NTIA is suggesting operational limits that would protect federal incumbent operations in the 5.9 GHz band if the agency allows deployment of cellular vehicle-to-everything technology in the band. In docket 19-138 Friday, it proposed limiting the spectrum usage to 5905-5925 MHz and an effective isotropic radiated power limit.

The FCC Wireless Bureau extended until Dec. 5 the hearing aid compatibility technical standard transition period. Until then, handset manufacturers can use either the 2011 or 2019 American National Standards Institute standard for certifying handset models as hearing-aid compatible, rather than going exclusively to the 2019 standard on June 5, said an order in docket 20-3 Friday. It said the six-month extension helps ensure handset makers can continue to certify new handset models with improved hearing aid compatibility features under the 2011 standard while it considers an ATIS petition to modify the 2019 standard (see 2303230046).

The FCC adopted rules specifying the database recheck intervals for the new categories of mobile and narrowband white space devices established in 2020, dismissed in part and denied a petition for reconsideration of two rule changes for white space devices operating in the broadcast TV bands, and declined to modify the rules to permit white space databases to use terrain-based models to determine the available frequencies for white space devices, the Office of Engineering and Technology ordered last week. The three orders address pending issues associated with white space devices, it said. The items were removed from circulation Friday.

As the FCC looks at a nationwide approach to managing the 4.9 GHz band, it should maintain the overarching goal of protecting and preserving the spectrum for public safety use, the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance said Thursday in docket 07-100. It said the commission, rather than sticking with local licensing, should issue a single nationwide overlay license to an entity with the expertise to deliver services to first responders. That licensee would establish an operational framework that enables full use of all 50 MHz of spectrum in the 4.9 GHz band by first responders while overseeing and doing dispute resolution regarding secondary usage and band operations, it said. The band must be operable with the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network, and existing point-to-point and geographic licenses should be converted to site-specific authorizations to operate for incumbents and limited to services in use by incumbents today. If the FCC allows aeronautical mobile use in the band, it should set parameters for a future band manager that would protect radio astronomy and it should restrict unmanned operations to public safety and critical infrastructure use, NTIA said. The 4.9 GHz band is a potential avenue to provide enhanced broadband communications services, features, and capabilities, plus 5G for public safety, FirstNet said. Any use of the spectrum for the National Public Safety Broadband Network would be for public safety on a primary basis, it said. The International Association of Fire Chiefs backed a single national band manager, with the selection committee including representation from fire and emergency medical services, law enforcement, 911 dispatch centers and other public safety answering points, public safety technology development, spectrum management professionals and communications industry and other broadband stakeholders.

Inmarsat and MediaTek signed a memorandum of understanding expanding their collaboration on supplemental mobile coverage from space, Inmarsat said Wednesday. It said its L-band network and MediaTek chipsets are being trialed by mobile network operators and device manufacturers now for direct-to-device connectivity, and the MOU covers joint technology innovation and commercial deployment of satellite-enabled devices.

WifiForward led a letter with Comcast and others urging NTIA to “take a balanced approach to the spectrum pipeline” and promote “unlicensed and shared-licensed use” of frequencies as part of its work on the upcoming national spectrum strategy. NTIA seeks comments through Monday on how it should proceed on the strategy. Austin Bonner, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy assistant director-spectrum and telecom policy, noted optimism about the trajectory of work on the strategy following recent NTIA listening sessions (see 2304120070). “We all recognize the value of models supporting shared use, either through unlicensed use or licensed use that is dynamically shared on a priority basis,” WifiForward and other groups told NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson in a letter we obtained ahead of its planned Friday release. “While exclusive-licensing plays a role in a balanced spectrum policy, an over-reliance on it serves the deployment decisions and business models of a small group of large, nationwide carriers.” The “innovation our country needs to make the most of spectrum moving forward will also require shared licensing and unlicensed spectrum,” the groups said: “Unlicensed spectrum offers low barriers to entry for innovators, enables easy access for consumers and supports the Wi-Fi connections over which most internet data travels. Shared-licensed spectrum supports competitive wireless networks and other innovative and diverse uses, while also allowing multiple types of users to coexist.” WifiForward and others said the strategy should “foster” Wi-Fi because it’s an area in which “the U.S. has a competitive and economic edge.” They want “technical rules that create guardrails enabling unlike technologies to operate in the same band, such as indoor-use restrictions.” The entities also seek smaller licenses that “are more accessible for companies outside the large cellular carriers.”

NTIA released its first notice of funding opportunity for its $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund Wednesday (see 2303240054). The notice, funded by the Chips and Science Act, "aims to expand and improve testing to demonstrate the viability" of open radio access networks, said a news release. The agency anticipates awarding up to $140.5 million in its initial round of grants. Applications are due by June 2. "We look forward to bringing the best of industry, academia, and the public together to deliver on this initiative," said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

The U.S.’ citizens broadband radio service approach has been at forefront of a global movement for private 5G, said Dave Wright, Hewlett-Packard head of global wireless policy, said at an FCBA spectrum CLE seminar Wednesday. CBRS commercial service has been available since 2020 in the U.S., and the FCC has authorized more than 500 devices in CBRS, and more than 4,300 professional installers are CBRS certified, he said. Beyond traditional spectrum access via licensing or unlicensed use, CBRS in the 3.5 GHz frequency range is a new approach in spectrum management by introducing a three-tiered sharing model, he said. Incumbents get protection from interference from priority access licenses and general authorized access, and PAL has priority over GAA, he said. One key difference in the U.S. approach is that no other country has used a dynamic framework like the U.S., and in most cases they're using local licenses instead, he said. Unlicensed spectrum is increasingly a linchpin for communications networks, with more devices using more data, said Alex Roytblat, Wi-Fi Alliance vice president-worldwide regulatory affairs. Telehealth, virtual reality and industrial IoT will require connectivity magnitudes faster than what's provided today by 5G, and opening up the 6 GHz band will help enable them, he said. That will require more use of local-area short-range communications and spectral reuse, he said. “The wide area network model is not going to be there to support our connectivity,” he said. The U.S. is unique in spectrum management with two agencies having authority -- the FCC regulating non-federal commercial use and NTIA regulating federal use such as by DOD, said Becky Tangren, NCTA associate general counsel. With spectrum increasingly crowded, the FCC is no longer as focused on exclusive access and is getting more creative in allowing access, such as via unlicensed bands, or shared use, she said. Some 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference agenda items will look at harmonizing frequencies for 5G, and WRC-2027 will likely look at what bands are to be used for 6G, she said.

An FCC order requiring mobile providers to block texts on the do not originate list and maintain a point of contact for texters to report erroneously blocked texts is effective May 11, said a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register (see 2303170056). Commissioners adopted the order in March.

The FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics want comments by April 26, replies May 8, in docket 16-271 on a proposal to continue collecting mobile participants of the Alaska Plan's deployment data through Form 477 filings until March 1, 2028, said a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register. The Wireline Bureau also waived its requirement that Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund Stage 2 mobile providers resubmit interim milestone reports demonstrating 66% mobile network coverage area.