Revised rules for over-the-air reception devices, approved by the FCC in January (see 2101070068), take effect March 29, said a Federal Register notice Thursday.

Wireless has an important role to play in the emergency broadband benefit program, CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a call with FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Maximize participation” in the EBB by making program administration “as simple as possible" for households and providers and allowing eligible low-income consumers to apply EBB benefits to the services and devices they choose, including mobile wireless services, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-445.

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted 21 more licenses in the 2.5 GHz band to tribal communities, mostly in Alaska, it said Wednesday. That brings to 205 the number granted so far. “Tribal communities should have the same access to the opportunities of the digital age as other Americans,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Tribal communities in New Mexico and Arizona are already using this part of our wireless spectrum to provide the only reliable high-speed wireless signal available in their communities.”

The FCC Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireline Bureau OK'd adjustment factors that took effect Wednesday, said the Federal Register, providing higher reimbursements for low-demand, hilly and mountainous areas for the 5G Fund.

Comments are due March 29, replies April 26, on use of a terrain-based propagation model, such as Longley-Rice, for determining TV white space channel availability, says Thursday's Federal Register. The docket is 20-36.

T-Mobile’s new Magenta Max 5G plan (see 2102220043) shows the company is starting to press its advantages over competitors, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Wednesday. It's offering “genuinely unlimited 4G and 5G data,” he said: “Verizon and AT&T can’t match this, at least not without a host of nasty caveats.”

Wi-Fi advocates defended the FCC’s April decision to allow unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band, in an amicus brief posted Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (in Pacer) in docket 20-1190. “The FCC has more than 30 years of experience managing unlicensed spectrum access, using rules and procedures similar to those" here, said Public Knowledge, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and New America Open Technology Institute. “The FCC has consistently and successfully nurtured the unlicensed ecosystem while protecting licensed services from harmful interference.”

Abandoning the current way of reviewing long-form applications for the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction would be "disruptive, time-consuming, and litigation-producing," the Wireless ISP Association told the FCC in a letter posted Tuesday in docket 10-90. WISPA argued other filings in recent weeks were "motivated by auction outcomes that they find unfavorable to their constituencies." It said requests to change the process would lead to delays in authorizing support. WISPA singled out NTCA-proposed changes.

Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division asked T-Mobile to modify advertising claims, including that it offers “the best" and "most reliable 5G network” and the “best prices” for 5G. NAD said the challenged advertisements didn't "reasonably convey that the aspirational future benefits that will result from the T-Mobile-Sprint merger" aren't "presently available,” NAD said Tuesday. “While T-Mobile made certain commitments to the government as part of the merger approval process and is in the process of expanding and improving its 5G service, the complete integration of the T-Mobile and Sprint networks is not expected to occur for between three to six years.” The ads cited stopped airing in July, but "we’ll continue to make sure consumers know that T-Mobile’s 5G network … is delivering unprecedented reach and more coverage than anyone else,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said.

Don't open a window to consider authorizing additional volunteer examiner coordinators (VECs) to prepare and administer amateur radio operator exams, the American Radio Relay League told the FCC in a Monday posting. Replies were due Friday in docket 21-2 on a January Wireless Bureau notice (see 2101050040). “Amateur examination opportunities have been and continue to be plentiful,” ARRL said: “Additional VECs would have no effect on the number of examination opportunities or available examiners.”