Reliance on a content delivery network for weather and earth science data if the 1675-1680 MHz band gets shared raises concerns because a CDN won't provide the latency and availability that users of the geostationary operational environmental satellite data collection system and rebroadcast system require, weather and earth science interests and allies told an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, per a docket 21-186 filing Friday. They said the level of availability needed for GOES rebroadcast service isn't commercially available from cloud and internet providers. Among those meeting with the FCC were National Weather Association CEO Janice Bunting and American Meteorological Society President Richard Clark. Ligado proposed an internet-based CDN as a route to freeing up the 1675-1680 MHz band for flexible use (see 1607280022).

Charter Communications voluntarily dropped some speed and reliability claims for its Spectrum Mobile service after challenges by AT&T, the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division said Thursday. NAD said AT&T challenged TV commercial claims that Spectrum Mobile is the "most reliable" mobile service, more reliable than AT&T Wireless and has faster mobile speeds than AT&T Wireless, and that ATT&T Wireless lacks "speed you need."

Federated Wireless defended advanced sharing technologies in a meeting with FCC International Bureau staff. Federated offered “an overview of the successes of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum sharing model, including its effective protection of different types of incumbent systems as well as the innovation and competition it has stimulated and the new entrants it has brought to the market,” said a filing Thursday in docket 19-348. New entrants “are using the band to develop their own private networks for uses such as industrial automation, smart inventory management, and predictive maintenance, in environments ranging from warehouses, factories, farms, school campuses, and office buildings, in rural as well as densely populated areas,” Federated said. CTIA raised questions about CBRS as the optimal model for spectrum allocation, saying it’s inferior to exclusive use licensing and questioning how successful the CBRS experiment has been (see 2212120050). In less than three years, “nearly 300,000 CBRS devices have been deployed nationwide, a record number of users have adopted CBRS spectrum (228 Priority Access Licensees and 900 General Authorized Access users), and a large ecosystem of U.S. equipment suppliers and vendors has emerged,” Federated said.

The Wireless ISP Association raised a red flag Thursday on the response by NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson to a letter led by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., urging NTIA to allow states to use their broadband, equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program grants to pay for unlicensed wireless service, which the agency’s notice of funding opportunity guidance doesn’t allow (see 2211220076). Davidson responded this week, saying the BEAD notice of funding opportunity “contains provisions specifically designed to address the concerns about overbuilding you raised in your letter.” The program also includes “a specific provision to prevent overbuilding due to potentially duplicative federal funding commitment,” Davidson said. “Discouraged @NTIAgov head Davidson misses fundamental issue -- BEAD NOFO’s lack of tech-neutrality -- in response to Senator Daines’ concerns over harmful overbuilding,” WISPA tweeted Thursday. NTIA didn't comment.

The FCC’s NPRM on more precisely routing wireless 911 calls and texts to public safety answering points through location-based routing (LBR), approved 4-0 Wednesday (see 2212210047), was largely the same as the draft. The NPRM was posted Thursday. One change of note is that several questions were tweaked to seek information on covered text providers, in addition to commercial mobile radio service (CMRS) providers. “Should we require CMRS and covered text providers to report information on misrouted 911 calls and texts?” the NPRM asks: “We also seek information on planned or expended costs by CMRS providers and covered text providers that have voluntarily implemented or plan to implement location-based routing to any extent on their networks.” Among other tweaks, the NPRM now notes that conclusions on cost estimates, based on data from T-Mobile, are only tentative. “T-Mobile states that it deployed location-based routing to some PSAPs and not others, so we rely on this statement in tentatively concluding that CMRS providers implement location-based routing at the PSAP level and CMRS providers incur material costs on a per-PSAP basis,” the NPRM says. “We seek comment on this tentative conclusion.” Only Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks had written statements. Comments are due 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 30 days after that.

Executives with Encina Communications supported the company’s proposal to use Part 101 frequency coordination procedures as an alternative to automated frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band (see 2208150040), in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “In contrast to the lack of consensus and the timing uncertainty surrounding the development of an AFC system, there is unanimous agreement by fixed services operators that Rule 101.103(d) can successfully frequency coordinate outdoor standard power … networks, as the interference level requirement is the same as Rule 15.407(L)(2)(i). Rule 101.103(d), which was first adopted by the FCC in 1971, is generally viewed as the gold standard for coordination and is grounded in decades of practical experience,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 10-153.

The FCC Wireless Bureau reminded part 90, subpart Z wireless broadband licensees in the 3650-3700 MHz band they must leave the band by Jan. 8. In a 2015 order, “the Commission included the 3650-3700 MHz band in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service,” the bureau said Wednesday: “The Commission recognized the investment of the over 2,000 part 90 incumbent licensees using the band on a non-exclusive basis and thus also provided for a transition period for these licensees.” Grandfathered wireless broadband licensees had at least five years to “transition operations from part 90 to part 96, or to discontinue operations,” the notice said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment Wednesday on a waiver request by Geophysical Survey Systems of FCC rules for ultrawide-band ground penetrating radar (GPR) devices to allow the certification and marketing of a new device it's developing. The company says "its new device is a stepped-frequency, continuous-wave-modulated GPR transmitter that closely resembles its previously approved GPR handheld analyzer device,” OET said: The company also claims the “technical characteristics are identical” to a Proceq device that received a similar waiver (see 2211040068). Comments are due Jan. 20, replies Feb. 6, in docket 22-458.

The FCC approved a waiver Verizon sought asking to be exempted from filing data on its 3G network through Dec. 31 (see 2211220071), as part of a broadband data collection information filing due at the FCC in March. Verizon noted it plans to shutter the 3G network just three days later, on Jan. 3. “We find that special circumstances warrant deviation from the Commission’s rule requiring Verizon to submit broadband availability and quality of service data for its 3G network and that granting the waiver is in the public interest,” said an order by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics in docket 19-195.

An FCC Wireless Bureau order establishing a search committee to oversee a clearinghouse handling the reimbursement of relocation expenses for secondary, nonfederal licensees in the 3.45 GHz band takes effect Jan. 23, said a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. The four are NBCUniversal, Nexstar Broadcasting, CTIA and the Competitive Carriers Association.