The Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association (GWTCA) urged the FCC to wrap up its proceeding on revised rules for the 4.9 GHz band, which commissioners approved 4-0 in January (see 2301180062). The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials asked the FCC to rethink parts of the rules (see 2303300060). “Further delays in the implementation of the new licensing regime (whatever it might be) by the Commission will cause additional harm to the ability of public safety agencies to build communications systems to address their needs,” GWTCA said, posted Tuesday in docket 07-100. “Act with urgency to complete this proceeding,” the group said: Adopt rules “immediately which are necessary to advance this proceeding toward the appointment of a selection committee and the ability of the Section Committee to proceed with the selection of a band manager, with technical rules that impact system design considered in a parallel FCC proceeding.” Monday was the initial deadline for replies, since revised to May 15.

Recon Analytics’ Roger Entner, the author of an industry report last year questioning the citizens broadband radio services model for sharing (see 2211140062), said Tuesday the numbers in a new NTIA report (see 2305010063) don’t impress him. “The absolute numbers of devices are still small,” Entner emailed: “In 21 months they have added 150,000 devices. [Wireless carriers] added in just a quarter more than 10 times that.” The 121% increase in CBRS devices during that period reflects the overall small numbers involved, he said.

Public safety, critical infrastructure and other 6 GHz incumbents said they met with staff for all four FCC commissioners to seek action on a March 31 letter asking for protection from unlicensed use of the band. The incumbents asked for “action” on a “longstanding petition for rulemaking, including cost recovery for incumbent licensees” in the band, “improvements in interference detection, identification, reporting, tracking, and elimination … including the creation of a centralized interference reporting point that is publicly available,” an opportunity to comment on a proposal to extend automated frequency coordination requirements to all uses of the band and “sufficient time provided for review and completion of real-world testing of AFC systems before implementation,” and other protections. Representatives of APCO, the Edison Electric Institute, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Southern Company Services and the Utilities Technology Council were at the meetings, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295.

Oppositions are due May 16 to a March petition (see 2303300060) asking for changes to the FCC’s January 4.9 GHz order (see 2301180062), said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register. Replies are due May 26, in docket 07-100. The group said the band should be “preserved for use by state and local agencies to enhance public safety.”

The Shortwave Modernization Coalition (SMC) asked the FCC to launch a rulemaking to amend its eligibility and technical rules for industrial/business pool licensees to authorize licensed use of frequencies above 2 MHz and below 25 MHz for fixed, long-distance, non-voice communications. “Through extensive independent research and technological experimentation” SMC members “have confirmed that frequencies in the under-licensed 2-25 MHz Band are the optimal medium for fixed, long-distance transmission of time-sensitive data,” said the petition, posted Monday. Members “have concluded … that it is technologically feasible for their proposed Part 90 2-25 MHz Band operations to coexist with other 2-25 MHz Band licensees and with each other,” they said. Through experimental use of 2-25 MHz band frequencies “SMC members have developed and refined technologies to, among other things, enhance spectrum sharing in the band without materially increasing the risk of harmful interference to other authorized … users,” SMC said.

Combining satellite and terrestrial networks is critical to the next stage of broadband deployment, providing broadband to many people at an affordable cost, said John Baras, systems engineering professor at the University of Maryland, Thursday at a meeting of the Baltimore Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery. “You cannot put fiber everywhere,” he said. Most agree 5G “has not fulfilled the promise from several years ago” and “there are several reasons for that,” Baras said. If you combine broadband satellite, both geostationary orbit and low-earth orbit, with terrestrial wireless, you can offer broadband “to many more people at much lower prices,” he said. We need to find a way for at least 80% of the world’s population to have access to broadband, he said. “If we learned anything from the pandemic it’s that if you don’t have broadband you cannot do education, you cannot do healthcare, you cannot do manufacturing,” he said. Baras said AI and machine learning are critical to the future networks, but warned it must be scalable.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo appointed Richard Carrizzo Thursday the new chair of the FirstNet Authority. Carrizzo is fire chief for the Southern Platte Fire Protection District in Missouri and joined the FirstNet board in 2018. He had been vice chair. Carrizzo replaces Stephen Benjamin who left at the end of March for a White House job (see 2303010031).

T-Mobile added 538,000 postpaid phone customers in Q1, with 523,000 added to its home internet service. Home internet now has 3.2 million subscribers, the carrier said. T-Mobile reported after the close of the markets Thursday. Postpaid phone churn was 0.89%. Net income was $1.9 billion, up 172% year over year, while service revenue of $15.5 billion grew 3% over last year. CEO Mike Sievert said on a call with analysts T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint three years ago is now being seen as “the most successful merger in telecom history.” T-Mobile raised its annual guidance to net customers adds for the year to 5.3 million-5.7 million, up from 5-5.5 million. The carrier also increased its guidance on most financial metrics.

Citing Dish Network business challenges including its spending on its retail wireless business and the slow enterprise adoption of private 5G networks, S&P Global said Thursday it's lowering the company's credit rating. It said Dish needs substantial access to capital while the credit environment tightens and its capital structure "may be unsustainable long term" due to higher interest rates and big refinancing requirements starting next year. It said Dish will likely need to raise $4 billion to $5 billion next year, another $2 billion to $3 billion in 2025 and $7 billion to $8 billion in 2026. Dish has $15 billion of unencumbered spectrum assets, but its ability "to successfully refinance its maturity wall in 2026 will depend on its ability to demonstrate that its wireless business can be profitable at scale, which remains highly uncertain," S&P said. Dish didn't comment.

Pacific Gas & Electric filed at the FCC a new study, which it said raises additional concerns on the interference threat from unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band. PG&E “has repeatedly expressed concern about the impact of unlicensed use of the 6 GHz licensed band, and over the past two years, real-world testing and filings by a variety of utility companies, research institutions, and trade associations have validated that concern,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. The study's key finding is that “over 50 links were found to have impact concerns over the next 5 years due to the projected growth of unlicensed Wi-Fi 6E in its territory,” PG&E said: “Additionally, four links showed such severe risk for interference that they are already being moved to 11 GHz channels at significant cost to PG&E.”