Representatives of the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition discussed changing the rules for the band so it can be used for 5G, in meetings with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. The coalition “explained that its efforts to encourage the Commission to open up the 12.2-12.7 GHz band for two-way terrestrial, 5G mobile service, and opportunistic use continues to gain support from a wide array of policy thought leaders, public interest groups, and service providers,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-443. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s December decision upholding the FCC’s 6 GHz order (2112280047) “reaffirmed the Commission’s authority as primary spectrum regulators and leading experts to assess interference and rejected arguments that spectrum sharing should be prohibited unless zero interference is found,” the coalition said.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson met Tuesday to discuss spectrum coordination, the first of what they promised in February will be monthly meetings (see 2202150001). A joint task force also started meetings, aimed at updating the 2003 memorandum of understanding between the two agencies. The two discussed a national spectrum strategy, the use of mid-band and millimeter wave for 5G and advanced networks, and the FCC’s pending receiver standards notice of inquiry, the FCC said. “A partnership requires clear communication, open doors, thoughtful listening, and mutual respect,” Rosenworcel and Davidson said in a joint statement: “Our agencies have very compatible and complimentary roles in American spectrum policy making. Congress has been clear about NTIA’s statutory role as manager of the federal government’s use of spectrum and the FCC as the independent agency responsible for non-federal spectrum policy.” Under the old MOU, the FCC and NTIA chiefs had agreed to meet twice yearly.

Liberty Strategic Capital will spend about $525 million to buy Zimperium, a mobile device threat defense platform, said the buyer Tuesday. Liberty is the cybersecurity-focused private equity startup run by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who will become Zimperium’s chairman when the transaction closes in Q2. SoftBank, a Zimperium investor since 2017, will continue as a minority investor. Zimperium will be Liberty's fourth cybersecurity buy, it said.

Rexing agreed to pay a $75,000 fine and implement a compliance plan for allegedly marketing vehicle-dash cameras that hadn’t been authorized by the FCC. Rexing sells aftermarket vehicle dash cameras and accessories, the bureau said Tuesday. An investigation found the company didn’t seek FCC equipment authorizations until July 2020, four years after it started marketing the devices.

The Open RF Association completed the “initial phase” of a study determining RF power levels used in 5G handsets “to help the industry better optimize data throughput performance and ultimately improve battery life,” said the consortium Tuesday. Its founding members are Broadcom, Intel, MediaTek, Murata, Qorvo and Samsung. All contributed data and analyses to the study -- done by Signals Research Group -- which the consortium will use “to create a histogram showing RF power levels used in 5G handsets under real-world network conditions,” it said. The findings will be shared with consortium members in June, it said.

Analysis shows that “a constant refrain often heard in the broadband debate” that U.S. internet speeds are slower than in other nations isn’t true, the Phoenix Center said in a report released Tuesday. “As with fixed broadband, the most consistent result is that download speeds for mobile wireless broadband in U.S. cities are, on average, faster than in other nations and often materially so,” said Phoenix Center Chief Economist George Ford. “The U.S. mobile wireless industry is providing globally exceptional broadband services,” he said. The study looked at speeds in 98 countries and found average download speeds in the U.S. are in the top 15%.

Hiring a 5G and telecommunications specialist “quickly” for the Office of Science and Technology Policy should be a top White House priority (see 2203280051), emailed Brent Skorup of George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. “Kelsey Guyselman filled that role in the Trump White House for a couple years,” he said. “The person in that position at OSTP helps keep the relevant staff at NTIA, FCC, and Congress moving in the same direction for 5G matters by finding consensus among the competing interests at each of these institutions,” Skorup said: “This mediating role is especially important today with NTIA and FCC both having to make imminent, possibly conflicting, decisions about spectrum allocation and rural infrastructure subsidies.”

Appellants asked a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rehear a February decision upholding the FCC's 2021 changes to over-the-air reception devices (OTARD) rules in a case brought by Children’s Health Defense. A lawyer for the RF safety advocates said then the group would consider seeking rehearing (see 2202110059). “This case has the type of exceptional importance contemplated by Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 35(a)(2) and (b)(1)(B),” said a Monday petition in docket 21-1075. The order “wreaks havoc with the licensing regime contemplated by the Communications Act and is antagonistic to Congress’ prescribed regulatory requirements and policy,” the petition said: “The amended rule cannot be reconciled with the licensing and provider/user regime intended by Congress. More important, the amended rule’s operation is ruining lives and driving people from their homes -- the most constitutionally-protected place on Earth.”

Midland Radio officials spoke with FCC staff on the company’s request for waiver of FCC rules for general mobile radio service devices in the 462 MHz band (see 2110120061). “Our goal is to develop a cell phone application to improve safety for GMRS users who engage in Off Roading, Rock Climbing, & Overlanding Activities,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-388. “We will do this by connecting their cell phones to our GMRS Mobile Radios and transmitting their GPS data to other drivers that they are in a ‘Group’ with.”

The 12 GHz band will likely be the subject of the “next big spectrum decision” by the FCC (see 2203210056), New Street’s Blair Levin said in a weekend note to investors. Interference questions are likely to be resolved through an Office of Engineering and Technology analysis of proposals by the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition, he said. “While that Office is sophisticated in keeping to its engineering lane and not trying to make policy, this is the kind of issue on which it is very persuasive with the Commissioners,” he said: “The coalition did submit two engineering studies, one about terrestrial/Direct Broadcast Satellite sharing and the other about terrestrial/non-geostationary Fixed-Satellite Service sharing. Starlink has criticized the studies … but has not offered an engineering study of its own.” Levin said questions remain about the timing of the 2.5 GHz auction, set to start in July (see 2203220066), before the Sept. 30 expiration of FCC auction authority. “The FCC itself has raised questions about whether, after that date, it has authority to issue licenses for an auction, even if the auction commenced before that date,” Levin said: “We think the issue will be resolved to allow the auction and subsequent licensing to proceed but will continue to monitor the situation. A failure for Congress to act could be negative for T-Mobile but positive for its direct competitors.”