Tech company representatives filed a letter addressing concerns raised by FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff on studies from February on interference risk to electronic newsgathering in the 6 GHz band by very-low-power (VLP) applications (see 2302100031). “The Commission determined in the 6 GHz Order that low-power indoor (LPI) access points do not pose a significant risk of harmful interference to fixed service links,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295: “The record in this proceeding, most notably two separate robust Monte Carlo analyses, demonstrates that VLP devices similarly will not pose a significant risk of harmful interference to FS links.” Links between ENG transmitters and central receive sites “differ from FS links in one key respect that make them even less vulnerable to harmful interference: These links can be adjusted to account for local conditions,” the filing said. The companies signing the letter were Apple, Broadcom, Google and Meta Platforms.
The FCC Wireless Bureau denied a request by AT&T for reconsideration of procedures for the C-band relocation payment clearinghouse. “Specifically, we deny AT&T’s request to change the RPC’s 20-day deadline for the filing of notices of objection to Clearinghouse decisions, to reclassify … Docket 21-333 as permit-but-disclose, and to change the burden of proof standard for multi-party appeals,” the bureau said Friday.
Viaero Wireless sought a six-month extension of a Nov. 18 deadline to remove unsecure Chinese gear from its network. The company said it has been “working diligently to install a replacement network” but lacks “the financial resources to complete the project.” The carrier noted the FCC has been able to provide only 40% of the funding required, in a Thursday filing in docket 18-89. Congress has been deciding whether to more fully fund the program, addressing the $3.08 billion Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program funding shortfall (see 2308070001). Last month, the Rural Wireless Association asked for a six-month blanket extension of the removal requirements (see 2308100035).
CTIA representatives spoke with FCC Wireline Bureau staff about proposed requirements to implement the Safe Connections Act (SCA) (see 2304140057), said a filing posted Friday in docket 22-238. The act requires availability of safe access to communications services for survivors of domestic violence. “CTIA provided an update on its multi-year partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to successfully implement the SCA and ensure that wireless providers’ employees can respond sensitively and effectively to the specific needs of survivors seeking Safety,” CTIA said. The group encouraged the commission “to adopt outcome-oriented rules that support the needs of survivors and the goals of the SCA while ensuring that providers have sufficient flexibility to successfully implement the necessary modifications across their diverse operations.”
Groups representing 6 GHz incumbents opposed a recent waiver request by Extreme Networks of FCC rules for low-power indoor devices for 6 GHz access points (APs), to be installed exclusively in indoor-only sports venues. The company wants to protect the APs with a waterproof enclosure “to protect the devices from beverage spills and during venue washing,” said a July 21 waiver request (see 2308010074). “Extreme has reasonable alternatives,” the incumbents said in a filing posted Friday in docket 23-282: “Whatever the perceived benefits of 6 GHz Wi-Fi, it is not the only band available for the use case described by Extreme. Multiple vendors, including Extreme, sell a variety of equipment providing Wi-Fi capability in various bands with no prohibition against being weatherized. Denial of the Waiver Request will not deprive fans of Internet access in sports venues.” The filing was signed by the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, APCO and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance.
The Enterprise Wireless Alliance filed in support of a request by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) to use extra 800 MHz channels for its communications (see 2308280043). EWA asked the FCC to act on its longstanding petition seeking revised rules for the band (see 1802130026). “EWA used this opportunity to support once again its Petition for Rule Making that would remove administrative encumbrances such as this case by reclassifying all spectrum between 854-862 MHz outside the southeastern United States as General Category,” the group said in a statement Friday: “Technical and eligibility issues would become a thing of the past, and access to available 800 MHz spectrum would result without being harried by outdated 800 MHz assignment regulations such as in the case of NCSHP.”
Verizon unveiled “Mobile Onsite Network-as-a-Service” trailers, which offer a private network, multi-access edge computing, software-defined wide area networking and satellite connectivity. The first test deployment is at Lockheed Martin's Waterton, Colorado, campus, Verizon said Thursday.
Verizon has deployed 20-25% of its C-band spectrum, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said at a Goldman Sachs financial conference Thursday. “We still don't have the most spectrum, but we always have gotten the best performance out of it,” he said. Verizon has shown in markets where it has C band that “we have better step-ups” and lower churn and the carrier is attracting fixed-wireless customers, he said. Verizon’s fiber footprint is sometimes underappreciated, Vestberg said. The carrier has more than 60,000 route miles connecting its network nodes, he said. “You need fiber from the data center to the edge of the network in order to transport all the data,” he said. Vestberg said the wireless market is competitive, but he welcomes the competition. “We should fight every day for our customers,” he said. The economics favor providers that own their own facilities, he said: “I own my network. I own my fiber. I own my radios. I can do broadband. I can do fixed broadband. I can do fixed-wireless broadband. I can do wireless. Everything is owned by us.” The C band deployed so far has been in urban markets because that was the first to be cleared, and that’s where Verizon’s fixed-wireless offering has been selling the fastest, he said. The remainder of the spectrum is coming in two parts -- C band yet to be cleared in urban markets and covering suburban and rural areas, he said. “We have not even started with fixed-wireless access in many of those markets,” he said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau said Wednesday the FCC’s universal licensing system will now accept applications for temporary fixed stations in parts of the 6 GHz band. The eventual launch was discussed in the FCC’s 2020 order opening the band for unlicensed use and comes as automated frequency coordination (AFC) systems start testing as they seek final approval (see 2308250061). “Certain licensees in the 6 GHz band must register their temporary fixed stations in ULS before commencing operations to enable” AFC systems “to account for these operations when providing channel information to 6 GHz unlicensed standard power-devices,” the bureau said in docket 18-295.
The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project is launching a new testbed called ARA at Iowa State University in central Iowa, targeting research on rural wireless systems and applications, PAWR said Wednesday. The National Science Foundation-funded program is the fourth and final platform in the PAWR program, said a news release. The platform “offers a publicly available wireless living lab supporting rural-focused research, education and innovation,” said Hongwei Zhang, Iowa State engineering and computer science professor and director of the new platform, saying ARA "will not only help narrow the gap between rural and urban connectivity, but also advance the frontiers of 5G and 6G communications.”