National Emergency Number Association officials discussed “methods used to derive confidence and uncertainty figures in location estimation,” meeting with Public Safety Bureau staff on the FCC vertical location accuracy mandate, said a filing posted Friday in docket 07-114. “Such methods are a well-explored and always developing academic topic.” Also discussed: “Specifics of how a particular platform determines location are largely proprietary" and the interfaces "are well-standardized for interoperability purposes.”

The American Highway Users Alliance asked the FCC to drop proposed new rules for the 5.9 GHz band, reallocating 45 MHz for Wi-Fi, with 20 MHz reserved for cellular vehicle to everything and possibly 10 MHz for dedicated short-range communications (see 2003100014). “The record now in the docket after the first round of comment reveals that implementation of the proposed rule would have a more significant adverse impact on transportation safety than the Commission has acknowledged,” the alliance replied, posted Friday in docket 19-138. Replies now are due April 27.

Verizon may be poised to make big gains this fall due to dynamic spectrum sharing and carrier aggregation technologies it's deploying, LightShed’s Walter Piecyk told investors Thursday. “These technologies will enable Verizon to not only activate the 5G indicator on new 5G enabled iPhones, but also actually deliver industry leading 5G speeds,” the analyst said: “Phone reviewers are going to love it.” Piecyk said Verizon also faces spectrum concerns.

The U.S. is “losing its battle to keep European and Asian allies from including Huawei equipment in their 5G rollouts,” blogged Claude Barfield, American Enterprise Institute resident scholar, Thursday. The administration’s push on 5G continues “to be described as chaotic,” he said. In December, President Donald Trump “assigned coordinating responsibilities for 5G development to White House national security staffer Robert Blair,” Barfield said: “Confusion remains, as Blair has made it clear that his responsibility is confined largely to international 5G negotiations, and Larry Kudlow, who heads the National Economic Council, remains in charge of the administration’s domestic 5G strategy.”

5G Americas asked NTIA Thursday to release its technical feasibility report on the 3100-3450 MHz by the end of April. NTIA should also ask its Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Council “to focus exclusively on facilitating commercial access to the Lower 3 GHz Band with a goal of developing recommendations by the end of 2020, for action in 2021,” the group said. NTIA and DOD officials should “begin biweekly meetings with the FCC and industry on evaluating the Lower 3 GHz for commercial access” and NTIA should “issue a statement committing to licensed commercial use in the Lower 3 GHz Band where feasible,” the letter said. “High-speed broadband is critical to weathering the current COVID crisis, and America’s reliance on broadband is only growing,” 5G Americas said: “America will need the efficiencies and innovation 5G brings all the more across the range of industrial, government and personal applications 5G makes possible.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, in particular, has focused on 3.1-3.55 GHz, which he considers prime spectrum (see 2001080035). NTIA didn't comment.

The FCC corrected comment deadlines (see 2004030059) on a December NPRM (see 1912040036) on the range of frequencies for which RF exposure limits should apply and other issues. Comments are due May 15, replies June 15, in docket 19-226, said Wednesday's Federal Register.

The FCC provided more time for site-based and mobile-only wireless systems to meet buildout deadlines but not as much time as the Enterprise Wireless Alliance wanted (see 2003300041). EWA last month asked the FCC to waive until Aug. 31 a requirement that licensees meet deadlines between March 15 and that date. The Wireless and Public Safety bureaus said in a Wednesday order deadlines from March 15 to May 15 are extended 60 days. The action is to provide “temporary relief ... in light of the supply chain delays and other construction and equipment delivery delays that may occur as a result of COVID-19 and the declared state of national emergency,” the bureaus said. The decision to grant “even the relief they did was extremely welcome and much appreciated,” EWA President Mark Crosby said in an interview. The order leaves “the door open” for extensions if necessary, he said. It’s not a good use of FCC staff time to have to address numerous waiver filings as licensees find they can’t get projects built because of COVID-19 complications, he said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau issued a protective order Tuesday in the proceeding on AT&T's proposed $1.95 billion cash sale of wireless and wireline operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty Latin America (see 1910090005). The order, on docket 19-384, covers the spectrum parts. The bureau is limiting access to “proprietary or confidential information” filed with stricter limits on “particularly competitively sensitive information.”

Tech company Dynetics asked the FCC to lift the temporary freeze on nonfederal applications for new or expanded Part 90 operations in the 3.1-3.3 GHz band “in light of the logistical issues presented by the COVID-19 outbreak.” Dynetics sent the same letter to commissioners and the Wireless Bureau. Last summer, the company made a similar request (see 1907080039). “For a very long time there has been no evidence that the 3.1-3.3 GHz range is under active consideration for alternative use,” Dynetics said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-39.

The Fixed Wireless Communications Coalition asked the FCC to change its draft 6 GHz order to better reflect the interference risk from uncontrolled devices in the band, as lobbying continues before commissioners vote next Thursday (see 2004020073). "Portions" are "erroneous based on the undisputed record and would therefore be subject to reversal on appeal,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295: “Some modifications” would “better serve the Commission’s purposes without upsetting the Commission’s overall regulatory scheme.” The NFL, which uses ultra-wideband, asked for the ability to register its stadiums within the automated frequency control system. The league said it's not seeking a change to the draft rules to provide additional protection for UWB, which it has sought in the past. AT&T spoke with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on its concerns about indoor operations without AFC (see here and here).