The OmniAir Consortium briefed FCC engineers and Wireless and Public Safety bureau staff on efforts to enable “trusted communications” for vehicle-to-everything services in the 5.9 GHz band, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-138. “OmniAir described how its Certification and Conformance Testing Program for V2X radio devices helps to realize these ‘trusted communications’ between the roadside infrastructure, vehicles and other transportation users to enhance public safety,” the consortium said: OmniAir discussed “specifics of the certification and testing program, including what standards are tested against, the tested attributes of V2X radio devices and the role of FCC equipment authorization.” The group represents companies and testing labs in the intelligent transportation space.

Ericsson asked the FCC to act on its request for a waiver allowing the company to offer a multiband radio across the 3.45 GHz and C bands, both auctioned by the FCC for 5G. The FAA raised concerns (see 2209200030), but the proposal got general support from industry (see 2208240045). “Six industry commenters, including both Ericsson customers and equipment manufacturer competitors, all supported granting the requested waiver,” said a filing Friday in docket 22-298. Ericsson also addressed FAA concerns about interference to radio altimeters: “Ericsson confirms that the multiband radio … will meet the spurious emission performance Ericsson has demonstrated for 3.7 GHz Service devices with respect to emissions into the 4.2-4.4 GHz band.”

The American Radio Relay League asked the FCC for a waiver of the commission’s Part 97 rules to communicate with military stations as part of Pearl Harbor Day commemorations Dec. 6 and 7. “As already authorized on the federal government side, the military stations will transmit on 14.375, 18.170, and 21.460 MHz,” said a filing posted Friday. “On the Amateur Radio side, operators will respond solely on frequencies being monitored and announced by the military operators, all of which will be frequencies authorized for use by Amateur Radio operators and on which all related FCC regulations will continue to apply, such as mode, maximum power, and license class,” ARRL said.

T-Mobile told the FCC it's hardening its network in Puerto Rico due to Uniendo program funding. Parts of the report, posted Thursday in docket 18-143, were redacted. “T-Mobile has significantly hardened its network and increased the availability and capacity of the system to ensure a more resilient network and improve the overall customer experience,” the carrier said: “As a result of these efforts, as well as the continued instability of the Puerto Rico power grid, T-Mobile has installed generators and backup batteries at its cell sites.” All 78 municipalities have at least one cellsite with a backup generator, T-Mobile said: “T-Mobile has also upgraded battery banks at cell sites where a generator is not feasible due to space, landlord, or permit restrictions.”

The National Wireless Safety Alliance announced Thursday the launch of a new Advanced Rigging Concepts Specialty certification exam for tower workers. The group said other new certifications are in the works. “This Advanced Rigging Concepts Specialty exam will offer a second option to the current certification pathway for those individuals seeking a Foreman credential,” the alliance said: “Development efforts are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2023 and conclude with the launch of the exam in the fourth quarter of 2023.”

Federated Wireless and Charter Communications representatives highlighted the benefits of spectrum sharing and the model offered by the citizens broadband radio service band, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. The CBRS model “facilitates the growth of mobile competition and has enabled new entrants into the market, many of whom are using the band to develop their own private networks for uses such as industrial automation, artificial intelligence, and predictive maintenance,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. CBRS is used “in environments ranging from warehouses, ports, factories, airports, and office buildings, in rural as well as densely populated areas, supporting supply chain efficiency."

Extended Reality (XR) applications, which include augmented-, virtual- and mixed-reality, will be important to the future of 5G, 5G Americas said in a paper released Thursday. XR “creates either fully virtual, immersive environments or blends those virtual landscapes and features with the ‘real’ world,” the paper said: “Its use cases are not limited to consumer applications like gaming, but also include enterprise, institutions, and manufacturing. XR will influence the way people play, work, learn, and interact with each another.” VR, “and particularly AR,” require “significant development in multiple areas including but not limited to multi-media, artificial intelligence, computing, display systems, and communication to provide experiences that incorporate XR into our daily lives,” the report said.

Bluetooth SIG announced a specification development project to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6 GHz frequency band. “Expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum band will ensure the community can continue to make the enhancements necessary to pave the way for the next twenty years of Bluetooth innovation,” said Bluetooth SIG CEO Mark Powell Wednesday. The Wi-Fi Alliance “looks forward to collaborating with the Bluetooth SIG to ensure our successful co-existence in the band,” said Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Kevin Robinson.

The FCC should do “additional fact-finding and rulemaking to update the criteria for the 5G Fund and maximize its efficiency in bringing high-speed mobile broadband connectivity to rural Americans,” UScellular CEO Laurent Therivel said in a call with Commissioner Nathan Simington. “UScellular recommended that the FCC review the timing of the 5G Fund to take advantage of the fiber density that will be created by the [broadband, equity, access and deployment] program, and modernize the eligibility threshold to ensure that Americans are not stranded as technology continues to improve,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-122. The carrier also discussed “its current C-band coordination efforts with the FAA and emphasized the importance of being able to deploy this spectrum in a timely manner to help cure the Digital Divide in rural areas,” UScellular said.

Apple representatives spoke with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff about technical problems, including radio local access network/fixed service interference in the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295. The meeting last week came three days after a similar meeting Apple and Qualcomm had with OET staff (see 2211100045). “We discussed methodologies for probability analyses used to assess RLAN/FS interactions, including an overview of the structure and interpretation of Monte Carlo analyses; the analytic advantages of Monte Carlo analyses for the study of interference probabilities over large geographic areas; and the differences between the methodology employed” in tests in the E.U., and in models by RKF and CableLabs in the U.S., Apple said.