Howard Buskirk

CTA is fighting the same policy battles today it has been fighting for years, CTA President Gary Shapiro said at the start of CES in Las Vegas Tuesday. Every company “can be, or perhaps should be, a tech company,” he said. “We’re urging policymakers in Washington, and around the globe, to adopt rules and laws that protect consumers but also promote innovation and growth,” Shapiro said. “That means developing lighter touch rules” supporting existing businesses and those seeking market entry, Shapiro said.

An order set for a vote during the FCC’s Jan. 25 open meeting would require nationwide wireless carriers to implement location-based routing (LBR) for calls to 911 within six months of approval, according to a draft order released Thursday. Smaller carriers would have 24 months. Both would be required to use the technology for real-time texts within two years. An order and further notice on outage reporting during disasters would make updating the FCC's disaster information reporting system mandatory for cable, wireline, wireless and VoIP providers and seek comment on doing the same for broadcasters, satellite providers and broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

In other comments to NTIA on an implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy, the Enterprise Wireless Alliance urged consideration of the needs of its members, who operate primarily on spectrum regulated under Parts 22, 90, and 101 of FCC rules. “These businesses are critical for meeting the day-to-day needs of the American public,” EWA said. The group appreciates the importance of commercial networks and Wi-Fi, but the strategy should “achieve a balance between those interests and the spectrum requirements of enterprise entities.” Ericsson warned, as did other industry players (see 2401030059), of a “looming licensed spectrum deficit” facing the U.S. “While the industry has suggested an allocation of 1.5-2.2 gigahertz” for licensed use “that amount is barely enough to keep the United States in the middle of the pack globally,” Ericsson said. Though the strategy identifies nearly 2,800 MHz of spectrum for study, “it does not identify an amount of spectrum to be repurposed for commercial use suitable for 5G, 6G, and beyond,” the company said. The U.S. needs more licensed, shared and unlicensed spectrum, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) advised. “Studies should be started and finished as quickly as possible, making sure there are adequate opportunities for the public and private sectors to weigh in, while also keeping an open mind about sharing technologies and methodologies where appropriate,” ITI said. “The Implementation Plan and its deliverables should provide early clarity regarding the study processes, methodologies, and principles for the bands under study, including their timing, inputs, and outputs. Such processes should be data-driven -- consistent with this Administration’s focus on data-based decision-making -- and increase transparency into current and future federal and non-federal spectrum use.” Wi-Fi is “an American success story” and U.S. companies lead the world “in Wi-Fi chipset production, modular radios used in other manufacturers’ finished products, and enterprise equipment,” WifiForward said. The group urged NTIA to focus on 7 GHz, the “only location available in the foreseeable future to support the Nation’s ever-growing unlicensed spectrum needs.” While other bands are studied for licensed use “there is no ‘Plan B’ for heavily used Wi-Fi services that carry the bulk of data in our homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions,” WifiForward said. The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) urged allocating spectrum “with licenses adapted towards a spectrum usage rights method that has the minimum necessary technical restrictions to provide adequate protection against harmful interference.” Optimal use of spectrum is more likely “if the market, and not the regulator, decides what technology or service should be provided in a particular frequency band,” WInnForum said.

CTIA and other industry players sought to keep pressure on the Biden administration to make more mid-band spectrum available for 5G and eventually 6G in comments on the implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy. Others stressed the importance of spectrum sharing. NTIA has not yet posted the comments, which were due Wednesday.

FCC commissioners this month will tackle mitigating risks from space debris and potentially controversial rules addressing misrouted wireless calls to 911, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday in her “Notes from the FCC.” Also on the Jan. 25 open meeting agenda are mandatory outage reporting rules and revised rules for the 70/80/90 GHz bands. Rounding out the meeting is a judicatory matter from the Media Bureau and five enforcement items.

The FCC hasn’t provided much guidance in recent months about where it’s headed on final rules for the 4.9 GHz band, industry officials tracking the band told us. Nearly a year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 a long-awaited order and Further NPRM on the future of the band (see 2301180062), which reversed course from a plan approved during the Trump administration.

The FCC approved Friday a 2022 T-Mobile application to purchase 600 MHz licenses it was leasing from Columbia Capital, dismissing a Dish Network challenge. T-Mobile reported the deal was worth $3.5 billion. Analysts said when T-Mobile filed the application FCC approval was likely, especially since the carrier is already using the frequencies (see 2208090053).

Leaders of the 12 GHz for 5G Coalition told us they expect an order opening use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed-wireless in Q1 2024. The group's leaders had hoped for action by the end of this year, after commissioners approved a Further NPRM in May examining the band's future (see 2309110061).

Republican FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented on an NPRM that seeks to align rules for the 24 GHz band with decisions made at the World Radiocommunication Conference four years ago. Carr accused the Biden administration of retreating rather than moving forward on spectrum.

The FCC’s controversial data breach notification rules included several changes from the draft. The rules were adopted at the December open meeting over Commissioners Brendan Carr's and Nathan Simington's dissents (see 2312130019). Republican lawmakers are weighing a response to the rules, which they see as sidestepping a 2017 Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval that rescinded similar regulations as part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 2312200001). The order was posted in Friday’s Daily Digest.