Choice Wireless asked the FCC for a waiver of a requirement to file data on its now closed CDMA network as part of broadband data collection submissions due March 1. Choice shuttered the network Jan. 3, but requirements extend to network information through the end of 2022, notes the filing, posted Thursday in docket 19-95. “Choice shut down the network just after the New Year holiday to minimize disruption to its customers over the holiday,” the company said: “It is in the public interest to waive Choice’s obligation to submit information about a network that no longer exists.”

Fixed-wireless provider Starry, which previously slashed staff and refocused on dense urban markets with multi-tenant buildings (see 2301190047), sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Starry announced Tuesday it filed voluntary petitions for relief in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware and entered into a restructuring support agreement with lenders holding the company’s debt. “Over the last several months, we’ve taken steps to conserve capital and reduce costs in order to put Starry in the best position to explore various financing paths for the company,” said Chet Kanojia, Starry CEO: “Our next step in this journey is to continue to strengthen our balance sheet through a Chapter 11 restructuring process.”

Total robocall attempts increased 75% from 2021 to 2022, but technology like T-Mobile's Scam Shield helped reduce the calls that connect, T-Mobile said Wednesday in its second annual "Scam and Robocall Report." T-Mobile said it blocked 40 billion scam calls throughout 2022. Scam call volume hit an all-time high in January 2022, then declined with “occasional spikes during seasonal scam surges,” T-Mobile said. Scammers followed “similar patterns from years past, targeting consumers more heavily on weekdays vs. weekends and heavily ramping up activity during the two weeks before Christmas,” T-Mobile said. Vehicle warranty scam calls dominated the first half of 2022, with T-Mobile’s technology blocking an average 4.2 billion calls/month, compared with 2.7 billion blocked calls/month in the second half. “Scammers never stay away for long, so as vehicle warranty scams went into hibernation, health and insurance-related scams quickly rose up to take their place,” T-Mobile said: “Back to school? That’s prime time for student loan fraudsters and Amazon scams. Tax season? IRS-related scams reigned supreme.”

Representatives of the Enterprise Wireless Alliance and the Utilities Technology Council said they spoke with staff from the FCC Wireless and Public Safety bureaus about the agency's process for naming members to the selection committee that will choose the nationwide band manager for the 4.9 GHz band. “They also asked about potential restrictions against being on the Selection Committee and participating in an entity seeking appointment as the Nationwide Band Manager in light of the similar qualifications for both positions,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 07-100: “The FCC staff advised that no decisions had been made regarding these issues and encouraged EWA and UTC to address them in their comments in the proceeding.”

Bluetooth Special Interest Group representatives met with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff about possible use of the 6 GHz band. Group members “outlined Bluetooth’s history of using the 2.4 GHz band, growing congestion in the band, and the potential for its members to also use the 6 GHz band,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295: “Bluetooth is currently working on a new development project to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy in higher bands.”

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council raised concerns after FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to the nation’s nine largest providers of wireless emergency alerts last week seeking information on how alerts can start to support languages beyond English and Spanish (see 2302140059). MMTC reminded the FCC it sought changes to the emergency alert system in 2005, in a petition never addressed by regulators. Reports are that the commission’s focus on the issue of multilingual emergency alerts has shifted from the emergency alert “Designated Hitter” system proposed by MMTC to a model based on WEA, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 06-119. “If true, this shift represents an unfortunate step backward from the Commission’s goal of ensuring that people from a variety of language backgrounds are armed with critical information during and in the immediate wake of a life-threatening emergency,” MMTC said: “Although wireless providers generally do a good job of relaying multilingual emergency information in advance of anticipated disasters, cell towers and other systems making up wireless infrastructure are often compromised or taken entirely offline when disaster actually strikes, leaving radio stations with back-up generators among the few sources of mass communications still operating during such events.” The group asked the FCC to focus instead on its designated hitter proposal.

Amazon Web Services announced Tuesday “the general availability” of AWS Telco Network Builder, a service that helps customers deploy, run and scale telecom networks using AWS. Providers can use “familiar telecom industry standard language to describe the details of their network (e.g., connection points, networking requirements, compute needs, and geographical distribution) in a template uploaded to the service,” said a news release. The service “translates the template into a cloud-based network architecture and provisions the necessary AWS infrastructure, shortening the deployment of an operational, cloud-configured telco network from days to hours,” AWS said. T-Mobile said it’s working with AWS. “Businesses need both massive connectivity and computing power to unlock the full business potential of digital transformation, but unlocking those capabilities can be complex and costly,” the carrier said: “Together, T-Mobile and AWS can help accelerate adoption and reduce costs.”

Representatives of the Wireless Innovation Forum warned of recent irregularities in the FCC’s universal licensing system, which they said raises concerns for automated frequency coordination in the 6 GHz band, in a meeting with FCC staff. The FCC requires the AFC system to rely on the ULS for fixed microwave link data “when calculating and establishing the exclusion zones to protect those microwave links from harmful interference,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. The ULS must be available for AFC operations and “when availability issues arise … AFC system operators must be immediately informed by the FCC that there is an issue and provided complete information on the nature of the issue,” the WInnForum said. During the Aug. 1-Oct. 22 period, daily license files weren’t posted in ULS on Aug. 1-4, Sept. 10 and 22, and Oct. 6-10, the group said. Weekly license files were delayed the week of Oct. 9 and daily application files were never posted Sept. 10, 22 and 23 and Oct. 6-10, the group said. The FCC didn't comment.

Dell’Oro Group reported a general slowing in momentum in the radio access network market in Q4. The report downgraded its short-term revenue outlook, now expected to be flat in 2023, “as surging investments in India” are offset by a slowdown in North America and China. “The results in the quarter further validate the reduced growth scenario we have discussed now for some time,” said Stefan Pongratz, Dell’Oro vice president. “At the same time, even if the gap between the early adopters and the laggards is generally smaller with 5G than it was with LTE, the state of 5G still varies significantly across the globe.” The firm said Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia, ZTE and Samsung were the top RAN suppliers in 2022, with Nokia and Samsung showing the most growth.

More than 60 countries have moved to open the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, and allowing standard-powered devices controlled by automated frequency coordination is an “integral part” of the FCC’s 2020 6 GHz order, Alex Roytblat, Wi-Fi Alliance vice president-worldwide regulatory affairs, said during a webinar Thursday. In November, the FCC conditionally authorized 13 AFC providers to operate in the band (see 2211030066). The webinar, by the alliance, the Wireless Innovation Forum and the 6 GHz Multi-Stakeholder Group, examined technical details of AFC system lab testing. Use of AFC offers “enhanced performance, which is achievable with increased power limits,” Roytblat said. “That is why our industry, collectively, stepped up to facilitate enablement of the 6 GHz standard-power operation.” The Wi-Fi Alliance and WInnForum “invested significant resources, thousands of man-hours, to develop a suite of specifications” for AFC, he said: “These specifications are already enabling development of a vibrant 6 GHz AFC ecosystem and I’m confident that the information that we share will assist regulators and other interested parties in validating AFC capabilities and functionalities.” Industry has spent “a good two years of work on just the testing alone,” said Mark Gibson, CommScope senior director-business development and spectrum policy. Wi-Fi in 6 GHz is “transformative,” with billions of devices likely to be deployed in the next few years, “many of which will be under control of the AFC,” he said: “We’re really working hard to get this right out of the box.”