The FCC chair, secretary of the Interior and the Commerce Department's assistant secretary for communications and information will meet at least quarterly to plan policies and programs aimed at broadband and wireless services on tribal lands, per an MOU signed by the agencies. The MOU said the aim is better coordination among federal agencies on ways to help deploy and develop broadband and other wireless services on tribal lands, plus expanded access to spectrum over tribal lands and the Hawaiian homelands. Under the MOU, the agencies will also discuss initiatives aimed at encouraging tribes and the Native Hawaiian community to take part in existing programs such as Lifeline through outreach and promotion to eligible households on tribal lands. Interior said it also is establishing an Office of Indigenous Communications and Technology to help tribal nations and tribal entities manage and develop wireless services on tribal lands. Interior said OICT will try to facilitate work between tribes and the tech industry, review spectrum leasing opportunities as a route to advancing Tribal self-determination and help develop national tribal broadband policy guidance. The MOU was announced during a White House Tribal Nations Summit Wednesday. The MOU "is an important, concrete step to ensure that Tribal voices are at the table when decisions are being made on how best to promote deployment of broadband to their communities," Public Knowledge said. It also will ensure a coordinated effort by the FCC, Interior and NTIA to engage with tribal leaders and communities and help ensure they have necessary information for getting access to resources, such as E-rate and the tribal Broadband Connectivity Fund, PK said.

ExteNet Systems will partner with T-Mobile on deployment of digital wireless infrastructure in large sports, entertainment, hospitality and transportation venues and on decommissioning T-Mobile's network assets overlapping with those it picked up from its Sprint deal, ExteNet said Tuesday. The T-Mobile deal expands ExteNet's existing relationship with T-Mobile as a primary wireless carrier in its contracted venues, it said. ExteNet said it will deploy, own and operate the infrastructure for the venues. It said T-Mobile will be the first carrier to join the wireless network ExteNet is deploying in MGM Resorts properties nationwide under the agreement.

Citing a CableLabs analysis, NCTA said the power spectral density limit for 6 GHz low-power indoor access points floated in the 6 GHz Further NPRM isn't a big risk of causing harmful interference to incumbent fixed service links. It said in docket 18-295 Tuesday the analysis confirms its assertion that radio local area network power is only one factor affecting FS links, and not nearly as big a factor as link fading.

Public Knowledge urged the FCC to issue a declaratory ruling as part of its NPRM on limiting unwanted robotexts clarifying that prior express consent for calls and texts "can only be provided to one caller at a time," per a filing posted Monday in docket 21-402 (see 2211140030). The group also sought clarification that Telephone Consumer Protection Act exemption rules "specifically exclude scam calls and texts." There's "a clear relationship between the ebb and flow of illegal telephone calls and text messages," Public Knowledge said, adding the FCC should classify text messages as a Communications Act Title II service: It "may be necessary to address concerns raised in the record concerning discrimination in the existing voluntary authentication programs."

NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will meet virtually Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. EST. The meeting will include subcommittee updates on 6G wireless systems, electromagnetic compatibility improvements and ultra-wideband communications.

Representatives of the Rural Wireless Association spoke with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on implementation of a 5G Fund, in light of the release of initial broadband maps. “We discussed concerns with the framework adopted by the prior administration, and how it could undermine the vital role played by RWA members in delivering mobile service to rural customers that are not served by the nationwide providers,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-32. RWA said it’s likely some high-cost areas with 5/1 Mbps 4G service won’t get 5G without support. “The proposed budget is severely inadequate to meet the goals of ubiquitous nationwide 5G coverage for rural consumers and precision agriculture in rural areas,” RWA said: “A reverse auction without reserve prices is likely to provide excessive support in areas with few applicants.”

Mobile operators will lose $2.5 billion next year to business messaging providers such as Messenger, WeChat and WhatsApp, up 20% from 2021, said Juniper Research Wednesday. Promotional messages will account for nearly a third of the revenue loss as businesses increasingly use messaging for rich media marketing campaigns. SMS business messages will reach 1.7 trillion next year, up from 1.6 trillion in 2022, it said. SMS use will be strong at retail, with operator-led messaging channels in multi-factor authentication tracking along with the growth of e-commerce, Juniper said.

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association supports Amazon’s advocacy for allowing unmanned aerial vehicle radars in the 60 GHz band (see 2210200058), said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 21-264. “GAMA recognizes the importance of allowing for the use of 60 GHz band unlicensed devices on-board aircraft, to include drones while airborne, as an enabler for UAS commercial package delivery operations,” the group said. Members believe field disturbance sensor (FDS) devices operating in the 60 GHz band “will not cause harmful interference to other spectrum users,” GAMA said: “Radar devices in this frequency range operate at a relatively low EIRP (equivalent isotropic radiated power), the nearest frequency band that is used on aircraft is 24 GHz, and there [is] existing communications equipment using this same band at the same power where no harmful interference has been observed.”

Public Knowledge raised concerns about proposals by aviation groups to further delay the deployment of 5G in the C-band near airports (see 2211160075), in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. A recent report by the Institute for Telecommunications Science “confirms that only those planes with older altimeters that listen out-of-band are at risk of experiencing harmful interference, and that even this modest risk will be eliminated by upgrading these altimeters in accordance with the FAA’s recently adopted standard,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-122. “This is not simply a ‘technical matter,’ or merely an inconvenience for the licensees,” PK said: “As a consequence of systemic discrimination and historic patterns of red-lining, many of the neighborhoods closest to airports (and therefore within the ‘buffer zones’ around the airports subject to the mitigation measures) are low income and/or majority non-white communities. For many such households, mobile broadband service is the primary means of internet access. Delaying, or worse permanently preventing, deployment of significant capacity needed for mobile 5G services has a disproportionate impact on these communities -- further aggravating inequality and exclusion.”

Verizon asked to be exempted from filing data on its 3G network as part of a broadband data collection information filing due at the FCC Dec. 31. Verizon noted it plans to shutter the 3G network just three days later, on Jan. 3. Waiving the obligation “will avoid consumer confusion, avoid unnecessary work, and serve the public interest by ensuring that the public has useful information,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-195.