request by utility company Evergy for a waiver of the agency’s 2018 900 MHz licensing freeze (see 1809130064). Evergy hopes to obtain new licenses for frequencies in the 896-901/935-940 MHz band, said a Tuesday notice. Comments are due Oct. 2, replies Oct. 13, in docket 23-307. Evergy has headquarters in Topeka, Kansas, and in Kansas City, Missouri.

Broadcom filed at the FCC a new analysis of the interference risk of very-low-power operations in the 6 GHz band to electronic newsgathering operations. The analysis focused on VLP interactions with truck-mounted ENG receivers. “This analysis confirms that the risk of harmful interference from a VLP device to such a receiver is insignificant even when using conservative assumptions,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is expected to seek a vote an order on revised rules for the 6 GHz band, focused on VLP operations, in coming months (see 2308070060). “Because VLP devices are itinerant, any such VLP device would be very likely to be transported away from that area as quickly as it entered, making even the worst-case impact we examine small,” Broadcom said: “ENG operators also have the capability to optimize their link conditions by, for example, reducing the distance between the transmitter and receiver, elevating the receiver above clutter, or adjusting transmit power levels.”

T-Mobile agreed to buy 600 MHz spectrum from Comcast for as much as $3.3 billion, said a Tuesday filing at the SEC. The purchase requires approval by the FCC and other regulators and is expected to close in the first half of 2028, T-Mobile said. The geographic areas covered by the licenses that may not be removed from the license purchase agreement include markets covering approximately 39 million people, including New York, Orlando and Kansas City, Missouri, T-Mobile said: Comcast has the option to remove markets from the sales agreement covering 110 million people.

Tech company representatives filed a letter addressing concerns raised by FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff on studies from February on interference risk to electronic newsgathering in the 6 GHz band by very-low-power (VLP) applications (see 2302100031). “The Commission determined in the 6 GHz Order that low-power indoor (LPI) access points do not pose a significant risk of harmful interference to fixed service links,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295: “The record in this proceeding, most notably two separate robust Monte Carlo analyses, demonstrates that VLP devices similarly will not pose a significant risk of harmful interference to FS links.” Links between ENG transmitters and central receive sites “differ from FS links in one key respect that make them even less vulnerable to harmful interference: These links can be adjusted to account for local conditions,” the filing said. The companies signing the letter were Apple, Broadcom, Google and Meta Platforms.

The Rural Wireless Association raised concerns on a proposed 5G Fund and called instead for a fund modeled on the alternative connect America cost model (see 2207190056). RWA representatives met with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr to discuss a draft Further NPRM on the 5G Fund, set for a Sept. 21 vote (see 2308310059). “Legacy high-cost mobile carriers have been using legacy support to upgrade their networks from 2G to 3G to 4G to 5G, and in that time, they have been great stewards of the high-cost funds,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-32: “But under this framework, if they lose at auction, their investments in their networks and communities will be stranded.”

Groups representing 6 GHz incumbents opposed a recent waiver request by Extreme Networks of FCC rules for low-power indoor devices for 6 GHz access points (APs), to be installed exclusively in indoor-only sports venues. The company wants to protect the APs with a waterproof enclosure “to protect the devices from beverage spills and during venue washing,” said a July 21 waiver request (see 2308010074). “Extreme has reasonable alternatives,” the incumbents said in a filing posted Friday in docket 23-282: “Whatever the perceived benefits of 6 GHz Wi-Fi, it is not the only band available for the use case described by Extreme. Multiple vendors, including Extreme, sell a variety of equipment providing Wi-Fi capability in various bands with no prohibition against being weatherized. Denial of the Waiver Request will not deprive fans of Internet access in sports venues.” The filing was signed by the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, APCO and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance.

The Enterprise Wireless Alliance filed in support of a request by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) to use extra 800 MHz channels for its communications (see 2308280043). EWA asked the FCC to act on its longstanding petition seeking revised rules for the band (see 1802130026). “EWA used this opportunity to support once again its Petition for Rule Making that would remove administrative encumbrances such as this case by reclassifying all spectrum between 854-862 MHz outside the southeastern United States as General Category,” the group said in a statement Friday: “Technical and eligibility issues would become a thing of the past, and access to available 800 MHz spectrum would result without being harried by outdated 800 MHz assignment regulations such as in the case of NCSHP.”

Viaero Wireless sought a six-month extension of a Nov. 18 deadline to remove unsecure Chinese gear from its network. The company said it has been “working diligently to install a replacement network” but lacks “the financial resources to complete the project.” The carrier noted the FCC has been able to provide only 40% of the funding required, in a Thursday filing in docket 18-89. Congress has been deciding whether to more fully fund the program, addressing the $3.08 billion Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall (see 2308070001). Last month, the Rural Wireless Association asked for a six-month blanket extension of the removal requirements (see 2308100035).

The FCC Wireless Bureau denied a request by AT&T for reconsideration of procedures for the C-band relocation payment clearinghouse. “Specifically, we deny AT&T’s request to change the RPC’s 20-day deadline for the filing of notices of objection to Clearinghouse decisions, to reclassify … Docket 21-333 as permit-but-disclose, and to change the burden of proof standard for multi-party appeals,” the bureau said Friday.