Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein spoke with FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington on the importance of training programs for tower workers, said a Thursday posting in docket 20-445. “WIA highlighted its efforts ... through the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program.”
Delta Air Lines will equip its more than 19,000 flight attendants with the 5G iPhone 12, AT&T said Wednesday: Attendants will use the phones' augmented reality capabilities to inventory in-cabin supplies and “perform critical tasks -- from safety checks to passenger assistance.”
Boeing representatives urged the FCC to issue an NPRM on enabling use of the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems, in a call with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. There's "need for licensed spectrum to support the communications needs of the growing UAS industry,” said a filing posted Wednesday in RM-11798: “The parties discussed the extent to which adopting licensing and service rules for the C-band is a critical component of that overarching endeavor, which likely will include a variety of spectrum options to support UAS operations, including commercial wireless providers operating under flexible use licenses.”
Qualcomm representatives told FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff that the entire 600 MHz-wide lower 37 GHz band can safely be shared by licensed users. Under Qualcomm’s proposal, priority users would be licensed to use a 100 or 200 MHz channel “in a given area on which they have primary rights, and each priority licensee would have secondary rights to the other channels,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 14-177. Simulations “demonstrate that fully overlapping licenses in both frequency and location can perform very well in an extremely high density node deployment scenario,” Qualcomm said: “This unsurprising result is due to the highly directional nature of millimeter wave communications.”
Terrestrial wireless interests, think tanks and others formed the 5G for 12 GHz Coalition to push for opening the band to terrestrial mobile service, they said Wednesday. Members include Incompas, Public Knowledge, Dish Network, RS Access, New America's Open Technology Institute, Federated Wireless and the Rural Wireless Association. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering and Joe Lockhart, who was President Bill Clinton's press secretary, are co-chairmen.
FreedomFi and IoT network Helium announced an agreement Tuesday to use citizens broadband radio service spectrum. With Helium, users mount a radio device on their roof, connect it to the network using an app and help create a wireless network. Under the agreement, Helium will use FreedomFi gateways, which "augment the existing capacity of macro-cell tower operators,” said CEO Boris Renski: “We’re able to use CBRS small cells in urban areas to rapidly add density to the network at no expense to the operators.”
Smith Bagley Chairman Kevin Frawley defended the carrier’s December petition for reconsideration urging the FCC to rethink 5G Fund rules for tribal areas, in a call with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Not creating "an opt-in plan for remote Tribal lands in the Continental United States, similar to that afforded carriers serving Alaska, was in error,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-32. The proposed $680 million over 10 years won’t be enough, the company said: Smith Bagley “is often quoted a fiber installation price of over $120,000 per mile.”
The FCC will begin accepting 900 MHz broadband segment applications May 27, the Wireless Bureau said Tuesday. “This transition of this band will enable next generation, mission-critical applications not available via current narrowband systems and will help to meet the evolving technological needs of industries that provide crucial services." Commissioners approved an order 5-0 last May allowing broadband in 900 MHz (see 2005130057).
Zebra sought FCC action on its waiver request to operate its Dart positioning system in the 7.125-8.5 GHz band, in a call with an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The need is urgent due to the growing use of unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band “requiring immediate alternate solutions,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 20-17. The request was filed in December 2019, the company said. The system is primarily used to track balls and players at NFL facilities.
The FCC sought comment on implementing decisions of the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference on the 24.25-27.5 GHz band. Comment dates will come in a Federal Register notice. “We seek comment on modifying the Commission’s rules in response to the unwanted emission limits and international allocation table footnotes adopted” by the WRC, said the Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau in a Monday notice: “These rule changes could include, for example, adding footnotes to the United States Table of Frequency Allocations or aligning the Commission’s technical rules.”