All comments support CTIA’s petition for reconsideration of 5G Fund rules (see 2102090037), approved 3-2 in October (see 2010270034), and the FCC should make the changes sought, CTIA replied, posted Friday in docket 20-32. The Rural Wireless Association and NTCA defended their petition seeking recon of excluding "areas from eligibility for support in the 5G Fund Phase I auction based upon where new mobile coverage data submitted in the Digital Opportunity Data Collection show the existence of either unsubsidized 4G LTE or unsubsidized 5G broadband service,” they said: “T-Mobile and AT&T fail to show why the Commission’s decision on eligibility should not be reconsidered.” The Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers (CWRC) fired back against T-Mobile's objections to its petition. “The principal issue is whether the Commission’s decision in the 5G Fund Order disregards guardrails enacted by Congress and therefore must be reconsidered and revised,” it said. The FCC misreads Consolidated 2016 Appropriations Act Section 631, CRWC said: “The statute bars the Commission from using any funds to change rules governing high-cost support provided to competitive eligible telecommunications carriers in any manner that is inconsistent with paragraph (e)(5) or (e)(6) of Section 54.307 of the FCC’s rules, which provide that the phase-down of legacy support must be paused until the Commission has implemented Mobility Fund Phase II.”

The FCC should take “fast action” to launch an auction of the 3.5 GHz band, Free State Foundation Policy Studies Director Seth Cooper blogged Thursday. “Combining 3.35-3.45 GHz spectrum with C-band, [citizens broadband radio service], and other adjacent 3 GHz spectrum could create a contiguous block of 630 MHz for 5G.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau reminded 700 MHz guard band licensees and 220 MHz band managers their annual reports are due March 1. “The information provided should accurately convey the current level of service being offered in each licensed area, including information regarding coverage provided by Licensees’ operations and any spectrum lease agreements,” the bureau said Thursday.

OMB OK'd information collection requirements in the FCC 6 GHz order, which commissioners approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059), says Friday's Federal Register. OMB pegged compliance at $72.5 million.

Tech companies sought action on a pending Further NPRM on the 6 GHz band, in meetings with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington and with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The order adopted carefully considered rules that will protect incumbents while permitting innovation in fixed unlicensed equipment and operations,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CommScope, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft and Qualcomm were on the calls. A Hogan spokesperson said the suit "highlights how not only are there real policy problems with the digital ad tax, but also serious legal questions surrounding it as well." The Maryland attorney general's office declined comment on pending litigation.

Analog Devices' communications business generated 18% of Q1 sales, and revenue was down 10% sequentially from Q4 but up 16% year over year, said Chief Financial Officer Prashanth Mahendra-Rajah on a fiscal Q1 investor call Wednesday. Wireless and wireline revenue grew by double digits from the year-earlier quarter, “despite zero revenue from Huawei this quarter” due to the Commerce Department’s export restrictions on the Chinese telecom giant, he said. The chipmaker has said consistently that big U.S. deployment of 5G "is going to be a second-half event,” said Mahendra-Rajah. “Our view on that has not changed. What we have seen is a bit more of a slowdown in China as they’re digesting the 5G that they have deployed and the channel counts are a bit lower.” The company doubts it can grow communications revenue year over year, “given the significant headwind from Huawei going to zero,” said Mahendra-Rajah. “That’s a tough ask."

T-Mobile representatives noted potential problems with a tentative list of areas that could be included in a 2.5 GHz auction. “T-Mobile provided examples in Southern California, New York City and Washington, DC areas where it believes the Public Notice Attachment includes county/blocks that are fully encumbered by incumbent 2.5 GHz licensees and thus, should not be available in the Auction 108 inventory,” T-Mobile told staff from the Office of Economics and Analytics and Wireless Bureau, per a Wednesday posting in docket 20-429. T-Mobile also offered examples from Texas and Georgia where blocks may be available but haven’t been added to the inventory list.

The FCC will adopt an order on the 12 GHz band, after the January notice OK’d 5-0 by commissioners (see 2101130067), New Street’s Blair Levin said in a Tuesday note to investors. The rules will likely include changes sought by Dish Network, with the support of public interest groups, he said. “We just don’t think it will happen quickly,” he said: “We expect a two-stage process that initially focuses on how to achieve coexistence with incumbents, followed up by technically detailed proposed rules. That could take more than a year.”

Dish Network signed contracts with Harmoni Towers, Mobilitie, Parallel Infrastructure, Phoenix Tower, Tillman Infrastructure, Tower Ventures and Vogue Towers as it builds a stand-alone 5G network. They give Dish access to 4,000 towers, the company said Tuesday. Dish agreed to build its own 5G network, and buy assets from T-Mobile, as part of the federal approval of T-Mobile/Sprint last year (see 2004010018).

Rysavy Research's report paid for by CTIA urges the 3.45-3.55 GHz band be made available using a “simple, flexible-use licensing model based on full-power operation and wider license areas.” Being filed at the FCC Tuesday, it said using a citizens broadband radio service sharing model would place the U.S. “at a global competitive disadvantage.” The band is “a critical near-term opportunity to make a significant swath of midband spectrum available for next-generation wireless use, and it is vital to ensure that wireless users have full access to as much of this spectrum as possible,” CTIA said.