The FCC ignored federal law in dividing the 5.9 GHz band, with 45 MHz for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything technology, petitioners told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a Wednesday reply brief (in Pacer). ITS America, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network want the court to overturn the order (see 2106020076). The FCC’s reallocation of 60% of the band “expressly ignores the statutory direction of Congress in the Transportation Equity Act,” they said. The FCC claims “this was a straightforward ‘spectrum management’ decision involving only the FCC’s typical balance of equities,” the groups said: “The Commission’s refusal to acknowledge the limitations imposed by the Transportation Equity Act is fatal, and its decision to rewrite the meaning of intelligent transportation systems cannot be defended under the overlapping statutes.”
T-Mobile is the exclusive 5G launch partner in North America for Qualcomm Technologies’ new Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform, the carrier said Tuesday. T-Mobile said it’s working with startups and developers using the platform on augmented reality glasses starting next spring. “5G is powering more immersive experiences that better connect us to people and things around the world, and glasses will be one of the first disruptive new product categories,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile president-technology: “First we need to build the ecosystem of developers that will bring new applications to life.”
T-Mobile filed a supplement to its Aug. 25 response answering FCC questions on its performance during the Aug. 11 nationwide wireless emergency alert test (see 2108260046). The carrier emphasized that system performance was “within normal parameters,” in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-91: “Within seconds, the alert was distributed to millions of cells sites over multiple technologies. This process was completed while separate live WEA alerts were issued and transmitted simultaneously. The system performed as intended and we did not observe any anomalies.”
Alarm Industry Communications Committee Chairman Louis Fiore and others from the group cited problems with AT&T’s pending shuttering of its 3G network (see 2109150041), in calls with an aide to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and staff from the Wireless and Consumer and Government Affairs bureaus, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-304. AICC noted “the persons and activities that will be adversely impacted if an extension of the AT&T 3G sunset is not granted, including the safety implications for school children.”
Members of the Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute spoke with FCC staff about the group's tests of radio altimeter susceptibility to interference from 5G signals in the C band. “The discussion was based on a set of questions provided by the FCC to AVSI,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-122: “The discussion included the appropriate values of ground reflectivity to be used in further analysis of 5G interference.”
The future of 5G spells growth “way beyond the smartphone," blogged Alex Katouzian, Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president-general manager. “Widespread 5G deployment is accelerating into numerous industries, sectors, and governments, serving to quickly and efficiently connect organizations to every aspect of their business,” said Katouzian. “Ultra-fast” millimeter-wave 5G “is creating completely new use cases” for technologies like “connected intelligent edge” for immersive extended reality and “powerful AI through distributed computing,” he said. Rather than just being a “personal connectivity” technology, 5G is “fueling digital transformations around the world,” he said. It’s connecting people to their homes and cars, “businesses to their supply chains, robotics, and security, and cities to their transportation and infrastructure systems,” he said.
Ericsson submitted data to the FCC modeling altimeter interference exposure from use of the C band for mobile wireless, at the airport in Santa Monica, California, but the data was redacted as highly confidential. “This simulation modeled the emissions from base station equipment utilizing Ericsson specific Advanced Antenna System (AAS) patterns, as well as presenting data on the characteristics of those AAS in the vertical plane,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-122. Representatives of Ericsson and AT&T discussed the data with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and others from the FCC. AT&T and Verizon last week agreed to delay C-band deployments for a month as safety issues are studied (see 2111040042).
Dish Network's DBS subsidiary will offer $4 billion in senior secured notes, using the proceeds to fund the "potential purchase" of wireless spectrum licenses and for the buildout of "wireless infrastructure," said an 8-K Monday. Existing Dish wireless spectrum licenses may be used as collateral for the "intercompany loan," it said. The money potentially will be used to buy licenses in the 3.45 GHz auction, said New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin. “While there can be no guarantee that this is for 3.45 GHz spectrum, the filing specifies the proceeds will be used ‘in order to finance the potential purchase of wireless spectrum licenses and for general corporate purposes, including the buildout of wireless infrastructure,’” he said: “We don’t think Dish needs outside funding for the network right now." He thinks it's "certainly plausible this is for 3.45 GHz spectrum, given the auction’s price has nearly settled (the auction will continue through technical procedures for at least another month, however),” he said.
NTIA raised concerns about use of 5030-5091 MHz by drones within the National Radio Quiet Zone, in comments on behalf of the National Science Foundation. NTIA said it previously clarified that the scope of services “should be limited to the relevant allocation of aeronautical mobile (route) service (AM(R)S) communications.” NTIA said that alone won’t address all concerns. “We accordingly would recommend that additional criteria be developed, should this proceeding continue, to minimize … impact to particular radio astronomy sites, especially from low-altitude operations,” said the filing, posted Friday in docket RM-11798. Use of the band for drones has general support (see 2110130044).
The FirstNet board meets 11 a.m. Nov. 17 at the Park Hyatt Hotel, 1201 24th St. NW, Washington, says Friday's Federal Register. The physical meeting is closed to the public because of COVID-19 restrictions. It will be streamed.