The Association of Global Automakers asked for a rulemaking on all issues raised by a waiver request by the 5G Automotive Association to deploy cellular vehicle-to-everything technology (C-V2X) in the 5.9 GHz band's upper 20 MHz. Comments were due at the FCC Friday in docket 18-357. Many groups filed early (see 1901280031) and some commenters are expected to object to looking at a waiver separately from a broader overview of the band (see 1901300014). The auto group said its members are divided on C-V2X versus dedicated short-range communications. “The current deployments already highlight the need to preserve the entire 5.9 GHz band for these life-saving services,” the automakers said. “Introduction of a new technology raises important questions about the 5.9 GHz band. Should the Commission facilitate co-existence of V2X technologies, we encourage a measured, data-driven approach to deployment, including testing and validation.”

AT&T vowed to fight a Sprint lawsuit against the company’s claims it’s now offering 5G evolution, or 5GE, in some markets. Sprint asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for an immediate preliminary injunction against AT&T, preventing the carrier from making the claims. “AT&T has employed numerous deceptive tactics to mislead consumers into believing that it currently offers a coveted and highly anticipated fifth generation wireless network, known as 5G,” Sprint complained, filed Thursday (in Pacer). It called AT&T's 5GE “nothing more than an enhanced fourth generation Long Term Evolution wireless service, known as 4G LTE Advanced, which is offered by all other major wireless carriers.” While Sprint and other competitors are spending billions of dollars on their networks, AT&T “has sought to gain an unfair advantage in the race to 5G by embarking on a nationwide advertising campaign to deceive consumers into believing that its existing 4G LTE Advanced network is now a 5G network,” Sprint said. The case is #1:19-cv-01215-VSB. “We understand why our competitors don’t like what we are doing, but our customers love it,” an AT&T spokesperson emailed. “We introduced 5G Evolution more than two years ago, clearly defining it as an evolutionary step to standards-based 5G. 5G Evolution and the 5GE indicator simply let customers know when their device is in an area where speeds up to twice as fast as standard LTE are available.” AT&T Communications CEO John Donovan defended use of the term at CES in January (see 1901100018).

All rules for spectrum above 24 GHz approved by commissioners last year took effect Thursday, after OMB OK'd information collection requirements, said an FCC Federal Register notice. Other parts took effect in August (see 1807190046).

The Enforcement Bureau proposed a $25,000 fine against Lexington Coal Co. for allegedly taking control of 23 private land mobile radio stations from another company without FCC authorization. “Our action today advances the Commission’s longstanding goals of ensuring that the transfer, assignment, and operation of wireless authorizations are limited to instances ... in the public interest, convenience and necessity,” the bureau said. In October 2017, Lexington took over properties from Alpha in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. In February 2018, the two companies “brought this matter to the attention” of the Wireless Bureau and sought approval, the bureau said. Lexington didn't comment.

The Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers got the extra 30 days it sought to prepare a study on technological development, marketing and consumer use trends in the basic e-reader market (see 1902040030). The report is now due March 5, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau ordered Thursday.

Sprint representatives said they met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff to answer questions about the response last year to Hurricane Michael in the Florida Panhandle. Sprint staff confirmed traffic was “a significant factor during disaster recovery as it caused delays in moving repair crews and equipment around the vicinity and, more importantly, prevented technicians from being able to access cell sites in a timely manner,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-339. Sprint discussed its use of temporary microwave links. “During restoration efforts, it is important to utilize assets very carefully and strategically,” the carrier said. “Following Hurricane Michael, it became apparent that Bay County, Florida, in particular, would not have backhaul restored for some time, so Sprint actively pursued a strategy to deploy microwave backhaul links.”

T-Mobile fired back at Dish Network complaints that T-Mobile and Sprint made overly broad use of the “highly confidential” designation under a protective order on their proposed deal, in docket 18-197. Dish complained Jan. 29. The carriers said in a filing posted Wednesday: “Without much analysis or specificity, DISH requests that the Commission designate as public: ‘[i]nformation from the public record in the Compass Lexecon Declaration; [e]stimates of outside economic experts describing price effects expected from the merger; [a]lmost the entirety of the Cornerstone Report; and any other information designated as highly confidential that is not specifically covered by Appendix A of the Protective Order,’” “DISH’s claims are flatly wrong. The Applicants’ Highly Confidential Information designations are consistent with both the plain language of the Protective Order and with past precedent.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved limited waiver of wireless emergency alert rules to permit carriers to participate in a March 4 Dallas test, with a March 8 backup. This will be the “first live test” of the WEA system there and will target a message “to a targeted polygon encompassing the Central Business District,” the bureau said Tuesday in docket 15-91. “We are persuaded by Dallas [Office of Emergency Management] that the proposed WEA test will help educate the public about WEA and improve the proficiency of emergency managers in the use of WEA before the initiation of an actual alert during an emergency.” The 30-minute exercise starts at 10 a.m. CST. The bureau also approved waiver for a three-part test March 19 in Montgomery County, Texas. The backup is March 26.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed VTDigger’s appeal of its Freedom of Information Act case against FirstNet after the local news publication missed Friday’s briefing deadline (see 1811270024). In two orders Tuesday in case 18-2819, the court dismissed the case then denied (in Pacer) as moot VTDigger’s Jan. 30 motion to extend the deadline. Filed two days before deadline, the motion got no opposition. “Any motion to reinstate the appeal must be accompanied by Appellants’ brief and appendix,” wrote court clerk Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe. The appellants plan to file such a motion with the brief, as instructed by the clerk, their attorney, Kelly McClanahan, told us.

Four appeals of the FCC’s September wireless infrastructure order at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit are headed to the 9th Circuit to join other small-cells cases, as expected (see 1901250010). The D.C. Circuit ordered transfer Tuesday of the consolidated cases brought by AT&T; the American Public Power Association; Eugene, Oregon; and Austin, Boston, Chicago and other big cities.