The FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday delayed the deadline for reply comments on the preliminary eligible-areas map for the Alaska Connect Fund (see 2511190039) from Friday to Jan. 7. The change came after the agency released a revised version of the map to “address concerns and questions from stakeholders,” said a notice in docket 23-328.
The National Sheriffs’ Association asked the FCC to delay the deadline for comments on September's further NPRM on allowing correctional facilities to jam cell signals. Comments are due Dec. 26 (see 2509300063). “The comment deadline falls during one of the most significant holiday periods of the year, spanning Christmas, New Year’s, and the days immediately surrounding them,” the group said this week in docket 12-375. It added that it's surveying its membership and needs more time to get “a statistically significant sample size and to compile and analyze the resulting data.”
Neology, which provides a platform for tolling services that uses the 900 MHz band, filed a technical study at the FCC this week challenging arguments by NextNav in support of its proposal to use the spectrum for a “terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT).
T-Mobile maintains its fixed-wireless access leadership position, with a median download speed of 209.06 Mbps, “approximately double that” of AT&T’s median speed of 104.63 Mbps, Ookla said Monday. It found a “noticeable decline” in the download and upload speeds of T-Mobile, AT&T and Verizon during Q2 and Q3. That may be a “seasonal pattern,” since the firm said it detected similar declines last year. “It’s also possible that this may be an early indication that strong uptake in FWA is starting to impact performance.”
The FCC on Monday approved Nokia as a spectrum access system administrator in the citizens broadband radio service band for a five-year term. The order also approved Nokia to support spectrum manager leasing for priority access licenses.
NATE supports the Safer Buildings Coalition’s July petition asking the FCC to launch a rulemaking on guidelines for getting consent from licensees to install signal boosters, said a filing Friday in docket RM-12009 (see 2511130025). The FCC’s regulatory framework for Part 90 industrial signal boosters “contains significant gaps that negatively impact both our contractor members and public safety communications,” NATE said. “The absence of clear, standardized authorization procedures creates an environment where requirements vary unpredictably across jurisdictions and license holders.”
The National Emergency Number Association warned the FCC that allowing correctional facilities to jam cell signals must not interfere with people's ability to call 911, according to a filing posted Monday in docket 13-111. The FCC unanimously approved a further NPRM on cell jamming in September (see 2509300063), and initial comments are due Dec. 26. NENA declined to comment “on the technical merit” of various systems. “However, whichever systems are allowed … and installed in correctional facilities must include careful engineering and assurances that legitimate 9-1-1 calls and public safety traffic won’t be blocked.”
The FCC should grant the 30-day extension the airline industry has requested for comments on the upper C-band spectrum auction (see 2511140015), said the North American Spectrum Alliance and a joint filing from public interest, tribal and rural interest groups Friday. Due in part to the government shutdown, the FCC “currently has before it an unusual number of significant proceedings that affect overlapping sets of stakeholders,” said the joint filing from groups including Public Knowledge, the Rural Wireless Association and the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. “Stakeholders with limited staff and resources face particular difficulty when multiple proceedings demand attention at the same time,” the filing said. “A modest extension in this docket will allow for more complete participation by parties whose perspective the Commission should want to hear.” The extra time “will result in the ‘complete record’ that the FCC is rightly seeking for this proceeding, without meaningfully delaying the ultimate timeline for the Upper C-band auction,” said the North American Spectrum Alliance filing. The “large and diverse group of stakeholders in the Upper C-band requires this additional time to submit well-informed comments on the complex and numerous scenarios for the auction and the post-auction transition,” the alliance said. A 30-day extension is “unlikely to delay the overall proceeding,” the joint filing said. “Congress has set a July 2027 deadline for the spectrum auction, and the Commission has ample time to complete this rule-making while still meeting that deadline.”
Wireless ISPs continue to urge the FCC not to relocate citizens broadband radio service operations from any portion of the 3.55-3.70 GHz band to another band. CBRS advocates have been pushing against any major change to the band. NCTA is encouraging service providers to file comments at the FCC opposing proposals to increase power levels (see 2511130037).
The FCC is rechartering its World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee and soliciting applications for membership, said a public notice Friday. The FCC “intends to renew the Committee for a period of two (2) years following consultation with the General Services Administration,” the PN said. “It is anticipated that after this consultation, the renewed charter will become effective on or before January 31st 2026.” Applications and nominations are due by Jan. 9, the PN said. The committee is intended to provide the FCC with “advice, technical support, and recommended proposals” for the WRCs, the PN said. “In particular, the Committee will focus on the international frequency spectrum issues identified on the WRC-27 agenda with the goal of identifying private sector/public priorities and objectives.” The current WRC advisory committee’s informal working groups have meetings scheduled for January and February, said a second PN.