Electric utility groups said the FCC should expand eligibility for the 4.9 GHz band to include utilities and other critical infrastructure industries. The FCC last week took comments in docket 07-100 on the future of the public-safety band (see 1807060019). “Utilities across the country urgently need access to the 4.9 GHz band to support increased bandwidth requirements for applications such as remote monitoring and control of transmission and distribution substations as well as distribution automation and synchrophasor technologies which provide power quality monitoring,” said the Utilities Technology Council, Edison Electric Institute, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and GridWise Alliance.

CTIA sought eight more days to file briefs at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on the impact of the recent Supreme Court opinion in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra on CTIA’s challenge of an RF disclosure ordinance in Berkeley, California (see 1807060008). CTIA wants until July 26, which would make Berkeley’s brief due Aug. 16, the wireless association said Friday. CTIA wants more time because it has “significant briefing commitments” in several courts and attorneys have prescheduled vacations and medical appointments, the group said (in Pacer). Berkeley consented.

T-Mobile and CBS Television Stations said Monday they reached a deal for early repack of WLNY-TV, clearing the 600 MHz spectrum in Long Island, New York, and the surrounding area a year ahead of next year’s deadline. WLNY moved to its new frequency earlier this month, they said. “Partnering with WLNY allows us to clear spectrum and bring 600 MHz LTE to customers in New York City as quickly as possible,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile chief technology officer. “The T-Mobile team is deploying 600 MHz LTE across the country at record pace, and we’re laying the foundation for 5G in NYC by deploying 600 MHz with 5G-ready gear.” T-Mobile bought the license in the TV incentive auction.

The FCC should adopt rules to ensure interoperability on the nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN), said the Colorado Public Safety Broadband Governing Body in a Friday request in docket 16-269. “The Commission has clear authority to require that FirstNet implement the NPSBN in a manner that ensures interoperability with other networks serving public safety, as such a requirement is clearly in the public interest.” The state body has interoperability concerns because AT&T will have competition from other national and regional carriers in the public safety market, it said. “Recent statements by AT&T and FirstNet indicate that there is presently no intention to establish standards or agreements with other commercial carriers to ensure prioritized interoperability for critical public safety applications and access. We fear that without standards or agreements to ensure prioritized interoperability, first responders will continue to experience issues related to interoperability that will effectively leave the status quo unresolved.” For example, if network-level push-to-talk services are available only to those that use only the FirstNet/AT&T network, users of other commercial carriers networks may be “unable to communicate with users of AT&T’s network and the NPSBN in a secured, prioritized manner,” it said.

The 9th U.S. Court of Appeals sought supplemental briefs from CTIA and Berkeley, California, on the impact of the recent Supreme Court opinion in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra on CTIA’s challenge of Berkeley’s RF disclosure ordinance. CTIA should file by July 18 and Berkeley 21 days later, no later than Aug. 8, the appeals court said in a Thursday order (in Pacer). Last month, the Supreme Court sent CTIA v. Berkeley back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reflect on the high court's 2018 ruling that 2015 California state law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to disclose all available medical options to pregnant women violated free speech claims (see 1806280064). CTIA praised remand to the 9th Circuit, but Berkeley said the NIFLA ruling has no effect on the wireless case (see 1806290035).

Vuzix said it completed, passed and filed with the FCC all emissions requirements for its next-generation Vuzix Blade smart glasses and completed the European Union CE emissions certification process. Volume manufacturing has begun at the company's West Henrietta, New York, facility, and Vuzix CEO Paul Travers expects "broad shipping" to begin in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In a shareholder letter, Travers outlined factors expected to boost 2018 revenue: more than 750 M300 smart glasses pilots and new ones launching; existing customers placing follow-on orders to pilots; "dozens" of customers and partners surpassing 2017 order totals: and an expanding sales footprint based on regulatory agency certifications in new regions, including Eastern Europe, South America and Asia. The company expects new revenue streams from the Toshiba AR100 and Vuzix Blade, plus more OEM engagements and provision of engineering services, said the executive. Vuzix virtual imaging products integrate microdisplay technology with advanced optics to produce high-resolution display engines measuring less than half an inch diagonally. When viewed through smart glasses, the products create virtual images that "appear comparable in size to that of a computer monitor or a large-screen television," it said. The smart glasses are designed to be used as a stand-alone product or as a smartphone peripheral and can be used as a "wearable substitute" for TVs, desktop PC monitors or tablets, it said. For the quarter ended March 31, Vuzix had product sales of $1.4 million vs. $959,383 in the year-ago quarter and engineering sales of $180,516 vs. $251,280 in the 2017 quarter. Net loss widened to $5.4 million from $4.2 million. Shares closed up 2.7 percent at $7.60.

Competition between wireless carriers is likely to increase in the second half of 2018, Macquarie Research’s Amy Yong told investors Thursday. “AT&T will likely leverage its new assets to offer better bundles, while T-Mobile/Sprint could offer promos to showcase their consumer-friendly nature,” Yong said. Verizon, which will soon have a new CEO in Hans Vestberg, will likely take “a fresh approach” to competition, she said. Yong predicted T-Mobile will continue to make investments in its networks as it waits for regulators on the Sprint deal. “T-Mobile is balancing standalone network investments while trying not to compromise deal synergies,” she said.” We expect it will continue its 5G efforts in its 600 MHz footprint, which should fit nicely with Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum efforts.”

Q Link Wireless asked the FCC to ensure application programming interfaces (APIs) are implemented by the Universal Service Administrative Co. in a USF Lifeline national verifier, to permit eligible telecom carriers (ETCs) "to exchange information with USAC, including information necessary to establish eligibility, on a machine-to-machine basis when consumers seek to enroll" in the low-income program. USAC’s current implementation "will be unnecessarily difficult and confusing for consumers, especially rural Americans; will expose consumers to phishing fraud by unscrupulous individuals; and will increase the National Verifier’s annual operating costs by tens of millions of dollars," said Q Link's emergency petition in docket 17-287 Thursday. "There are right ways and wrong ways to do things, and USAC’s current path is the wrong way."

T-Mobile engineer Steve Sharkey discussed the carrier’s positions on several bands, including 3.5 GHz, in a meeting with Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “It is important that the Commission adopt rules that authorize Priority Access Licenses in appropriately-sized geographic areas,” Sharkey said of the 3.5 GHz band. “The Commission must avoid the engineering challenges of using 3.5 GHz spectrum in too-small geographic areas in urban locations while potentially fostering the use of the spectrum by smaller providers in rural areas.” Sharkey said the C-band, the subject of an NPRM teed up for a vote next week (see 1806210063), “presents the Commission with an important opportunity to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of fifth generation wireless development.” The Tuesday filing was in 17-183 and other dockets.

Tower company Crown Castle asked the FCC to use its authority under Section 253 of the Communications Act to address actions by railroads that can slow or stop wireless deployment. “Railroads routinely inhibit Crown Castle’s ability to deploy by imposing commercially unreasonable fees and requirements for crossings within public rights-of-way,” Crown Castle said. “Examples of fees required by railroads include a $21,500 document preparation fee, $66,807 ROW crossing fee, $2,000 reoccurring annual fee, and $1,500 engineering review fee.” The railroads are also often slow to respond to the company’s requests for ROW crossings, Crown Castle said in docket 17-84.