Ireland tops the world in mobile internet browsing performance, mPerf said Thursday. The rankings compared crowdsourced loading times for the five most-visited websites in each country, and European nations held the top 10 spots, according to mPerf. The U.S. ranked 13th, it said.
NextNav has begun operating a 5G PNT (positioning, navigation and timing) network in Santa Clara County, California, said a news release Thursday. “Network operations of positioning, navigation and timing applications represent the next milestone toward commercial readiness and the mission to deliver a resilient complement to GPS,” the release said.
The Better Business Bureau National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD) is referring T-Mobile to the FTC and state officials for declining to participate in NAD’s inquiry into advertising claims about the carrier's 5G capacity. “T-Mobile informed NAD that although T-Mobile is a strong supporter of the NAD self-regulatory process, it would decline to participate in this inquiry in light of a pending federal lawsuit brought by AT&T against BBB National Programs,” an NAD release said Wednesday. AT&T sued NAD in October after the agency sought to block the carrier from running ads about T-Mobile’s past violations of NAD rules against deceptive advertising (see 2510300031). T-Mobile and AT&T didn’t comment Wednesday. “Because T-Mobile declined to participate, NAD will refer this matter to the FTC and state Attorneys General,” said the release. “NAD will also refer the matter to the platforms on which the advertising appeared and with which NAD has a reporting relationship.”
NTIA should look beyond the 2.7-2.9 GHz, 4.4-4.9 GHz and 7.25-7.4 GHz bands to midband spectrum above 7.4 GHz as it searches for spectrum to use for 6G deployments, wrote John Kuzin, Qualcomm's senior vice president of spectrum policy and regulatory counsel, in a blog post Tuesday. Mobile data demands are only going to grow and will require additional spectrum, he noted. If a particular band can't be shared, the FCC and NTIA should consider using auction proceeds to fund relocating the incumbents, who might be able to operate more effectively in less spectrum with equipment updates, he said.
The FCC released two items Wednesday on proposals from past World Radiocommunication Conferences. The full commission issued an order adopting proposals from WRC-15 -- which took place 10 years ago -- and an NPRM seeking comment on proposals from WRC-19. It’s not unusual for the FCC to take years to enact WRC proposals, said Scott Harris, managing partner of Crest Hill Advisors.
The cable industry has embarked on a "bizarre" strategy of trying to prevent spectrum auctions and starve fixed-wireless access (FWA) of more spectrum rights, High Tech Forum founder Richard Bennett wrote Wednesday. FWA providers are excited about the 800 MHz target for new spectrum licenses, as laid out in Congress' budget reconciliation package, previously called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he said. Cable's response is "positioning itself as the one true champion of Wi-Fi, the presumed loser from the OBBB auction plan." However, he said, "Wi-Fi doesn’t care what technologies users employ for Internet access. Wi-Fi simply connects devices in a home or office to each other. Telcos need -- and use -- Wi-Fi for the same reason cable does: to convenience its customers."
The window to file FCC Form 855 certifications for hearing-aid rule compliance opens Jan. 2 and closes Feb. 2, said the Wireless Bureau in a public notice Monday. The FCC “requires wireless service providers to file FCC Form 855 certifications to ensure compliance with the Commission’s wireless hearing aid compatibility rules,” the reminder said. “Service providers who offer handset models for sale or use in the United States are required to annually file this form.”
The FCC should retain its current citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) rules, said Cambium Networks in a letter posted in docket 17-258 Monday. “Increases to permitted power in some or all of the band would undermine deployments that are providing vital services to American communities.” Reallocating portions of the CBRS band or increasing the maximum power would require Cambium to replace its equipment “at significant operator and consumer expense,” the company said. “Further, permitting significantly higher power levels would lead to waste in [the] BEAD program, as existing CBRS equipment supporting fixed wireless BEAD deployments would need to be replaced and such costs have not been included in BEAD,” Cambium added. “It is inconsistent for the federal government to make billions of dollars available for broadband deployment and expect recipients to invest their own capital, at the same time that it calls into question the usefulness of the most relied-upon spectrum for broadband deployment.”
Wireless ISPs continued to weigh in at the FCC last week to oppose major changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2512010052). Questions remain about the future of the band, with some wireless carriers looking at the spectrum for full-powered licensed use, and others urging higher power levels for some operations (see 2511260031).
Alaskan carrier GCI urged the FCC to provide more guidance to allow providers to comment on the Alaska Connect Fund eligible-areas map and performance plan template (see 2511190039). Comments were due Thursday in docket 23-328. The FCC's public notice “raises critical questions that necessitate corrections and further clarifications regarding key parameters before providers can fully offer input.”