NTIA raised concerns about the use of the 70/80/90 GHz bands for high altitude platform stations or other stratospheric-based platform services, absent protections for scientific studies in the bands. NTIA attached a filing by NASA, the Commerce Department and the Air Force, in its filing posted Thursday in docket 20-133. The government seeks protections for earth exploration satellite service (EESS) (passive) and space research service (SRS) (passive) in 86-92 GHz, EESS (active) and SRS (active) in 94-94.1 GHz, and fixed satellite service and mobile satellite service operations in 71-76 GHz (space-to-Earth) and 81-86 GHz (Earth-to-space). An October Wireless Bureau public notice “does not address, in detail, provisions or requirements to protect Science Services operating in adjacent-bands allocated for EESS (active and passive) and SRS (passive)” and “does not extend the existing regulations to the protection of the adjacent band services,” the agencies said. Replies are due Monday in the proceeding (see 2111010046). “The Joint Agencies reiterate the importance of the … bands to meteorology and climate science,” the filing said: “Any additional usages for active services should be based on sound engineering studies to determine the limitations on unwanted emission levels.”

American Tower closed on its $10.1 billion buy of data center management company CoreSite, it said Tuesday. “As 5G deployments and wireless and wireline convergence accelerate, we expect to leverage CoreSite’s highly interconnected data center facilities and critical cloud on-ramps to drive strong, consistent, recurring growth while enhancing the value of our existing tower real estate through emerging edge compute opportunities,” said American Tower CEO Tom Bartlett.

Comments are due Feb. 28, replies March 29, on a Further NPRM proposing an enhanced competition incentive program, says a Federal Register notice for Wednesday. Commissioners approved the FNPRM 4-0 in November (see 2111180071).

Key Bridge completed testing of its environmental sensing capability software for the citizens broadband radio service band, said a filing posted Monday in docket 15-319. NTIA initially required Key Bridge to complete testing with the agency’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences by Dec. 31, 2020, but that was extended by a year due to “COVID-19 related access restrictions at the ITS laboratory,” the filing said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved license modification applications sought by PTC-220, which represents the nation’s seven Class I freight railroads, to provide positive train control. The Monday order covers 31 states and the District of Columbia, in four license areas. The FCC earlier OK’d a waiver for rail lines serving 16 western states (see 2112140087). “We have reviewed the License Modification Applications, PTC-220’s engineering studies, its Interference Mitigation Plan, and all other filings in the record before us, and find that the public interest in facilitating rail safety will be served by granting PTC-220 permanent authority to operate the 2,265 PTC base stations, 16,108 PTC wayside stations, and related mobile stations,” the bureau said: The order will also “benefit Amtrak and other railroads that operate as tenants on the members’ railroad networks as well as passenger and commuter railroads leasing spectrum from PTC-220 to implement PTC on their own lines in the four license areas.” The railroads are using automated maritime telecommunications system spectrum.

The California Public Utilities Commission urged the FCC to impose new requirements about network resilience on wireless carriers. The commission noted it filed the comments on time but in the wrong docket. They were posted Monday in docket 21-346. “Communications service providers have not sufficiently partnered with emergency responders to assist in ensuring public safety during disasters that cause communications network outages,” the CPUC said: “Adopt a set of mandatory resiliency strategies, particularly, a minimum backup power duration of 72 hours.” Require carriers to provide “accurate, real-time, and detailed information” on outages and “consider a process for issuing penalties when communications networks’ outages occur,” the commission said. Initial comments were due Dec. 16 (see 2112170065).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau delayed for 14 days, until Jan. 11, the replies deadline on the future of the 4.9 GHz band, said a Wednesday notice. The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) and Land Mobile Communications Council sought extensions, the bureau said. “We agree with NSA that given the intervening holidays, a 14-day extension is warranted to allow commenters sufficient time to file meaningful reply comments,” the bureau said: “We do not, however, find that LMCC’s request for an extension of time beyond 14 days is justified.”

Seek more information and ask more questions of the 14 companies or organizations seeking FCC certification to become automated frequency coordination (AFC) system operators in the 6 GHz band (see 2112010002), asked the Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition and other incumbents in comments posted Wednesday in docket 21-352. “Protecting incumbent 6 GHz users remains critically important, and the Commission must demand that AFC operators meet rigorous standards to ensure licensees’ protection,” the coalition said: “At least one FWCC member has already experienced harmful interference to a licensed 6 GHz link from an unlicensed device.” The Utilities Technology Council and Edison Electric Institute raised similar concerns. None of the applicants “sufficiently demonstrate that they will fully comply with the Commission’s rules and all lack necessary technical detail for the Commission or affected incumbent operators to be certain that they will properly function and protect primary licensees from harmful interference,” the groups said. Applicants offer “differing explanations for how they will respond to reports of harmful interference,” with some suggesting “they will only be responsive to reports from the Commission,” APCO warned: “Public safety agencies should not be expected to report interference to individual AFC operators. Even if the particular device causing interference can be identified, incumbents are not likely to know which AFC operator is controlling the device.” AT&T said “the vast majority of the AFC System applications only superficially describe their compliance with the requirements of the 6 GHz Report and Order, and therefore fail to provide assurances that primary … incumbents will be protected.” Stakeholders haven't "identified consensus parameters for the propagation models that will assess unlicensed 6 GHz transmissions, in particular the confidence level, and only one of 13 AFC system applicants revealed the confidence level its system applies,” Verizon said. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft, Meta and Qualcomm encouraged the FCC to act. “Articulate a decisional framework for processing the applications … with a goal of completing the review and authorization of commercial operations of AFCs and Standard Power devices in 2022,” the tech players said: “The relative simplicity of the AFC sharing mechanism compared to those in other bands should make FCC review and approval straightforward.” That 14 entities submitted proposals to operate AFC systems “evidences the utility of AFC-controlled standard power devices in the 6 GHz band,” the Wi-Fi Alliance said.

Comments are due at the FCC Jan. 6, replies 10 days later, on a September CTIA petition asking for partial consideration of rules for combating contraband cellphones in prisons, says Wednesday's Federal Register. The FCC “should reconsider the requirement to act on qualifying service termination requests within two business days for both legal and policy reasons,” the petition said: “CTIA understands the Commission’s view that service terminations should be prompt and asks that the Commission replace the two-business day requirement with a rule that would require wireless providers to act on termination requests as soon as practicable but not later than five business days, with a presumption that three business days is reasonable.”

Mint Mobile should stop calling its data plans “unlimited,” a National Advertising Review Board panel ruled, after a challenge by AT&T. Customers who use data above a specified limit have the service slowed to 2G speeds and “throttling to 2G does not provide ‘unlimited’ data as consumers understand that term,” NARB said Tuesday. Mint said it “supports the self-regulatory process and will comply with NARB’s decision, although it disagrees.” NARB is part of the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division.