A report and order updating telecom service priority (TSP), wireless priority service (WPS) and government emergency telecommunications service (GETS) rules is expected to be approved by FCC commissioners Thursday with minimal changes from the draft circulated by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2204280059), FCC and industry officials said. No group or company reported meetings at the FCC to discuss the item since it was circulated. The order casts the changes as needed “to account for changes in technology.” It notes the current rules date to the establishment of the TSP system in 1988 and WPS in 2000. There are no current commission rules for GETS, which operates via contractual arrangements with the Department of Homeland Security. “These rules were originally developed when communications networks were primarily based on circuit-switched technologies,” the draft says: “As such, the rules do not address the advanced capabilities of next-generation communications technologies that support data and voice services, or the ability of users at different priority levels to share network capacity and resources.” The FCC sought comment in 2020 (see 2007160045) and, in response, Verizon and T-Mobile urged light-touch regulation (see 2011190036). The agency should “continue affording wireless providers sufficient flexibility to voluntarily offer WPS services that are negotiated with the government for public safety users through private contract,” CTIA said.

The National Spectrum Consortium (NSC) said telecom veteran and engineer Joe Kochan is the new executive director. “The unique nature of wireless spectrum demands close partnership between the Department of Defense, federal agencies, industry and academia,” Kochan said Tuesday: “This makes NSC the perfect place for the kind of innovation that is central to both military and civilian users.” Kochan was CEO of US Ignite, a public-private partnership, and was previously at NTIA and a co-founder of DigitalBridge Communications.

Shure representatives urged FCC action on wireless multichannel audio systems rules, teed up in an NPRM a year ago (see 2104220056), in a call with Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Shure supports a three-channel/MHz minimum spectral efficiency standard, said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-115. Allow licensed mics to employ WMAS technologies at 250 mW and unlicensed at 150 mW, Shure said: “Refrain from imposing conditions on WMAS operations such as a limitation to large events.” Shure discussed “its continued enthusiasm about the promise of WMAS technology and its ability to help address the continuing need to make greater use out of spectrum in high demand while satisfying the very substantial and still growing need for high performance wireless microphones for professional uses.”

CTA President Gary Shapiro and others from the association urged a cautious approach to transmitter rules, after the recent notice of inquiry, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. “It is timely for the Commission to lead another discussion of these issues now in light of an increasingly congested RF environment and the increasingly difficult questions facing the Commission as it reallocates spectrum to support innovative use cases,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 22-137. “One-size-fits all mandates on receiver performance would only undercut these efforts and stifle innovation. Every band and service is unique, and industry-led efforts have proven time and again that these efforts are the most likely to be successful.” Representatives from Intel, Samsung Electronics America, Amazon Lab126, Apple and LG Electronics were also at the meeting. In April, commissioners agreed 4-0 to launch a receiver NOI (see 2204210049).

Amazon urged flexibility, including the use of the spectrum by drones, as the FCC considers revised rules for short-range radars in the 60 GHz band, the topic of a July NPRM (see 2107130066), in a call with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. “Amazon expressed support for the Commission’s work to facilitate the manufacture and use of innovative radar technologies in the 60 GHz band while enabling reasonable coexistence between unlicensed communications and radar technologies operating in the band,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-264: “To ensure the 60 GHz band reaches its full potential, the Commission should decline to impose rules, as suggested by some parties, that would favor particular unlicensed technologies at the expense of other promising technologies.”

Public Knowledge urged the FCC to “move expeditiously” to require that the voluntary wireless network resiliency framework be made mandatory and require that carriers “establish roaming agreements with all mobile carriers in the geographic region.” Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld reported on a call with Ethan Lucarelli, an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The New Mexico wildfires, and the anticipation of another extraordinarily long and destructive wildfire season in the West Coast, underscores the need for immediate action in this proceeding,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-346: “At the same time, the Commission should explicitly recognize that our information and experience with network reliability is constantly growing. Whatever action the Commission can take now to enhance reliability, based on the current record, it should do.” Commissioners approved a network resilience NPRM 4-0 in September, amid hints regulation could follow (see 2109300069).

The FCC picked up more expressions of interest in participating in wireless emergency alert tests in combination with the agency over the past week, including by some larger players, with more than 40 filing as of Friday (see 2205060058). The City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications said it would like to participate in a test, in a brief filing in docket 22-160. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management expressed an interest. “We serve over 1.1 million people within our jurisdictions of both the City of Charlotte as well as Mecklenburg County,” the agency said: “As part of a fixed nuclear facility program due to the location of the McGuire Nuclear Station in our county, we have an enhanced need for strong WEA capabilities to communicate with members of the public.” King County, Washington, noted its population is larger than that of 15 states. “Seattle will participate and use their volunteers to verify performance within the city; their emergency managers can also send WEA messages during the test,” King County said: “Other cities within the county will also be invited to assist. These known entities can be pre-trained in what to expect and can be relied upon to provide accurate data about their location and time when a message is received.” The Orange County Operational Area in California volunteered, noting it includes “a resident population of approximately 3.2 million, including densely packed urban areas through sparse rural canyon populations.” The FCC released a public notice last month seeking partnerships with local emergency agencies to gather data on how WEA is performing at the local level (see 2204210050). The FCC is seeking “testing partners that represent the diverse environments where WEAs are sent (i.e., dense urban, urban, suburban and rural areas).”

Mavenir spoke with an aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr on the FCC’s legal ability to address open radio access network deployment. “The Commission should further consider incumbent … manufacturer dominance on an individual network and geographical basis, consistent with customer purchasing decisions,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-63: “When it does so, Mavenir believes the facts will show that the Commission should require interoperability and the development of open interfaces for RAN equipment.” Mavenir included in the filing recent ORAN principles from the U.K.

Comments are due June 27, replies July 27, in docket 22–137 on the receiver performance notice of inquiry that FCC commissioners approved 4-0 last month (see 2204210049), said a Friday Federal Register notice. “The Commission seeks to build upon the progress, including technological advances, in recent years that has enabled better receiver interference immunity performance, and the Commission seeks comment on where those efforts and advances have been most successful,” said the notice.

FirstNet and AT&T took part in a recent exercise hosted by the California National Guard and California Office of Emergency Services Fire Rescue Branch to test response to an earthquake in Sonoma, AT&T said Thursday. “A key component of creating a unity across such varied groups is communications,” said Phil White, lead exercise planner: “By providing participants with FirstNet enabled devices, the agencies were able to experience the importance of seamless connections.”