The FCC Wireless Bureau will immediately start accepting applications for the certification of contraband interdiction systems and to be a designated correctional facility official (DCFO) as part of the agency’s ongoing work to prevent contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities. Tuesday's notice follows a July order on disabling devices once detected (see 2107130029). The DCFO will “ensure that parties making disabling requests have the necessary authority and accountability to safeguard the integrity of the contraband device identification and disabling process,” the bureau said.

Dish Network will use products from Samsung Electronics throughout its 5G open radio access network, the companies said Tuesday. “Per the multi-year agreement, the companies will collaborate to deploy Samsung's 5G O-RAN-compliant virtualized RAN (vRAN) solutions and radio units in markets across the U.S., supporting DISH's 5G commercial services,” they said. Samsung will supply “vRAN software and a variety of O-RAN compliant radio units, including Massive MIMO radios,” which “can operate on any commercial off-the-shelf server, while still delivering performance on par with traditional hardware-based equipment,” said a news release.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s warnings last week on continuing C-band deployment questions (see 2204280064) likely won’t pose problems on Wall Street for Verizon and AT&T, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors in a weekend update. “While the Secretary’s comments create some uncertainty, it is not the kind of uncertainty that will affect the economic performance of the companies now offering 5G services in the C-Band,” Levin wrote: “We still don't know the ultimate power levels, sizes of the areas with constraints, timetable, or exact details of other operating requirements, but the opportunities and challenges of the companies in benefitting from their 5G offerings are unlikely to be affected.”

The Telecommunications Industry Association is updating its TIA-222 standard for towers and antenna supporting structures. The revision will look at standardizing the use of drones to inspect towers and structures, said a Monday release. “Drones are increasingly being used to reduce the number of climbs required by an engineer or technician and to provide near real-time information about the structure to tower owners, operators, and the maintenance work force, helping to save both time and money,” TIA said.

The information collection requirements in a July FCC order requiring disabling of contraband wireless devices detected in correctional facilities (see 2107130029) are effective Tuesday, after approval by the Office of Management and Budget, said a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register. The Wireless Bureau will use the information “to determine whether to certify a system and ensure that the systems are designed to support operational readiness and minimize the risk of disabling a non-contraband device, and ensure, to the greatest extent possible, that only devices that are in fact contraband will be identified for disabling,” the notice said: “Bureau certification will also enable targeted industry review of solutions by allowing interested stakeholders to provide feedback on the application for certification, including the proposed test plan.”

CTIA and member companies updated the FCC Wireline Bureau on the latest on SIM swap and port-out fraud, the topic of a rulemaking last year (see 2112150018). “CTIA and its members take consumer fraud seriously and continue to work to stay ahead of bad actors with innovative security approaches,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-341: “While over 99% of SIM swap and port-out requests are legitimate, CTIA’s members remain committed to combatting and deterring fraud attempts that do occur.” AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and UScellular participated in the call.

RS Access CEO Noah Campbell urged quick approval of 5G use of the 12 GHz band, speaking with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443. “I expressed confidence that 5G mobile broadband operations, nongeostationary orbit fixed-satellite service, and Ku-band Direct Broadcast Satellite operations can share the 12 GHz band and coexist in the band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443.

Google representatives urged adoption of revised rules for short-range field disturbance sensor radars in the 60 GHz band, speaking with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The company had a similar call with Office of Engineering and Technology staff earlier in the week (see 2204260074). “Coexistence is possible across the multitude of technologies, including the several varieties of low-power radars, that can operate in the 60 GHz band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-264.

To assuage National Public Safety Telecommunications Council concerns about possible interference to public safety operations in the 851-854 MHz band segment (see 2108090058), Gogo Business Aviation is fine with a waiver condition for notification of public safety licensees in the band segment, the company told FCC Wireless Bureau representatives, per docket 21-282 Friday. Gogo is seeking a waiver on power limits for air-to-ground operations in the 849-851 MHz and 894-896 MHz bands. It said the proposed condition, which would have Gogo notify licensees within 10 miles of a base station about deployment and how to submit inference complaints, should make public safety operators aware of possible inference and about how to abate it in coordination with Gogo.

Qualcomm urged the FCC to ignore arguments by Continental Automotive that limiting part of the 5.9 GHz band exclusively to cellular vehicle-to-everything use could have negative implications because of intellectual property concerns (see 2204060038). “The FCC should not entertain Continental’s requests that the agency adopt regulations or broad pronouncements relating to private patent licensing disputes because the U.S. court system is addressing those issues and the FCC lacks the legal authority and expertise to do so,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138. “Continental fails to inform the FCC of Continental’s federal antitrust case, including the recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirming the dismissal of Continental’s lawsuit seeking relief that substantially overlaps what Continental is asking the FCC to implement,” Qualcomm said. Company representatives spoke with staff from the FCC offices of General Counsel, Engineering and Technology, and Economic Analysis.