Support is broad on a proposal for smaller, lighter antennas in the 70/80/90 GHz bands, said 5G Americas Monday in a filing in FCC docket 10-153. This “would facilitate deployment of 5G,” and similar antennas are widely used in Europe, the advocacy group said: “The public interest would be served by granting these proposed amendments immediately, independent of the Commission’s continued consideration of more complex proposals to add new services to the band.”
The FCC text-to-988 Further NPRM adopted unanimously Thursday (see 2104220036) cites somewhat different legal authority to justify the proposed rules, per our side-by-side comparison of the draft and the approved FNPRM released Friday. The draft cited the Communications Act Title III and Section 251(e). The adopted version cites Title III and the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
The Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association urged the FCC to “restore its traditional role in spectrum management” and reconsider 2020's order reallocating the band to the states (see 2009300050), in a call with a Public Safety Bureau staffer. “Prioritization of commercial broadband technologies and companies ... has been detrimental to the public safety communications industry,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 07-100. If the FCC “elects to retain its decision to assign 4.9 GHz licenses to the various states, and provide the states with authority to lease this spectrum to any entity, it must do so only after implementing a series of rules and policies to protect public safety licensees.”
The FirstNet board and committees will meet virtually May 5 at 11 a.m. EDT, says Thursday's Federal Register.
Parts of the FCC October 5G Fund order (see 2010270034) were cleared by OMB and take effect Thursday, says that day's Federal Register.
Comments are due May 20, replies and oppositions June 4, in docket 21-172 on a petition seeking a declaratory ruling that would allow foreign ownership of Consolidated Communications to rise above the 25% benchmark in the Communications Act. Searchlight, a “global private equity investment company,” is seeking to buy “up to approximately 62.4%” of Consolidated’s equity for $425 million. Consolidated is the parent of three companies with FCC wireless licenses, said a notice in Wednesday's Daily Digest.
The FCC Enforcement Bureau warned amateur radio service and personal radio service licensees Tuesday that they can't use their devices “to commit or facilitate criminal acts.”
Representatives of CTIA, USTelecom and member companies urged FCC action on a June petition seeking regulatory relief on pro forma filings (see 2006050039), in a call with Wireless Bureau staff. Association reps “discussed the unanimous support in the record for the Petition’s proposed reforms, which will greatly benefit a diverse range of filers, Commission staff, and the public by providing clarity and helping alleviate burdens associated with pro forma filings,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-186. AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and UScellular participated.
Fining major carriers for not meeting a Z-axis deadline doesn’t address the larger problem faced by wireless callers to 911, said Precision Broadband CEO Charles Simon in a call with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Major carriers sought more time to meet an April 3 deadline for vertical location on emergency calls. The FCC instead said the Enforcement Bureau will investigate whether providers are in compliance (see 2104020056). “Many enforcement actions result in multi-million dollar fines that make headlines but don’t remedy the problem,” said Tuesday's posting in docket 07-114.
Supply chain challenges have big implications for smartphones and telecom, said Michael Orlando, acting director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), during an Intelligence and National Security Alliance webinar Tuesday. A recent White House summit focused on supply chain issues (see 2104130005). A smartphone “consists of numerous components -- battery, antenna, integrated circuit, the screen,” Orlando noted. “Those components are made from raw materials” that “have to be extracted from around the world and then shipped to various factories to build those components,” he said. The components are then shipped to another factory to be assembled, he said. The supply chain has many vulnerabilities, Orlando said: “An adversary can target any point of that long, complicated process. They could cut off access to components, steal technology or introduce infected components.” The semiconductor supply chain has risen to the “top of the policy agenda” in Washington, said Semiconductor Industry Association CEO John Neuffer. Chips are “driving the technologies of the future,” including 5G and AI, he said. The best way to “provide security is through technical leadership,” and the U.S. is falling behind, said Tower Semiconductor CEO Russell Ellwanger. Within weeks of the pandemic's start, Dell got 90% of its factory capacity back, said Cameron Chehreh, chief technology officer of the federal business. “That was a direct result of the diversification in the supply chain -- prescreening suppliers” and “ensuring that we had great resiliency,” he said. That's critical as more people live online and need new computers, he said.