The DOD needs to have a senior official in clear charge of implementing its 2020 spectrum strategy and should do more oversight of that work, the GAO said in a report released Thursday. DOD’s 2020 spectrum strategy, released in October (see 2010290061), proposes the Pentagon use “dynamic and bidirectional sharing for facilitating access to commercial spectrum.” DOD released a request for information in September on dynamic spectrum sharing on the 3.45-3.55 GHz band (see 2009210056), a proposal some critics see as a back door to 5G nationalization. The defense secretary should ensure the Joint Chiefs of Staff vice chairman “identifies the procedures and processes necessary to provide for integrated defense-wide strategy, planning, and budgeting with respect to joint electromagnetic spectrum [EMS] operations,” GAO said. The report recommends the vice chairman propose spectrum “governance, management, organizational, and operational reforms” to the defense secretary. GAO wants the defense secretary to “assign clear responsibility to a senior official with authority and resources necessary to compel action for the long-term implementation of the 2020 strategy in time to oversee the execution of the 2020 strategy implementation plan.” The office recommends the defense secretary ensure the senior official “issues an actionable implementation plan” and “creates oversight processes that would facilitate the department’s implementation.” DOD agreed or partially agreed with all the recommendations but said it wouldn’t identify clear time frames for achieving them. “Given the department’s challenges in implementing previous EMS-related strategies, we believe that DOD needs to maintain focus on actions necessary to implement the 2020 strategy,” GAO said. “If the department finalizes and carries out organizational reform efforts that they are considering and continues to make progress toward the intent of our recommendations, DOD will be better positioned for success in the long term.”

HMD Global bowed the $49 Nokia 225 feature phone Wednesday, billing it as a holiday “stocking stuffer.” The 4G phone uses Voice over LTE and has a camera and 1150 mAh battery, said the company: A blue version will be available at retailers; metallic sand will sell exclusively on Nokia.com, it said.

CTIA representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on field tests it did with Southern Co., which found interference from unlicensed low-power indoor and very-low-power outdoor use of the 6 GHz band (see 2011160032). “Unlicensed proponents have thus far rejected incumbent stakeholder proposals to conduct testing with prototype devices within [a] multi-stakeholder group and have declined to provide devices to facilitate testing by incumbent operators,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295.

Don’t do anything that would delay a 2.5 GHz auction, as requested by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition (see 2012020061), T-Mobile asked the FCC. Delay would “only prolong much of the band continuing to lay fallow,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-120: “Promoting the deployment of unused spectrum should not be considered controversial, and there is no reason to further delay fully implementing a decision that was adopted almost a year and a half ago.”

Reallocate the 3.45-3.55 GHz band based on flexible use rules, similar to those in the C band, CTIA told the FCC in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 19-348. Carriers offered similar advice, while others said sharing would mean faster use of the spectrum. Commissioners sought comment in a Further NPRM approved 5-0 in September (see 2009300034). “Action is essential to further promoting nationwide, full-power, wide-area 5G service, which will drive a dynamic 5G ecosystem across the United States,” CTIA said. The group opposed rules based on sharing in the citizens broadband radio service band: “While the CBRS framework shows promise and offers new opportunities, it is subject to lower power limits, a complex spectrum sharing scheme, and other technical limitations.” T-Mobile said CBRS-style sharing is “antithetical” to DOD’s process in making the band available. That process “determined that the spectrum can be cleared over the majority of the contiguous United States with targeted protections for federal users.” The FCC is well aware that “CBRS power levels and narrower channels would hamper development of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band as a true 5G band because the power levels are significantly lower than standard commercial wireless networks and the smaller channel sizes are not optimized for wide-bandwidth, low-latency 5G applications,” Verizon commented. View 3.45-3.55 GHz as a “first step toward making the entire 3.3-3.55 GHz band available for commercial flexible use,” the Competitive Carriers Association said. Federated Wireless argued for sharing. A sharing framework “is the only path to commercial use in the band that is fast, equitable, and supportive of a diverse set of use cases, leading to the most expeditious and intensive use of the band,” Federated said: “Extension of the CBRS sharing framework to the 3.45 GHz band will reduce coordination burdens on both federal and commercial users, while avoiding the interference problems that the vast majority of commenters predict will occur should the proposed rules be adopted.” The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance agreed: "Extending the existing CBRS framework would be the most expedient way to make this critical spectrum available for commercial 5G operations, rather than waiting for a more complicated and time-consuming clearing and auction process.” In the CBRS auction, 10 utilities submitted winning bids totaling more than $174 million for 371 priority access licenses, the Utilities Technology Council said. “Adopt county-based licenses and auction the licenses in 10 megahertz blocks, which will promote opportunities to build upon the success of the CBRS auction by enabling CBRS licensees to more easily combine their CBRS spectrum with the 3.45-3.55 GHz band.”

Oppositions to an ARRL petition asking the FCC to rethink an order removing the secondary allocation for the amateur service at 3.3-3.5 GHz (see 2011100049) are due Dec. 22, replies Jan. 4 in docket 19-348, said Monday Federal Register.

Wireless ISP Association representatives asked an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to address rules for over-the-air reception devices (OTARD), as proposed in an NPRM last year (see 1906050014). WISPA cited “the importance of updating the OTARD rule to apply to all fixed wireless transmitters and receivers, regardless of whether the equipment is used for reception, transmission, or both, so long as the equipment meets the existing size restrictions for customer-end equipment,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-71.

Loon sought action on stratospheric platforms in the 70/80 GHz bands, in a call with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “There is enough data in the record to support authorization of stratospheric antennas in motion and other stratospheric Internet platforms in the … bands without further coexistence studies or a new proceeding,” Loon said in a filing posted Monday in docket 20-133: “Authorizing antennas in motion will not distract the FCC from or delay deployment of 5G, and can facilitate 5G deployment in rural areas.” The record supports “a comprehensive link registration framework for all services in the 70/80 GHz bands, which can be accomplished with only minor modifications to the existing framework,” it said. Loon also spoke with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Loon and Aeronet claims that the record supports aeronautical use of the 70 and 80 GHz bands ignore the interference potential between mobile services and gateway earth stations, as well as unaddressed issues on operating a registration database for endpoints in motion, Hughes and SpaceX said in a filing to be posted in docket 20-133. Aeronautical service advocates still have to address various interference scenarios to and from fixed satellite earth stations and satellites from ground-to-air and air-to-air links and ground-based interference between satellite earth stations and aeronautical ground stations, they said. Until then, action in the proceeding is premature, they said.

A 15-year agreement with T-Mobile will add $17 billion in contracted future revenue to American Tower’s order book, said American Tower Chief Financial Officer Rod Smith Monday at a UBS financial conference. With the C-band auction starting Tuesday, Smith sees the spectrum as a “pretty essential piece of the 5G deployments.” With clearing taking some time, deployments will start in 2021's second half, he projected. The citizens broadband radio service band will be mostly deployed indoors and could present growth opportunities, he said: “We do have a pretty extensive in-building network.” Smith expects some Dish Network business as it deploys a 5G network. “Whether we lease our sites to Dish on a site-by-site basis or if we have some sort of a holistic agreement, either way we’re fine with as long as the terms and conditions are right, the pricing is right,” he said.

Oppositions to ARRL’s petition for reconsideration of an FCC order (see 2011100049) removing the secondary allocation for the amateur service at 3.3-3.5 GHz are due Dec. 22, says Monday’s Federal Register. Replies are due Jan. 4.