The Wireless ISP Association warned the FCC that adopting NTIA’s definition of “qualifying broadband” for new rules for the Alternative Connect America Model program would freeze out the use of unlicensed spectrum. The FCC “should continue to permit recipients to have the flexibility to choose technologies that are appropriate to the situation, taking into account cost, quality of service, equipment capabilities, supply chain, population density, terrain and a host of other factors,” WISPA said in a filing posted Monday in docket 10-90. “Going forward, and in light of NTIA’s ill-conceived definition of ‘reliable broadband service,’ broadband providers that have relied on unlicensed spectrum to connect millions of unserved rural Americans must now question their ongoing and future investments,” emailed Louis Peraertz, WISPA vice president-policy: “If their innovative and privately funded networks are subject to government-funded overbuilding, that new policy … could force them out of business, even where they are providing 100/20 Mbps speeds or better, have low churn, high-quality service, and are meeting consumer demand.”
NYU Wireless, an academic research center at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, got a $3 million award from the National Science Foundation to study THz band spectrum, said the school. The program -- and partners University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Nebraska–Lincoln and Florida International University -- will use the money to perform “basic measurements of devices, circuits, materials, and radio propagation channels at the highest reaches of the radio spectrum,” the release said. “Today’s cellular telephones and wi-fi networks operate at frequencies below 100 GHz,” said Ted Rappaport, NYU electrical engineering professor: “There is great promise for greater download speeds and vast new wireless applications by moving up to the underexplored sub-THz and THz frequency bands -- frequencies from 100 to 500 GHz, in both indoor and outdoor urban and rural contexts, and this support from the NSF will allow us to be at the forefront of exploring those frontiers.”
The National Transportation Safety Board supported a December waiver request by proponents of cellular-vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band asking to be able to deploy as quickly as possible (see 2112140070). “The NTSB has a long history of advocating for collision avoidance technology that relies on radio spectrum made available by the FCC” and has issued eight recommendations since 1995 to that effect, said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-138. Protect the spectrum from interference, including from Wi-Fi, NTSB advised. Granting a waiver “is necessary to allow auto manufacturers, infrastructure owner-operators, and others to move forward with the development of connected vehicle technology. Implementing this technology now is a critical step toward reducing the number of crashes and fatalities on our roadways.”
The Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) lodged a complaint against FirstNet at the FCC, raising concerns that the group said “demand immediate attention” by the regulator. “FirstNet was created to provide an essential nationwide broadband network for public safety, yet reports indicate FirstNet has expanded access and provided priority and preemption to non-public safety entities such as truckers, cable companies, and maintenance personnel,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 12-94. Recent authority board appointments made by the Commerce Department “excluded three highly qualified MCCA candidates from having a seat at the table,” MCCA said: “The lack of forethought to include a major city public safety representative on the Board has produced a situation where major urban area police department interests are no longer represented by a trusted and experienced professional who understands the challenges that are unique to America’s major cities. This is particularly concerning given the number of threats currently facing MCCA members.” The FCC is considering the FirstNet Authority’s pursuit of a 10-year extension of its nationwide Band 14 license (see 2208230076). “The FirstNet Authority filed its license renewal application with the FCC on August 22 and will be following the process outlined in the FCC’s subsequent public notice,” a FirstNet spokesperson emailed in response to the complaint. A Commerce Department official noted the board already has three public safety representatives.
Continued 5G expansion into more regions will enable growth in the worldwide IoT market, said a Tuesday eMarketer report. The research firm predicts 4.3 billion mobile IoT connections worldwide by 2026, up from 2.1 billion last year. 5G enables faster broadband and better machine-to-machine interaction, said analyst Sara Lebow. Markets driving 5G IoT growth are North America, China and Western Europe.
The FirstNet Authority posted a job description for a new CEO, as discussed at a board meeting last week (see 2208170043). “Are you a dynamic leader with a proven track record of building coalitions and advancing growth?” the website post asks: “The CEO must have proven business acumen, tenacity, the ability to advocate for the mission, and impeccable communication skills to lead this extraordinary organization and foster a culture of trust and understanding.”
The Wireless Infrastructure Association signed a memorandum of understanding with the Labor Department’s Veterans’ Employment and Training Service to support an employment navigator and partnership pilot (ENPP), WIA said Tuesday. “Through ENPP, WIA will partner with transition offices at military bases across the globe to provide career assistance to transitioning service members, and their spouses, to help them find meaningful careers in telecommunications,” the group said. Thirty-three groups are supporting the pilot, the Labor Department said.
The GPS Innovation Alliance (GPSIA) reported on a successful meeting between members of the group and Proceq USA over the company’s request for a waiver (see 2005070053) asking to expand the range for an ultra-wideband ground penetrating radar device used to test “the safety, durability and sustainability of materials such as concrete, metal, rock, and composites used in industrial settings.” Discussions were “substantive, constructive, and transparent, and in the course of that meeting, GPSIA members and Proceq discussed technical features and operational information of Proceq’s ground penetrating radar imaging device under the proposed waiver,” the group said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-127: “While there may be other UWB technologies and approaches that would raise concerns regarding the impact on GPS, the information that Proceq provided allayed the GPSIA’s concerns.”
The Alarm Industry Communications Committee told the FCC it supports a National Association of State 911 Administrators' (NASNA) petition for a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement next-generation 911 (see 2110190066). “AICC joins NASNA in urging the Commission to initiate a rulemaking to establish its regulatory authority over the delivery of NG911 services” through emergency services IP networks, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-479: “FCC regulation is necessary to protect the integrity of those services and the ability of [public safety answering points] to do their jobs, as well as to ensure that service providers have adequate and reasonably priced access to network facilities.”
Acconeer CEO Lars Lindell and others from the company urged the FCC to align U.S. rules for the 60 GHz band with those in Europe, in a call with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology. “Absent the adoption of FCC rules aligned with the European rules, a wholesale rule for both 60 GHz pulse radar and [frequency-modulated continuous wave] radar may not result in equal treatment of both technologies, especially if additional technical criteria were to be added to a potential rule,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-48. The FCC is looking at revised rules for short-range radars in the band, the topic of an NPRM last summer (see 2107130066).