Amazon is talking to Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish Wireless about a deal to offer free or low-cost wireless service to Prime members, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. “We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time," an Amazon spokesperson emailed. “Don’t bet on it,” said MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett. “Telecom isn’t the first industry to have been turned upside down by the very notion that Amazon might enter their business, and it surely won’t be the last,” Moffett told investors: “Amazon quite obviously could do this if they wanted to” and could do it for free “even though the annual wholesale cost of providing wireless service for even a single line would likely be higher than the annual price of a Prime subscription.” Moffett noted regulatory issues could give the company pause. Rules for customer information in telecom “are MUCH stricter than what Amazon faces today” and “introducing that regulatory risk would be unwise, in our view,” he said. Industry analyst Jeff Kagan said on the TD Ameritrade Network Friday that Amazon is now a much bigger company than 10 years ago and is “into everything.” Amazon “tried once before, so did Facebook … but they all flopped,” he said. Ten years later, Comcast and Charter have had success with wireless offerings and “the entire wireless marketplace is full of resellers,” Kagan said. “If Amazon wants to get in, I think they could be successful this time,” he said. Kagan noted a $10/month offering would be low, but most people can already get $15/month service from other providers.

T-Mobile urged the FCC to make Wi-Fi on school buses eligible for E-rate funding, as proposed by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel a year ago (see 2205110059), in a call with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington. “WiFi on school buses makes particular sense in a 5G world in which wireless is a complete connectivity option, not just a supplement to wireline coverage,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-194. “WiFi on school buses enables students to do their homework using filtered Wi-Fi during their daily commute to and from school and when traveling to after-school events,” the carrier said.

The NFL asked the FCC for a two-year waiver extension of rules for the citizens broadband radio service allowing the league to continue operating a coach-to-coach communications system in the event of a localized internet outage in stadiums during games (see 2207120055). The NFL sought a three-year extension in 2022 and got one year (see 2209070040). “The NFL submits this limited waiver request because the previous reasons underlying the need for a waiver still apply; the narrowness of the waiver request remains; despite diligent efforts by the NFL, reliable marketplace solutions are not available; and the request meets the Commission’s waiver standard,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-111.

Representatives of the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force sought action this summer on an FCC waiver sought by the group (see 2304060053) and an NPRM proposing rules “consistent with the path to 100% HAC” proposed in a task force report last year (see 2212160063), in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Specifically, the HAC Task Force recommended that the Commission maintain the current deployment benchmark of 85% telecoil coupling, and incorporate a benchmark of 15% Bluetooth coupling to achieve 100% HAC,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 15-285: The recommendations reflect the results of a nationwide consumer survey, which showed a majority of consumers with hearing loss reported using Bluetooth as their most-used coupling method. Nonproprietary, interoperable wireless Bluetooth specifications for hearing/listening were finalized in June 2022 and are being widely implemented in both hearing devices and wireless handsets.

The Wireless ISP Association said Wednesday the FCC’s latest broadband maps (see 2305300050) show “the success story of the vibrant and growing ISP broadband industry.” WISPA noted the number of unserved locations is down from nearly 14 million to 8 million today. “WISPs have played an important and essential role in narrowing the gap, especially in rural, under-resourced and Tribal parts of America,” the group said.

The Wireless ISP Association told the NTIA its conclusions were on target in a May report that said dynamic sharing and the citizens broadband radio service are a model for the future of spectrum use (see 2305010063). Comments on the report were due Wednesday. WISPA’s members “have been at the forefront” of deployments and “are using CBRS to create and expand networks into rural areas and increase throughput as well as offering competition in the fixed broadband marketplace,” WISPA said. “The vast majority” of registered CBRS devices “are being used for fixed wireless access in rural areas,” the group said. WISPA members also said the CBRS equipment they use enabled fixed broadband speeds of 400/100 Mbps. WISPA fired back at CTIA and major wireless carriers, who have criticized CBRS as not living up to the hype (see 2211140062). Carriers allege “real-world studies show low utilization, low market demand, and a dearth of innovative use cases,” WISPA said: “Decoded, such criticisms really mean that the CBRS band was not handed over to the mobile wireless industry, and instead has been useful for a wide-variety of other use cases, including extensive fixed wireless broadband access in rural areas.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted four more licenses Wednesday in the 900 MHz broadband segment to PDV Spectrum. The licenses are all in Colorado. The FCC approved an order in 2020 reallocating a 6 MHz swath in the band for broadband, while maintaining 4 MHz for narrowband operations (see 2005130057).

Connex2X, a connected-vehicle startup, told the FCC it would accept the same conditions specified in a recent order approving waivers for a group of applicants if the FCC grants its cellular-vehicle-to-everything waiver request (see 2304240066). The company sought a waiver in April. Its latest filing was posted Wednesday in docket 19-138.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Wednesday on a request by TerreStar to use its 1.4 GHz licenses beyond the wireless medical telemetry services (WMTS). In 2020, in an order approving the WMTS deployments, the bureau said other use was possible if TerreStar can demonstrate it had “timely met its Final Deployment Obligation” for WMTS and could demonstrate that “additional use of the spectrum will not cause harmful interference to inband or adjacent-band” WMTS deployments (see 2004300055). Comments are due June 30, replies July 17, in docket 16-290.

Apple, Google and Meta told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff the results of recent field tests of the potential interference from 6 GHz very-low-power (VLP) transmitters on a fixed-service receiver. The companies are among those that want the FCC to authorize additional VLP operations in the band, as proposed in a 2020 Further NPRM (see 2211230034). “Using a drone to create an impracticable scenario, the FS receiver was only affected when the VLP device was very close to the FS beam centerline,” the companies said, posted Wednesday in docket 19-295. Tests were performed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego.