AT&T, APCO, electric utilities and other plaintiffs said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit should overturn the FCC’s 6 GHz order on the grounds that the regulator never fully addressed the interference threat to band incumbents. “In defending the Order, the FCC and its supporters mischaracterize the basic choice before the FCC,” said a brief (in Pacer) posted Friday in docket 20-1190: “That choice was not whether to allow unlicensed devices to operate in the 6 GHz band at all, but how to mitigate their interference risks. The FCC never faced up to that choice.” Plaintiffs said they challenged the April 2020 order “because it is very likely to result in harmful interference at unpredictable places and times and because, without explanation, it arbitrarily rejects readily available safeguards.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau seeks comment on recent efforts by mobile wireless providers to improve network resiliency, for a report to Congress. Comments are due April 26 in docket 11-60, says Monday's Federal Register.

RF exposure rule changes, approved 5-0 in December 2019 (see 1912040036), take effect May 3, the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology said Friday. A two-year period for existing parties to ensure compliance with the new rules starts that date, OET said. “The Commission anticipated that few parties would have to conduct reevaluations under the new rules and that such evaluations will be relatively straightforward,” OET said: “It nevertheless adopted a two-year period for parties to verify and ensure compliance under the new rules.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit refused to issue a stay (see 2103240081) in a case brought by the Children’s Health Defense and four individuals challenging revised rules for over-the-air reception devices OK’d by commissioners in January (see 2101070068). “Petitioners have not satisfied the stringent requirements for a stay pending court review,” said an order in docket 21-1075 by Judges Judith Rogers, Neomi Rao and Robert Wilkins, posted Thursday.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association asked the FCC to ignore a procedural issue raised by NATOA and localities in their petition for reconsideration on the FCC compound expansion ruling (see 2103310048). “Petitioners claim that WIA’s Opposition to their Petition for Reconsideration should not be considered because WIA failed to serve them pursuant to Section 1.429(f) of the Commission’s rules,” the group said Thursday in docket 19-250. WIA said that's an “inadvertent oversight,” which it regrets, but it “should be treated as harmless error because Petitioners had actual notice of WIA’s Opposition.”

Localities and NATOA fired back at objections by the Wireless Infrastructure Association to NATOA's petition for reconsideration of the FCC compound expansion order, approved 3-2 last year over dissents by Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks (see 2006090060). “The Order applied the wrong legal standard as articulated by the dissenting Commissioners and failed to address other legal and practical implications raised in the record,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-250: “Reconsideration is not only appropriate, it is necessary to ensure the Commission fully addresses the significant implications of the new rules.” CTIA defended WIA. “These rule changes foster collocations on existing facilities that are critical to bridging the digital divide,” the group said: “The rules also preserve the core right of localities to manage local land use, consistent with the Commission’s priority to ‘find common ground with our state, local, and Tribal partners.’” WIA “stands by” its opposition to the petition and “looks forward to working with the commission and any interested stakeholders in promoting broadband deployment to underserved communities across the U.S.,” a spokesperson said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver for Maine’s Passamaquoddy Tribe to use 2.5 GHz spectrum for wireless connections on 94,000 acres of trust lands. “According to the Tribe, most of the trust lands are in areas lacking state municipal governments and where ‘there is a general lack of basic infrastructure, and there is simply no telecommunications infrastructure like cell phone or radio towers,’” said Tuesday's order. The rules exclude trust lands, but “strictly applying" that "would be inconsistent with the Tribal Window’s purpose of providing wireless communications services in rural Tribal areas,” the bureau said. Staff also OK'd a waiver sought by the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California for several parcels of fee lands owned by the tribe adjacent to or near their reservation.

Comments are due April 8, replies April 15 on the NFL’s request for waiver of citizens broadband radio service rules to use its “coach-to-coach communications systems” during an internet outage, said a public notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest on docket 21-111. The organization needs the waiver for situations when internet service goes down just before a scheduled game but after a spectrum access system administrator has granted authority to operate the NFL’s CBRS system for that game, the PN said.

Verizon said Tuesday it will shutter its 3G CDMA network at the end of next year. Verizon noted it has said it would shut the network down since 2016, with an original target of 2019. “We worked for the past several years to help those who still have 3G devices transfer to devices capable of accessing the 4G LTE or 5G networks and continue to actively work with remaining 3G customers to migrate them to new devices and technology,” the carrier said: Fewer than 1% of its customers use 3G.

Deadline on flexible-use services in the 12 GHz band were extended a month, with comments due May 7, replies June 7, in an FCC Wireless Bureau order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Delay was requested by the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Incompas and others (see 2103190065).