Don’t adopt the exclusion zones proposed by NTIA in the 5.9 GHz band (see 2010260024) but instead seek comments in a Further NPRM, the Wireless ISP Association said in calls with FCC commissioner aides. “In addition to seeking comment on NTIA’s recommendation, the Commission also should seek comment on alternative means to protect federal radiolocation facilities from harmful interference, such as automated frequency coordination that has been approved for the adjacent 6 GHz band,” WISPA said, posted Friday in docket 19-138. WISPA indicated in filings that it met with aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly, Brendan Carr, Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks.

As Qualcomm starts to deploy 5G in the automotive sector over the next 12-18 months, “we are seeing really a complete overhaul in terms of how automakers are thinking about the connectivity portion of electronics in their vehicle,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president-general manager, automotive, at a virtual Deutsche Bank investor conference Wednesday. “The antennas have to be designed differently,” he said. “You basically have to have four different antenna elements for transmit and receive that requires the car design to change to be able to accommodate that type of capability. The location of where you put the modem becomes important because of the distance from the antenna.” The electronics need to be “closer to the roof line” to prevent signal loss, he said: “This is really a major architectural shift for a lot of different automakers.” That expands Qualcomm's role from the supplier of the semiconductors “to become kind of the adviser for the system platform for the automaker,” he said.

Facebook representatives spoke with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on revised 6 GHz rules, widely expected to get a commissioner vote Dec. 10 (see 2010190040). The company wants to allow very-low-power devices to operate across the band at power levels of at least 14 dBm, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295. “VLP devices are poised to offer exciting applications and yet-to-be-imagined advancements in such areas as healthcare, augmented reality/virtual reality, automotive, and fitness,” Facebook said. “Anything lower would result in dropped connections, high latency, and battery drain.”

Qualcomm Ventures is investing in four 5G startups, said a Tuesday news release: Celona, “an enterprise networking platform provider that brings 5G to enterprises”; Cellwize, an “enabler in mobile network automation and orchestration”; Azion, “an emerging provider of edge computing platform solutions”; and Pensando Systems, which is “pioneering the new edge services model of enterprise and cloud computing.” Qualcomm Ventures has invested to date more than $170 million “in the global 5G ecosystem.”

ARRL asked the FCC to rethink an order removing the secondary allocation for the amateur service at 3.3-3.5 GHz, in a petition for reconsideration. The order is part of a broader item approved 5-0 by commissioners last month (see 2009300034). “Amateur services in this band long have been operated on a secondary allocation status functionally similar to the de facto secondary status of Part 5 experimental licenses whose continued operation was (correctly) approved in this same proceeding,” said a petition posted Tuesday in docket 19-348. “Continued operation of amateur stations similarly should be permitted in the vacant portions of this spectrum that otherwise will go unused, subject to the same secondary status.”

T-Mobile is expanding its $50-a-month Home Internet pilot to more than 130 additional municipalities in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wisconsin, the carrier said Monday. The "pandemic has underscored the importance of broadband connectivity, and how sorry the state of home broadband is for many in America -- especially those in rural communities that have been undervalued and underserved by traditional cable providers and ISPs for years,” T-Mobile said.

IEE Sensing spoke with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff on “the need for an Unattended Child Detection functionality in automobiles in order to prevent deaths by vehicular heatstroke, and how the VitaSense sensor will be able to provide that capability.” The company asked whether it needs a waiver to enable the VitaSense “to operate in the 60-64 GHz band when operations were limited to times during which the vehicle was completely stopped,” per a Monday filing in docket 20-144.

The Rural Wireless Association asked for clarity on whether providers eligible for reimbursement will get funds before adoption of final rules requiring they replace equipment from nonsecure vendors, in a call with an aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. RWA noted it earlier filed a petition for declaratory ruling. “Action on the Petition or better yet adoption of rules is crucial to removing eligible providers’ uncertainty,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89.

MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett told investors he's skeptical about the benefits of 5G in general, but T-Mobile is the exception. “At the industry level, 5G will require enormous capital investment but promises very little in the way of incremental revenue,” Nathanson said: “T-Mobile, on the other hand, can benefit from 5G simply by taking share. T-Mobile’s 5G network will be the first to offer significant midband coverage, and therefore to deliver meaningfully higher-than-4G speeds, and that advantage is likely to last for years into the future.” The biggest surprise in T-Mobile results Thursday (see 2011050062) was the “capture” of $600 million in network synergies in 2020, said New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin. Management “expects this to escalate in 2021 and seemed to say the network integration would be complete in 2022,” he said. Subscriber growth also exceeded expectations, he said.

The FCC’s draft 5.9 GHz order doesn’t “provide sufficient certainty” for cellular vehicle-to-everything to launch quickly, 5G Automotive Alliance members warned. ‘Provide C-V2X access to the 5.9 GHz band as soon as possible,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-138: “The draft ruling proposes a lengthy, potentially indefinite ‘transition period’ for C-V2X operations. This transition poses significant constraints in bringing this safety technology to American travelers.” Immediately allow C-V2X roadside unit operations in the upper 30 MHz of the band reserved for C-V2X, the companies said. Ford Motor Company, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US, BMW Group, Daimler North America, T-Mobile, Nokia and Qualcomm were among the members signing the letter. Qualcomm has made similar arguments (see 2011050048). The FCC is to vote on the order Nov. 18.