The Open Radio Access Network Alliance said it approved four new open testing and integration centers (OTIC) in the U.S. They're Northeastern University in Boston, the University of Utah’s Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research in Salt Lake City, a wireless testing platform on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, and a Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) xG Testbed at Virginia Tech in Arlington. “OTICs are vendor-independent, open, and qualified labs approved by the O-RAN ALLIANCE that issue awards in the O-RAN Certification and Badging Program, so that operators can deploy products at scale and with confidence,” said a Thursday news release.

Ericsson claimed a record download speed of 5.7 Gbps at one of its labs, using carrier aggregation and combining six component carriers (CCs). Ericsson was able to combine three frequency division duplexes and three time division duplexes, yielding 400 MHz of spectrum, said a Thursday news release. "We are keeping the momentum on carrier aggregation by continuously stretching its potential to boost capacity and speed," said Sibel Tombaz, Ericsson Networks head-product line 5G radio access networks: “Our successful 6CC data call shows how versatile our solution is and that we are poised to work with ecosystem partners to make this new band combination a reality.”

A paper released Thursday by the ATIS’ Next G Alliance provides what the group describes as the “first comprehensive survey” of spectrum bands with the potential to support 6G in North America. “We have seen consistent evolution in the use of these systems from one generation to the next, along with an ever-increasing demand for spectrum to satisfy the needs of each system,” said Andrew Thiessen, Mitra head-5G/XG, chair of the alliances Spectrum Working Group. “Serious and diligent study of spectrum that could be made available/accessible to future systems is critical,” he said: “This paper is a comprehensive first step in meeting the needs of next generation commercial mobile broadband.” The 3.1-3.45 GHz band “is a priority band in the U.S. to accommodate the immediate need for capacity to support existing allocations in the 3 GHz band” and “it is expected that this band will be suitable for 6G in the longer term,” the report said. The 3.98-4.0 GHz band is “allocated for mobile use but lacks service rules and currently serves as a guard band,” it said. The 1300-1350 MHz band “is expected to become available before the 6G commercial timeframe and will transition to 6G in the longer term” but will require sharing with DOD and FAA operations, the report said. Among other bands examined in the report are 7.125–9.3, 10–10.5, 12.7–13.25, 25.25–27.5, 37.0–37.6, 42–42.5 and 42.5–43.5 GHz. “Enabling spectrum for 6G can be a long process,” said Fabiano Chaves, Nokia head-spectrum standardization for North America and working group vice chair. “This paper provides valuable and timely input from the industry and academia to this process, with a detailed assessment of spectrum opportunities and challenges, which will contribute to well-informed decisions about 6G spectrum in North America,” he said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted the NFL a two-year extension of rules for the citizens broadband radio service Wednesday, allowing the league to continue operating a coach-to-coach communications system in the event of a localized internet outage in stadiums during games. The FCC sought comment in July (see 2307050028) and NCTA raised concerns but didn’t oppose the waiver (see 2307180042). The NFL “reiterates many of its claims about its coach-to-coach communications system, but also states that it has spent the past several months conducting due diligence into implementing a technological solution beyond its current ISP redundancy in each NFL stadium,” the bureau said. “We find that a limited extension of the conditional waiver to allow the NFL to complete due diligence on a rules-compliant technical solution … is in the public interest.” The bureau ordered the league to submit a report in March explaining what it's doing “at each NFL stadium to avoid interruptions” in spectrum access system connectivity and “details regarding any remaining impediments to achieving compliance with the Commission’s rules.”

FCC action on the 6 GHz Further NPRM would help make communications more energy efficient, the Wi-Fi Alliance said in a letter to the four commissioners (see 2307310049). “Commission action is particularly critical because while policymakers in several countries are following the Commission’s lead, the upcoming 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference will also consider the 6 GHz spectrum designation,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 18-295. “In addition to the substantial spectrum harmonization benefits that a global approach to the 6 GHz band would produce, these pending international decisions offer a unique opportunity to leverage spectrum policy toward energy conservation and sustainability objectives,” the alliance said: “It is already well established that Wi-Fi technology excels in low-power, cognitive radio techniques including spectrum sensing, spectrum sharing, and adaptive transmission. These capabilities enable Wi-Fi to significantly outperform other wireless technologies in energy efficiency.”

Bluewind Medical executives answered technical questions on the company’s request for a waiver to permit its implantable medical device system operating at 6.78 MHz to exceed FCC emission limits (see 2301190018), in meetings with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Bluewind “answered the Commission’s questions regarding the operation of the device, including the process for confirming the positioning of the device on a patient, the timeframes for treatment, the power levels during each phase of operation and potential conditions associated with certification of the device,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 23-27.

AT&T has access to all the C-band spectrum it bought in a 2021 auction, it said in an emailed statement Wednesday. The company, unlike Verizon (see 2308140051), didn’t post a public news release making the announcement. “With satellite companies finished clearing the remaining C-Band spectrum months ahead of the December 2023 deadline, we got early access to our full C-Band spectrum holdings -- doubling our available C-Band spectrum for deployment,” AT&T said: “We’ve since re-tuned our previously deployed C-Band in the original 46 locations … resulting in notable capacity and speed gains, and ultimately an enhanced customer experience with fast, reliable and consistent performance.” AT&T noted it’s deploying C band in combination with 3.45 GHz. “In the coming months, markets like Denver and Atlanta will see performance improvements as we continue expanding the deployment of our entire licensed C-Band spectrum -- an average of 80 MHz or more by market,” AT&T said. “Because our deployed cell site equipment, such as radios, are capable of handling the full bandwidth spectrum load, once a software update is completed, customers will immediately experience a dramatic increase in bandwidth,” the carrier said. AT&T said it has a minimum of 100 MHz of total mid-band spectrum throughout the contiguous U.S. and an average of 120 MHz nationwide. Verizon dominated the C-band auction, bidding $45.4 billion, almost twice the $23.4 billion bid by AT&T (see 2102250046).

Sennheiser urged the FCC to adopt final rules in its wireless multichannel audio system proceeding, in a meeting with Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau staff (see 2104220056). Sennheiser “filed its original Petition for Rulemaking for WMAS technology in 2018 solely to lift the wireless microphone bandwidth limit, and the Commission’s WMAS Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been pending since April 2021,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-115: “Continuing to delay this proceeding runs the risk that the United States will have to play catch up with the rest of the world, rather than leading the charge on this revolutionary technology.”

Mitre said Tuesday it opened a test facility for small drones in Orange, Virginia. The site serves as a proving ground for Mitre's “technologists and U.S. government sponsors to develop, test, and evaluate the newest technological advances for commercial robotics, autonomous systems, drones, and counter-drone systems,” the company said.

The FCC published a small entity compliance guide Tuesday on revised rules for the 60 GHz band, approved by commissioners 4-0 in May (see 2305180036). “These rule changes establish clear technical and operational provisions for multiple band segments,” the guide says: “For example, under the adopted rules, new fixed and mobile [field disturbance sensor] devices are permitted to implement modulation techniques such as pulse or frequency-modulated continuous-wave as a means of facilitating new use cases such as installation on low-flying unmanned aircraft.”