Tower companies Crown Castle and American Tower were among industry commenters supporting an FCC proposal for further changes to wireless infrastructure rules for collocations. Commissioners approved an NPRM 3-2 in June (see 2006090060). Local and state government groups oppose the changes (see 2007220079). Comments were posted Thursday in docket 19-250. Consumers want 5G, Crown Castle said. “The ability to make minor increases to the physical footprint of existing tower sites is vital to keeping up with this demand and providing the back-up power that is increasingly required to ensure resilient services,” it said. “Failure to allow for such expansion in a manner consistent with industry and municipal practices will significantly hinder the use of existing infrastructure for collocation and continued growth, placing unnecessary barriers in the path to deployment.” The change would address an inconsistency between current rules implementing Section 6409 of the 2012 Spectrum Act and the 2004 nationwide programmatic agreement, American Tower said. The NPA permits “construction and excavation within 30 feet in any direction of the leased or owned property previously surrounding a tower… without the need for further Section 106 National Historic Preservation Act review,” the company said: “However, in collocation situations, which are less disruptive than tower replacements, an expansion of a tower compound is subject to more significant government scrutiny.” The record “demonstrates a widespread recognition by the wireless industry and infrastructure providers that the definition of ‘compound expansion’ used for determining whether a proposal is eligible for treatment under Section 6409(a) is inhibiting wireless deployment and is logically inconsistent with the treatment of replacement towers,” said the Wireless Infrastructure Association, which sought the change. Even basic customer equipment and backup power require some additional space at cellsites, CTIA said. “More than one generation of equipment may be located at a site as providers phase out older equipment.” 5G networks also use multi-access edge computing, which will be installed at current facilities, the group said. Reject the proposal as “inconsistent with Congressional intent, the Commission’s prior orders, and public policy,” said local governments. “There is no evidence that the proposed change is necessary, nor that any economic analysis has been conducted to justify the disruption the proposed rule will cause in the marketplace,” they said. “Failure to adopt the compound expansion proposal will not be fatal to the site expansions.” Signers included Boston; Portland, Oregon; Clarke County, Nevada; Rockville and Gaithersburg, Maryland; and municipal groups in Michigan and Texas.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association released a paper Wednesday on “best practices” on fiber deployment for 5G and the IoT. “Municipalities can adopt practices that promote transparency, foster trust among stakeholders, and allow efficiencies that save time, money, and promote connectivity,” WIA said.

5G will deliver more security than earlier generations, 5G Americas said Wednesday. Threats are greater because of the “pervasive nature of 5G,” the paper said. “The entire wireless cellular network has been re-architected to use new capabilities such as software-defined networking, network function virtualization for new services, and cloud-native architectures for scalability,” 5G Americas said: “The implementation of these elements requires additional encryption, extra defense in edge networks, and sophisticated new protocols.”

Local and state government groups slammed an FCC proposal for further changes to wireless infrastructure rules proposed in a wireless infrastructure NPRM, approved 3-2 in June (see 2006090060). The NPRM seeks comment on a Wireless Infrastructure Association request for amended rules saying a modification doesn’t cause a “substantial change” if it entails excavation or deployments at up to 30 feet outside macro tower compound boundaries and was expected to face opposition (see 2006120051). “Though the text of the proposal to allow modifications up to thirty feet outside the existing tower site also is not set out in the NPRM, it is evident this proposal cannot meet basic principle of Section 6409(a)” of the 2012 Spectrum Act, the groups said: “The rule would, by its very terms, apply the statute to modifications that are not on the ‘existing wireless tower’ nor even within the existing tower site, with no regard for whether or not such deployments ‘substantially change the physical dimensions of such tower.’” NATOA, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and National Association of Towns and Townships filed Wednesday in docket 19-250. “There is no reasonable reading of the law that would extend its reach to locations where wireless deployments literally do not exist,” emailed Nancy Werner, NATOA general counsel: “With clarifications that ensure adherence to the law, we support the conclusion that the ‘site’ is limited to the area specifically reviewed and approved for a wireless tower through a discretionary permit process.”

LG’s Velvet 5G smartphone debuts Wednesday in the U.S. at $599 through AT&T, said the manufacturer Tuesday: T-Mobile and Verizon follow later this summer. It has a 6.8-inch OLED display with 20.5:9 widescreen aspect ratio. There are stereo speakers and 3D sound engine. Its main camera has 48 megapixels. LG bills the Velvet as its first “mobile platform” embedded with an application processor and 5G modem in a smaller package requiring less power.

Viya Wireless asked the FCC to treat as confidential “substantial portions of its revised” disaster response and recovery plan submitted in connection with its election to receive Connect U.S. Virgin Islands stage 2 mobile support. Among the parts it wants to keep under wraps is “the bulk of the plan itself, excluding the introductory material and table of contents,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-143.

Encina Communications Chairman Michael Mulcay described the risks its facilities face of harmful interference from unlicensed use of 6 GHz spectrum, in a call with acting Chief Ron Repasi and other FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff. Encina sought reconsideration of the April 6 FCC 6 GHz order, rejected by OET as filed too late (see 2007130017). Interference at the sites “would cause irreparable harm, especially since there is no meaningful mechanism in the Report & Order to mitigate the interference,” Encina said in a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295.

Stay the April 6 GHz order, which remains a threat to public safety communications, APCO said in a Friday filing in FCC docket 18-295. Radio local area network proponents recently invited stakeholders to participate in talks on establishing a multistakeholder group to oversee interference problems, apparently with encouragement from the FCC, APCO said: The group is “unlikely to resolve the important issues of how to detect and mitigate interference from standard-power and low-power devices.” Wi-Fi proponents are “exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to argue for increasing unlicensed spectrum, rather than recognizing that the pandemic is straining public safety agencies and will have long-term impacts (such as exacerbating budgetary constraints) that will make interference to 6 GHz systems harder to address and more detrimental to their life-saving missions,” the group said. In May, APCO sought reconsideration (see 2005280047).

T-Mobile will add protections against scams and robocalls, the carrier announced Thursday. They include flagging suspicious calls, enhanced caller ID and a free second number and option to change one’s number. The FCC voted Thursday on safe harbors to encourage phone companies to offer more robust call blocking services (see 2007160045).

Caesars Entertainment agreed to implement a compliance plan and to pay a $127,000 fine for transferring wireless licenses as part of a bankruptcy proceeding before seeking FCC authorization. The licenses are used for private communications at Caesars’ individual properties and were transferred to the successor companies after a reorganization, the Enforcement Bureau said in a Thursday order. Caesars didn’t comment.