The Enterprise Wireless Alliance filed a petition for rulemaking at the FCC Wednesday seeking to modify Part 90 rules to eliminate the assignment of frequencies within the 809-816/854-861 MHz portion of the band to specific pools of eligible entities. “Despite being subject to identical technical and operational rules, frequencies are assigned to either the Public Safety Pool, the Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) Pool, the Specialized Mobile Radio (SMR) Category, or the General Category,” the group said in a news release. EWA recommends “that the optimum policy would be to classify all frequencies as General Category and make them available to all qualified applicants.” Eliminating “the multi-decade hypersubclassification of entirely fungible frequencies will promote optimal utilization of this spectrum while also doing away with unnecessary application review responsibilities for FCC staff and the associated processing delays, as well as cost and administrative burdens on applicants,” said the undocketed filing.

Southern Co. told the FCC it agrees with AT&T arguments on the need for changes to rules for the 6 GHz band, countering arguments by NCTA and CableLabs (see 2209120027). “Southern agrees that the Commission should not provide further flexibility for unlicensed 6 GHz devices without an automated frequency coordination requirement and, despite claims by NCTA/CableLabs to the contrary, agrees that increasing the permitted power level of low power indoor devices poses a substantial harmful interference risk to primary, licensed fixed microwave incumbents,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Tuesday approved a waiver for Assa Abloy to permit the certification and marketing of a new ultra-wideband-enabled lock system. “The UWB technical and operational standards in Part 15 were adopted to ensure that UWB devices do not cause harmful interference to authorized radio services,” OET said. “We find nothing in the record to indicate that the Assa Abloy devices would differ from other UWB devices such that they would pose an increased risk of causing harmful interference to authorized radio service.” The system relies on Bluetooth technology “for an initial ‘discovery’ phase, and UWB will only be used for the ‘secure ranging and intent detection’ phase of the operation, which determines the distance between the phone and the door, tracks the movement of the user, and detects the intent of the user to go through the door,” the order said.

CTIA renominated Indra Sehdev Chalk, T-Mobile director-federal regulatory affairs, for a three-year term representing the wireless carriers on the Universal Service Administrative Co. board. “T-Mobile is a CTIA member and leading … provider with a strong commitment to universal service,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 97-21: “It is working to build a 5G network that reaches 90% of rural Americans in the next four years.” The Rural Wireless Association nominated Jana Wallace, CEO of Panhandle Telephone, to represent carriers. “Wallace would bring to the USAC board the perspective of a recipient of high-cost universal service support, and she would offer insight into the consumer benefit and social value that comes from supporting mobility in rural areas,” RWA said.

Operator‑billed 5G service revenue will reach $315 billion next year, up 60% from $195 billion in 2022, reported Juniper Research Monday. Rising revenue will be driven by the continued migration of cellular subscribers to 5G as operators minimize or remove premiums over 4G offerings, Juniper said. Despite economic challenges, Juniper forecasts more than 600 million new 5G subscriptions will be created in 2023. Growth of 5G will be “resilient against this economic downturn,” Juniper said, due to the “vital importance of mobile Internet connectivity today.” More than 80% of global operator‑billed revenue will be attributable to 5G connections by 2027, it said.

The FCC should stay its Ligado order because of the National Academies of Sciences report on interference threats to Iridum's satellite system from Ligado emitters (see 2209090032), Iridium representatives told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology acting Chief Ron Repasi, per a docket 12-340 filing last week. A stay would give the agency time to reconsider the pending petitions on Ligado "and evaluate other paths forward," Iridium said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved six more licenses Monday in the 900 MHz broadband segment awarded to PDV Spectrum. Five were in Missouri, one in Kansas. The FCC approved an order in 2020 reallocating a 6 MHz swath in the band for broadband while keeping 4 MHz for narrowband (see 2005130057).

Executives from Dish Network and RS Access told the FCC “the 12 GHz band represents 500 megahertz of spectrum that is well-suited for terrestrial, two-way 5G use cases, while still protecting satellite operations,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-443. In a meeting with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau, the “parties discussed the various engineering analyses submitted in the record that demonstrate higher-power terrestrial operations in the 12 GHz band can co-exist with non-geostationary orbit satellite systems and [direct broadcast satellite] operations, and urged the Commission to unlock the power of 5G-ready spectrum in this band.”

Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) asked the FCC to act on its 2018 proposal to use 95 GHz spectrum for enhanced flight vision systems (EFVS) on aircraft. The Haystack Observatory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology raised objections (see 2203250061). “Time is now of the essence for the FCC to act,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-140. “SNC’s customers require regulatory certainty and the reassurance that will only come when permanent rules for EFVS radar are put into place,” the company said: “The international community is waiting for FCC action. The International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Union have been engaged in efforts to provide spectrum protection for EFVS in the millimeter wave bands, including 95 GHz. … By acting now, the FCC can take the lead on these international efforts.”

Representatives of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation urged action on cellular vehicle-to-everything waiver requests, in meetings with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff and an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The group cited new estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “that 9,560 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the first quarter of 2022, which would represent a seven percent increase as compared to the same time period during 2021 and represent the highest number of first quarter traffic fatalities since 2002,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-138. Approving the waivers and resolving 5.9 GHz interference concerns would “expedite the availability of V2X to the driving public, increasing roadway safety,” the alliance said.