Rather than approximating real-world conditions, OneWeb and DirecTV in their 12 GHz technical reports (see 2207120058 and 2207180026) use "extreme hypotheticals [that] obviously bear no resemblance to reality and ... are both trivial and useless for predicting nationwide outcomes or setting national policy," RS Access said Tuesday in docket 20-443. In both cases, the satellite operators' modeling "merely tightly surrounded a 5G cell tower with a dense, evenly spaced grid of satellite receivers," it said. Neither study modeled realistic deployment or accounted for OneWeb's startup service and DirecTV's direct broadcast satellite customer base disbursement creating a natural geographic separation between where a 5G base station would be and DBS or non-geostationary orbit users. OneWeb and DirecTV didn't comment.

Gogo Business Aviation asked the FCC to reject a petition for reconsideration sought by APCO of a waiver of effective radiated power limits for air-to-ground operations in the 849-851 MHz and 894-896 MHz bands (see 2206210068). APCO said it had been working with FCC staff on seeking recon, but not all its concerns had been addressed (see 2207220039). APCO wants the Wireless Bureau to “revisit arguments that both Gogo BA and the Bureau already addressed,” Gogo said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-282. “While Gogo BA opposes this petition, it also reiterates that it will continue to engage with all stakeholders in this proceeding, particularly public safety, to address and allay any concerns over the deployment of Gogo BA’s next-generation air-to-ground system,” the company said.

The FCC’s 2.5 GHz auction hit $128.9 million after two more bidding rounds Tuesday. That’s up from $115.3 million Monday (see 2208010058).

The FCC handed down a $685,338 fine against Sound Around for allegedly marketing 32 models of wireless mics that failed to comply with the agency’s equipment marketing rules. “That the company marketed noncompliant wireless devices -- in some cases the same exact models -- for more than a decade and repeatedly ignored warnings and failed to respond or fully respond to investigative inquiries led to a significantly higher fine,” the agency said Monday. The FCC imposed a base fine of $7,000 per model, said the forfeiture order. “The Commission upwardly adjusted the base forfeiture for the marketing violations because Sound Around apparently had marketed noncompliant devices since at least 2009,” the commission said: “This long history of repeated and continuous marketing of non-compliant wireless microphones warranted a significant upward adjustment.” Two models were “an egregious threat to public safety," the agency said. The New York City-based company didn’t comment.

Components manufacturer Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, and Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology, New Taipei City, Taiwan, joined the Open RF Association, the consortium told DOJ and the FTC in simultaneous “written notifications” June 10, said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register. Membership in the association, which promotes open interoperability between chipsets and front-end modules to expand 5G adoption and whose members include Broadcom, Intel, MediaTek, Qorvo and Samsung Electronics, "remains open," said Suzanne Morris, chief-premerger and division statistics in DOJ’s Antitrust Division. The notifications are required to extend association members antitrust protections under the 1993 National Cooperative Research and Production Act, said Morris.

Dish Network meetings at the FCC to advocate for 5G in 12 GHz, and Starlink’s push against it (see 2207260050), will likely have little material impact on the agency’s final decision, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors in a weekend update. “We continue to believe the decision will likely be a direct function of the report of the Office of Engineering and Technology on whether there would be harmful interference if the band were used for both satellite and terrestrial services,” he said. Levin said it's unclear whether Congress will approve another $3.08 billion to pay the costs of replacing the unsecured Chinese equipment in telecom networks (see 2207220052). “If Congress doesn’t act, it could cause some of the affected carriers to exit, though it could also lead to an accelerated consolidation in the space, which also is facing changing dynamics as other federal funds are flowing in to upgrade rural networks and fixed 5G is starting to take market share,” he said.

NTIA, weighing in on behalf of the administration, supported the FCC’s decision to look more closely at spectrum offshore, in comments posted Monday in docket 22-204. The early consensus on an FCC notice of inquiry, based on initial comments, appeared to be that the FCC should move forward on wind farms, but providers urged the agency to do so with caution (see 2207280032). “The FCC should support the Administration’s goals of increased offshore renewable energy production and related scientific research and economic growth by ensuring offshore operations are not unduly limited by a lack of spectrum access,” NTIA said: “As the Commission recognizes, there are already several options for providing connectivity offshore. But as data volume and the sophistication of monitoring and analytics grows, offshore operations will likely seek higher bandwidth options, justifying an inquiry into offshore spectrum demand.” The FCC must protect maritime and aviation safety, radioastronomy, and research and coastal operations “such as space launch sites, test and training ranges, telemetry stations, and radar facilities,” the filing said. Offshore operations also present unique concerns, the agency said. “On the open ocean, without the clutter and terrain of land, radio waves will generally tend to propagate farther,” it said: “Ducting presents another important concern with offshore operations. If the atmospheric conditions are right, stable layers of water vapor can develop, leading to the wave-guiding effect known as ducting.” NTIA said existing commercial, private and unlicensed bands, if modified for offshore operations, now “are likely adequate to meet offshore demand.”

CTIA reported to the FCC that the number of handsets in use in the U.S. that can use the latest generation of wireless emergency alert technology (WEA 3.0) continues to grow. CTIA, citing IDC data, now estimates the WEA 3.0 penetration rate is about 60% of active smartphones, an increase from 34% last year, said a filing posted Friday in docket 15-91. “Given the reported handset lifetime of 35 months … we conclude that such handsets amount to a majority of active smartphones in use in 2022,” CTIA said: “CTIA and its member companies appreciate the Commission’s dedication to enhancing the WEA system and are very pleased with the progress that the wireless industry and FEMA have made on delivering new WEA features to consumers.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted an FCC motion to extend abeyance on a lawsuit by the League of California Cities challenging the FCC’s June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling. Proceedings are stayed until Nov. 14, the court said Thursday. The FCC sought more time to get to five commissioners (see 2207130052).

NAB raised concerns about a proposal in a 2020 Further NPRM to allow very lower power (VLP) operations throughout the 6 GHz band (see 2207260052), in calls with aides to Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington. The change would mean “harmful interference to licensed operations in the band, including particularly broadcasters’ electronic newsgathering (ENG) operations,” NAB said: “Newsworthy events frequently transpire in close proximity to crowds, whether indoors or outdoors. Thus, broadcaster ENG operations could easily receive harmful interference from nearby VLP devices -- particularly when there is little or no physical distance between individuals who may be using VLP devices and ENG operations.” Representatives of the Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Innovation Forum, meanwhile, met with Office of Engineering and Technology staff on the “specifications, test plans, test cases, test harnesses and other elements by which systems and devices” that employ an automated frequency coordination system in the band “may be assessed.” Both filings were posted Wednesday in docket 18-295.