Former FCC Chairman Dick Wiley and David Hilliard, both from Wiley, filed an email to an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai on an upcoming meeting on Aviation Spectrum Resources, Inc.’s request for limited waiver FCC rules to allow use of two 25 kHz channels in the 136.000-136.4875 MHz band for data link communications using FCC-licensed aeronautical en route service stations. The waiver request was unopposed when the FCC sought comment, said a filing in docket 19-180, posted Wednesday. “ASRI tells us that both channels are needed this quarter,” the filing said: “Delay will have a negative effect on implementation of the FAA's major initiative to improve the safety and efficiency of air traffic control.”

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials remain opposed to an FCC proposal (see 1912120058) to reallocate 45 MHz of 5.9 GHz spectrum for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, the groups told an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. Both organizations discussed their “intentions to engage in a constructive dialogue with the Commission on the issues presented,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-138. “ITS America noted that transportation safety is a national policy issue and that the advocates for maintaining the spectrum for transportation safety purposes are professionals who have dedicated their careers to improving the safety of the nation’s transportation network.”

Operator-billed revenue from 5G IoT connections will hit $8 billion by 2024, up from $525 million in 2020, Juniper Research predicted Tuesday. The automotive industry and smart cities will drive growth, with 70 percent of connections by 2025, Juniper said.

Nokia is launching a 5G certification program for providers and businesses “to help industry professionals realize the full business potential of end-to-end 5G networks,” said a Monday news release. The program will offer two certifications, associate and professional, “covering everything from the basics of 5G networks to professional level planning and design,” Nokia said. The program launches at the end of the month.

Less Government asked to be taken off a Friday letter to the FCC supporting an NPRM to allow sharing in the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed uses (see 2002140052), said a Tuesday filing in docket 18-295. Seton Motley, president of Less Government, “indicated he signed the letter in error and has removed his name from the list of supporters/signatories,” the filing said.

T-Mobile officials told the FCC a December staff report (see 1912040027) was wrong to conclude Mobility Fund II coverage maps based on carrier-supplied data often didn't match actual 4G LTE coverage. T-Mobile met with officials from the Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-367. “We stand behind our coverage maps and disagree with the Staff Report’s conclusion that T-Mobile provided unreliable … maps,” the carrier said: “The Staff Report was released without notice or an opportunity to discuss the assumptions underlying T-Mobile’s maps or the FCC’s attempts to verify our data.” The FCC is pivoting away from the fund in favor of a 10-year, $9 billion rural 5G fund.

The FCC is getting pushback from amateur radio operators concerned about a proposal to remove existing nonfederal secondary and amateur allocations in the 3.1-3.55 GHz band and to relocate incumbent nonfederal operations out of the band. Commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 at their December meeting (see 1912120063). “Many of us have significant investments in equipment that operates at and near 3456.0 MHz,” wrote Martin Woll, an operator in Los Angeles: “I recommend that existing Amateur Radio privileges be retained on a secondary basis in a 100-KHz portion, a mere 0.02 percent, of the subject band.” If the proposal is approved “and it is not possible for the [amateur operators] to continue to operate this network, then during a disaster, we may find ourselves without a means to communicate and coordinate our agency’s response,” said Corey Siegel, interim chief of the San Francisco Auxiliary Communications Service. “Amateur radio operators have contributed to the state of the radio art in this portion of the radio spectrum in equipment design, antenna design, understanding of propagation characteristics, waveforms, and communications protocols,” commented Charles Atchison, treasurer of the North Texas Microwave Society. “Amateurs have already invested much time and money in development of … stations that operate in this frequency range,” said Tom Wheeler, amateur radio operator from Overland Park, Kansas: “At microwave frequencies, it's prohibitively expensive to retool stations. Moving to a new microwave band means discarding existing station transceiving equipment and antennas. New equipment must be acquired.” The FCC had logged 295 comments on the topic, in docket 19-348, through Monday.

The wearables market will grow at a 13 percent compound annual rate through 2024 to $35.48 billion, said Technavio Friday. A key driver will be growing adoption of contactless payments, it said. Wearables vendors are integrating near-field communication into wearable devices such as smartwatches, smart bands and smart rings, said the researcher. Some vendors are introducing hybrid styles to attract customers who prefer old-school mechanical watches integrated with smart features. Functions are handled by a smartphone through an app.

The FCC Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force, Office of Economics and Analytics, and Wireless and Wireline bureaus will release carrier-specific 4G LTE mobile broadband coverage mapping data from the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process order March 2, said a public notice on docket 19-367 and Thursday's Daily Digest. Objections are due Feb. 27. The mobile broadband data was deemed inaccurate in December, when the FCC decided to replace MF-II with a new rural 5G fund (see 2002130020).

Anterix urged the FCC to move quickly on releasing 900 MHz spectrum to the critical infrastructure industry for wireless broadband. Amaren and Anterix executives met Monday with aides to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, said a filing posted Thursday, and with Commissioner Brendan Carr, said another in docket 17-200. Ex-Commissioner Rachelle Chong, working with Anterix, discussed 900 MHz benefits for resiliency Wednesday at NARUC in Washington (see 2002120038).