T-Mobile expanded its participation in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program to seven more states, bringing the total number covered to 48, T-Mobile said Wednesday. T-Mobile expanded the program to Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Participants get “data, texting, calling and mobile hotspot data on Assurance Wireless’ plans" via T-Mobile's network and a free Android smartphone for new customers, the carrier said.

Comments are due March 9, replies April 10, on an FCC NPRM on the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band by drones, said a Tuesday Federal Register notice. The NPRM, released in January, also asks about other spectrum use by drones (see 2301040046).

Apple representatives urged the FCC to act on rules allowing very-low power (VLP) mobile applications in the 6 GHz band, in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Apple said it recently did a Monte Carlo analysis of interference risks to incumbent links in the band in Houston. “The clear conclusion” was “VLP worst-case scenarios are extremely rare and do not pose a significant risk to microwave links.” While the FCC’s 2020 6 GHz order “opened the band for fixed service, Apple views the highly-sought mobility of VLP as essential to meeting consumer demand,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. Apple noted other nations already permit VLP use “because of the recognition that there is no real-world risk to incumbent microwave links.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a stay Monday on a League of California Cities challenge of the FCC’s June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling. The court granted parties’ joint motion (see 2301300035). The court schedule says the FCC’s brief will be due March 1. Intervenors supporting the agency must file by March 8, cities’ reply briefs are due March 31 and petitioner-side intervenors April 7 (case 20-71765).

Improving receiver performance is critical to more efficient use of spectrum, 5G Americas said in a paper released Tuesday. The group said it opposes “heavy-handed” regulation. “Efficient use of spectrum requires radio transmitters and receivers that function properly to cater to ever-growing demand for network capacity,” the group said. The paper responds to an FCC notice of inquiry, approved 4-0 by commissioners last year (see 2204210049). “Regulators should rely upon established industry voluntary standards, particularly where market forces already incentivize the efficient use of spectrum, as in the commercial wireless market,” the paper advises: “Different approaches to improving receiver performance will be based on the particular circumstance of a given band or service. No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is possible.” The FCC should consider receiver performance in a band and adjacent bands before allocating spectrum, 5G Americas said.

An FCC order approved in November clamping down on the sale of gear from companies on the agency's "Covered List" in the U.S. (see 2211230065) takes effect immediately, said a Monday notice in the Federal Register. The order is intended to “further secure our communications networks and supply chain from equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons,” the notice said.

A lawyer for Enterprise Wireless Alliance discussed the FCC’s Further NPRM on the 4.9 GHz band in a call with a Public Safety Bureau staffer, said a filing posted Monday in docket 07-100. The two discussed that “the FNPRM raises a significant number of complex issues including resolution of the interference standards appropriate for the 4.9 GHz band, and the potential need for an extension of the Comment period to provide the FCC with substantive comments on those issues,” EWA said.

University of Sheffield researchers in England are using 3D-printing to cheaply produce millimeter wave antennas, the Wireless Communications Alliance said Friday. “The 3D-printed antennas could expedite the building of new 5G and 6G infrastructure and aid in expanding access to these technologies for distant communities in the United Kingdom and around the world,” WCA said. The university's Electronic and Electrical Engineering Department researchers are using the technology to produce “antennas more cheaply and rapidly without sacrificing performance,” the group said: Antennas can be created “in as little as a few hours” for a few dollars each “yet with the same performance capabilities as conventionally produced antennas.”

New Competitive Carriers Association President Tim Donovan met with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to discuss the group’s advocacy goals, including fully funding a program to replace unsecure Chinese gear in U.S. networks. CCA discussed “the challenges faced due to lack of full funding for” and congressional “activity and timing for a potential solution to the funding issue, and emphasized the need for full funding as soon as possible,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. CCA also stressed the importance of federal broadband infrastructure programs to members and “the dual benefits of Fixed Wireless Access and mobile services,” the filing said: “Participants discussed the need to update the 5G Fund to ensure sufficient funding and to modernize the program rules to better promote competition.” CCA emphasized “the cumulative burden on smaller and rural carriers related to recently adopted and proposed wireless carrier regulations and reporting requirements” and urged the agency “to be mindful” of the challenges smaller carriers face, the filing said

Summit Ridge Group urged the FCC to act on reviewing applications for the rip-and-replace program to remove unsecure Chinese gear from U.S. networks. “Continue reviewing and approving cost estimate line items that are not subject to amendment,” the firm said in a filing Friday in docket 18-89: “The FCC’s current policy is to freeze the entire reimbursement application while an amendment is under review. This unnecessarily delays the reimbursement of non-amended line items.” The FCC should also fully staff the program. “We notice significant delays even though invoice submission is still at low levels industry-wide,” Summit Ridge said. It warned that at the current pace “it could take decades to process the expected invoices.” The firm also wants streamlining of the program and the elimination of some documentation requirements. “The Fund Administrator’s exacting standards for invoice detail is costing operators tens of thousands of dollars in administrative costs, without any corresponding contribution to the public interest.” The FCC should also push Congress to fully fund the costs of the program, the filing said. Congress would need to approve another $3.08 billion to pay the costs of replacing all unsecure equipment (see 2207150067). “Networks typically use proprietary technology and cannot be replaced piecemeal and continue to operate,” Summit Ridge said: “Without assurances that the program will be funded beyond its current 40% … participants, both large and small, have not been able to fund their replacement operations, including placing orders for equipment.”