Representatives of the Rural Wireless Association asked aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about the status of a “5G Fund for Rural America” and raised questions about the broadband data collection’s broadband maps and challenge process, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-32. “RWA is concerned that the 5G Fund, as currently constructed, will undermine efforts of RWA members to deliver mobile service to rural customers that are not served by the nationwide providers,” the group said: “While RWA understands that the FCC is waiting for the BDC maps to be further revised, RWA members need certainty from the Commission on how and when this 5G Fund will be implemented, if at all.”

Representatives from the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force met with FCC staff urging action on an agency waiver sought by the group (see 2304060053), following up on a July meeting (see 2307260036). “All recommendations of the HAC Task Force -- including the pending Waiver Request to authorize an interim approach to testing volume control while the current testing standard is revised -- have been achieved via a consensus process that included consumer and advocacy groups,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 15-285. They spoke with staff from the Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Wireless bureaus and the Office of Engineering and Technology.

CTIA officials urged a cautious approach on robotext rules (see 2305090047) in meetings with FCC staff for all commissioners, except Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Wireless providers and their messaging ecosystem partners continue to build on years of front line efforts to protect consumers from spam text messages,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 21-402. “Solutions that work in the robocall context are unlikely to be effective for text messages” and “current efforts to identify and block spam texts are better equipped to address bad actors’ ever-changing and increasingly complex tactics than the ‘block upon notice’ or caller ID authentication proposals” in the Further NPRM, CTIA said.

T-Mobile is cutting its workforce by nearly 7%, as it plows more money back into attracting new customers, CEO Mike Sievert said in an email to staff Thursday. “Starting this week, and over the next five weeks, we will be making changes to our organization that will result in the reduction of some positions at the company,” Sievert said: “These shifts will impact close to 5,000 positions, a little under 7% of our total employees in locations across the country, primarily in corporate and back-office, and some technology roles. The retail and consumer care experts who take care of our customers will not be impacted. After this process is complete, I do not envision any additional widespread company reductions again in the foreseeable future.” The CEO said most of the positions cut are duplicative “or may be aligned to systems or processes that are changing, or may not fit with our current company priorities.” Sievert said attracting and retaining customers has become “materially more expensive than it was just a few quarters ago.” T-Mobile has outrun that trend by “accelerating merger synergies, and building our high-speed Internet business faster than expected, and out-performing in a few other areas.” But it’s clear more needs to be done, he said. T-Mobile said in its latest earnings report the Sprint integration of is now “substantially complete” ahead of schedule (see 2307270064). The email was filed with the SEC.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment due Sept. 6, replies Sept. 13, on Jotron's request for a waiver to permit the authorization and use of a personal locator beacon not in compliance with FCC rules. Jotron said the device is in compliance with a recently published Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services standard for PLBs, the bureau said. Jotron claims the Tron SA 20 “complies with this new standard but does not comply with the PLB standard currently incorporated by reference in part 95 because the latter makes no provision for Return Link Service functionality,” the bureau said in a posting Wednesday in docket 23-292. The device operates at 406.0-406.1 MHz.

AT&T launched Internet Air, a fixed-wireless home internet service that can be installed by customers. “Customers can easily self-install AT&T Internet Air in five steps and be up and running in less than 15 minutes,” Erin Scarborough, AT&T president-broadband and connectivity initiatives, blogged Tuesday. “We’ve already rolled out AT&T Internet Air to existing copper-based customers with great success,” Scarborough said. As the offering gains scale, he said, “we are hyper-focused on selecting locations with enough wireless coverage and capacity to deliver not only a great in-home experience, but also maintain a top-notch wireless service for our existing mobile users.”

John Branscome, Meta director-U.S. public policy, told FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about the importance of very-low power operations to the future of the 6 GHz band. Branscome “noted the importance of adopting a VLP power level that supports effective use of the band and that supports U.S. advocacy internationally,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. Rosenworcel is expected to propose an order on revised rules for the 6 GHz band for one of the commissioners' meetings before the World Radiocommunication Conference in November (see 2308070060).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told Sens. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., the FCC is working through “complex engineering challenges” as it considers fixed wireless and other uses of the lower 12 GHz band (see 2308100048). Rosenworcel responded to letters from last year. “I am grateful that you have acknowledged the agency’s expertise in overseeing commercial use of spectrum, as well as your recognition of the difficult and complex engineering issues that required careful assessment in this proceeding,” Rosenworcel said, in a posting Wednesday in docket 23-10: “I believe the Commission’s thoughtful approach to this swath of more than 1000 megahertz of mid-band spectrum is a smart investment in our wireless future.”

Tech company representatives spoke with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and staff at the Office of Engineering and Technology on technical issues with allowing very-low power (VLP) portable operations in the 6 GHz band, as proposed in a 2020 Further NPRM (see 2004230059). “We discussed that the record contains two separate large-scale Monte Carlo analyses that demonstrate that the risk of 1 dBm/MHz VLP is insignificant and that the European Union and the United Kingdom have similarly concluded that this power level protects incumbent Fixed Service operations,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 18-295. Companies represented on the calls were Apple, Broadcom, Google and Meta.

T-Mobile’s new premium plan, Go5G Next, which costs $100 per month for a single line (see 2308210042), appears to show a pivot by T-Mobile to focus more on growing average revenue per user, LightShed’s Walter Piecyk told investors. “It’s doubtful that T-Mobile’s new plan will move the needle on gross adds or upgrades,” he said. “This is not a major move by T-Mobile, but it underscores a pivot to ARPU growth already underway,” he said. Focus on ARPU is a "logical next step” for the carrier, Piecyk said: “Net subscriber additions may be great for confetti cannon press releases, but it’s getting harder for T-Mobile to distract investor attention from its pedestrian wireless service revenue growth, especially since it has been trailing AT&T’s growth.”