FCC auction of licenses in the 37, 39 and 47 GHz bands ended the week with $5.76 billion in gross proceeds. The auction started Dec. 10. Three rounds are scheduled for Monday.
Utility representatives told an aide to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks their companies “have voluntarily implemented programs and partnerships to proactively facilitate the collocation of small cells and other wireless communications facilities on utility-owned street lights.” Southern Co. and Xcel Energy were among those on a call with the aide, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-84. “These programs foster innovation and cooperation that result in faster and more efficient deployment of 5G and other wireless infrastructure than could be achieved through regulation.”
Prioritize 5G buildouts in high-demand agriculture states, Deere asked the FCC in docket 10-90 Thursday and in meetings Wednesday with the Wireless and Wireline bureaus, Rural Broadband Auctions Task Force and Office of Economics and Analytics. It sought improved data collection and mapping techniques that accurately identify gaps in mobile coverage areas. The company outlined potential mapping tools that would combine cell tower data from the FCC and publicly available crop information from the Agriculture Department. Deere shared a coverage analysis of several states using such tools. The FCC proposes $1 billion for precision ag (see 1912040027).
The Wireless and Public Safety bureaus put a temporary freeze on acceptance and processing of new and expanded use applications for the 5.9 GHz band, as the FCC explores the band's future (see 1912180019). The freeze will "stabilize the 5.9 GHz spectrum landscape by suspending the acceptance and processing of applications in these portions of the band while the Commission considers future use of the band and continues to solicit comments,” said Thursday's public notice on docket 19-138: “Imposition of the freeze is procedural and, therefore, not subject to the notice and comment and effective date requirements.”
U.S. Cellular is “fully supportive” of a public auction of the C-band, it told the FCC in docket 18-122, posted Wednesday. “Time is of the essence,” the company said: “The FCC should clear, auction and license as much spectrum as possible but no less than 280 MHz of spectrum. … If spectrum is cleared and made available on different timeframes, separate clock products should be utilized for ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ license blocks.”
Keysight Technologies extended its collaboration with AAC Technologies for validation of antenna designs for 5G new radio devices, it said Wednesday. Keysight’s 5G solutions will facilitate introduction of high-performance 5G products in “nearly any form factor,” said the company. AAC provides RF front-end integrated components for the global wireless market.
The FCC Wireless Bureau detailed a workshop Jan. 14 (see 1912020057) on how tribal interests can seek access to 2.5 GHz educational broadband service spectrum. “FCC staff will provide information to attendees on 2.5 GHz spectrum, the mapping tool developed by the Commission, and the Rural Tribal Priority window dates and application filing process,” the bureau said Wednesday, releasing an agenda. The tribal window opens Feb. 3 and closes Aug. 3. The workshop starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.
Zebra Technologies presented about its ultra-wideband technology that uses the 6 GHz band, in meetings with FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and aides to the other commissioners. The company discussed "the impact of the proposals outlined in the NPRM on the Dart technology and its uses, and suggested coexistence solutions that would continue to allow for unlicensed UWB technologies to successfully coexist with incumbent users and expand unlicensed Wi-Fi uses,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-295.
ARRL said the FCC should take no action is response to a New York University petition for a declaratory ruling that Section 97.113(a)(4) of FCC rules prohibits the transmission on amateur radio frequencies of “effectively encrypted or encoded messages, including messages that cannot be readily decoded over-the-air for true meaning.” The use of encrypted Winlink Global Radio Email by amateur radio operators has been a long-standing dispute (see 1904010034). “The League does not support limiting experimentation and use of digital techniques in the Amateur Service without a clearly demonstrated need for doing so,” said reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 16-239. “Any such limitation would be unique to the United States. There is no public interest in prohibiting or limiting experimentation with digital techniques in this country.” NYU said few of the comments opposing its petition “appear to originate from licensed amateur radio operators.” It said it doesn’t seek to “halt, harm, or disable operation of Winlink” or similar services. It seeks clarity “to ensure that transparency and openness are assured for all data modes and networks in the amateur radio service, present and future.”
FCC auction of licenses in the 37, 39 and 47 GHz bands had $3.92 billion in gross proceeds at the end of bidding Wednesday. The auction started Dec. 10. Three rounds are scheduled for Thursday.