Information collection requirements in revised TV white spaces rules, approved by commissioners in January (see 2201270034), are effective Thursday, said a notice for that day’s Federal Register.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a one-year waiver extension of rules for the citizens broadband radio service allowing the NFL to continue operating a coach-to-coach communications system in the event of a localized internet outage in stadiums during games (see 2207120055). The bureau gave the NFL only part of what it sought. “While we find that a grant of a conditional waiver would be consistent with the underlying purpose of the rule and serve the public interest, we decline to grant the waiver for the requested three-year period,” said a Wednesday order in docket 21-111: “We will instead restrict it to a period of one NFL season as Petitioner has not demonstrated a need for a longer waiver period.”

As the FCC looks more closely at the FirstNet Authority’s pursuit of a 10-year extension of its nationwide Band 14 license (see 2208230076), the National Sheriffs Association (NSA) urged the regulator to examine the relationship between AT&T and the network. “A 25-year, $6.5-billion-dollar government contract should come with an equal level of scrutiny,” NSA said in a letter posted Wednesday in docket 12-94. “While FirstNet was created with a mandate to serve public safety, it has not provided public safety users and the broader public with a clear understanding of its contractual relationship with AT&T, raising questions about where AT&T’s commercial interests end and FirstNet’s responsibilities begin,” NSA said: “We’ve ended up with a FirstNet that resembles more of a black box than a public good. The contract between AT&T and FirstNet should not remain an enigma that simply breeds more questions than answers.” NSA said FirstNet has expanded its definition of first responder too broadly to include “transit agencies, tow truck companies, school districts, airports, television news media outlets, landscaping companies and utility workers.” NSA also questioned whether FirstNet is fully interoperable “with other networks serving public safety.” The Major Cities Chiefs Association also raised questions at the FCC (see 2208250056). “The FirstNet Authority will be following the process outlined in the FCC’s public notice regarding renewal application comments," a spokesperson emailed.

Encina Communications fired back at a tech company filing last month challenging Encina’s proposal to use Part 101 frequency coordination procedures as an alternative to automated frequency coordination (AFC) in the 6 GHz band (see 2208150040). “The filing … is a mere smokescreen and should be disregarded as an attempt to divert attention from the indisputable fact that after two years the industry multi-stakeholder group ... has failed to date to resolve the FCC’s acknowledged technical and operational issues associated with the [AFC] system,” Encina said in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295.

The Wireless Innovation Forum submitted to the FCC recommendations for public trials and demonstrations as part of an approval of automated frequency coordination systems in the 6 GHz band. The proposal is modeled on TV white space coordination. The forum proposed 30 days for trial, followed by seven days for the public to comment and then seven days for AFC system operators to respond. Potential AFC operators would have to provide the interface for the trial or use an “AFC System Public Testing Portal,” said the report, posted Friday in docket 18-295. 6 GHz AFC is less complicated than the white spaces, the report argues, since there are fewer FCC databases and “no requirements for testing manual entry of incumbent data.” The demonstration could “run concurrently with Public Trial” with a “suggested duration” of 30 days.

New Street isn’t forecasting a recession, but if one happens the firm would be “incrementally more positive on T-Mobile and Cable as the economic weakness would likely drive adds at those operators above our already-bullish expectations,” analyst Jonathan Chaplin told investors Tuesday. “T-Mobile has done incredibly well in the value segment in urban markets, but share gains at the high end of the market have been slower going,” he said. “T-Mobile’s lead in 5G network coverage and performance, coupled with households becoming more price sensitive, should accelerate share gains here.” New Street also sees postpaid plans now as a better value than prepaid, a change over past years. “Competition has driven down the price of postpaid plans, while eliminating barriers to adoption (contracts; credit thresholds),” he said: “Service pricing is now similar and, in some cases, lower for unlimited postpaid plans. When you factor in device subsidies, content, and other features included in postpaid plans, they are a much better value than prepaid.” Chaplin noted AT&T has added subscribers in recent quarters, but a question is how many were from Sprint, following that company’s buy by T-Mobile. “The next test for the industry will be how Verizon and AT&T respond if their net adds suffer, now that the Sprint network integration has largely run its course,” he said.

Wireless ISP Association members are trying to comply with broadband data collection submission requirements but encountered some “unforeseen submission problems,” WISPA said in a filing posted Friday in docket 19-195. WISPA representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, Wireline Bureau Chief Trent Harkrader and broadband data task force staff. “Commission staff offered helpful suggestions on how providers could troubleshoot problems and pledged to continue to work with WISPA and its members,” the group said: “WISPA is continuing to encourage its members to use their very best efforts to timely comply with BDC requirements.”

The FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a citation Friday against Health and Med, a Utah-based company that sells wellness products, for allegedly marketing footbaths and other RF products without the required FCC authorizations. The bureau listed 14 products, only two of which appeared to still be for sale this year. The bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division “observed that the ionic footbath models marketed on the Health and Med website have digital displays, use digital power supplies, and have other indicia that they are unintentional radiators or ISM [industrial, scientific and medical] devices, either of which require an authorization prior to marketing,” the bureau said. If the company “fails to comply with these laws, it may be liable for significant fines of up to $22,021 per day for each model marketed, as well as other sanctions,” the order said. The company didn’t comment Friday.

The 2.5 GHz auction was “an undisputed win” for T-Mobile (see 2209010060), Sasha Javid, BitPath chief operating officer, said in an analysis posted Friday. “T-Mobile spent $304 million to acquire 7,156 licenses covering by my estimates over 93% of the available POPs in this auction and over 67% of the nationwide POPs (including territories),” he said: “T-Mobile won licenses with an average depth over 100 MHz in each county. It also picked up most licenses in the 25 largest counties. … Better yet, T-Mobile paid only $0.014 per MHz-POP, or roughly $0.06 when you only consider the unencumbered MHz-POPs.” Javid said Verizon, not Dish Network as some speculated at the time (see 2208080061), was the bidder that shed demand in round six. “Verizon had over $56 million in processed demand in Round 5 before dropping substantially to just $1.5 million in Round 6,” he said: “Maybe one day, someone will explain what Verizon's strategy was in this auction. My suspicion is that they realized early that they could be stuck with unwanted licenses so their goal of driving up prices for T-Mobile was too risky.” AT&T not bidding wasn’t a surprise, Javid said, noting he thought Dish would “dabble” since prices were so low. “I guess even [Chairman] Charlie Ergen is feeling the pressure of those build out deadlines for DISH's existing spectrum assets,” he said.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau cited Stephen and Opal Castleman for allegedly not following FCC rules as owners of a communications antenna in Augusta, Illinois. The Castlemans “have not corrected the obstruction lighting outages at the Antenna Structure, … have not made the required observation of the tower lighting or installed an automatic alarm system” or reported lighting outages to the FAA, maintained antenna structure painting, or updated the commission on antenna structure ownership information, the bureau said in a Friday order: “If the Castlemans fail to comply with these laws, they may be liable for significant fines.”