Representatives of the Edison Electric Institute discussed electric utilities' need for licensed spectrum to support uncrewed aerial systems. Accordingly, they urged that the FCC examine the 4.9 and 5 GHz bands. “Access to licensed spectrum would enable networked operations, expanding drone range and facilitating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights,” a filing Tuesday in docket 22-323 said: “This would significantly improve inspection efficiency and enhance security.” EEI representatives met with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington, after an earlier session with staff for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2407250020).

Telit Communications' ME310M1 is the first module based on Sony’s Altair ALT1350 chipset to receive AT&T approval, the company said Wednesday. The chipset is “the first in the world to support both unlicensed spectrum and satellite connectivity, enhancing IoT device functionality and application,” it noted. The module is energy efficient, allowing for smaller device sizes and reducing the frequency of battery replacements, “a critical advantage in many IoT applications,” Telit said.

The neutral host market is likely to hit $8.7 billion in 2028, offering an opportunity “for those who can make both the technology and economics work,” 5G Americas said in a report released Wednesday. 5G Americas defines neutral hosts as “shared wireless infrastructures that allow multiple network providers to offer connectivity and coverage to different sectors and customers.” Potential “headwinds” include the decline of distributed antenna system equipment sales, security risks, energy costs and consumption, and potential regulatory barriers, the report said. “Tailwinds include the growth of private networks, the availability of shared spectrum, the demand for Bring Your Own Device and innovative partnership models.”

Comments are due Sept. 9, replies Sept. 23, on an FCC NPRM that proposes industry-wide handset unlocking rules, a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register said. Commissioners approved the NPRM 5-0 last month (see 2407180037). It proposes a requirement that all mobile wireless providers unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud.”

Representatives of the FirstNet Authority, joined by AT&T, “discussed and fielded questions” from the FCC Public Safety Bureau on whether FirstNet should be subject to the agency’s network outage and disaster information reporting systems rules (see 2406140053). The main topic was FirstNet Central, “a tool available to FirstNet public safety users that provides near-real time network status information, including visibility into areas that may be experiencing outages, the cause if known, and estimated restoration time if known,” said a filing this week in docket 21-346. Representatives “explained and demonstrated the features and functionality of the FirstNet Central platform” and how users “can visualize network outage data inclusive of towers, outage notifications, and various informative map layers and showed how users can subscribe to and customize alerts,” the authority said.

SpaceX filed a report at the FCC that found high-power mobile use of the 13 GHz band would cause harmful out-of-band interference to its customers in three metropolitan areas studied up to 83.2% of the time. It would cause harmful blocking interference up to 76.8% of the time, the study said. “Either type of interference would crush SpaceX’s service for these consumers and businesses, and they both occur simultaneously,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 22-352 said. SpaceX has directed most of its wrath at the lower 12 GHz band, which is being studied for fixed-wireless use (see 2407030061). Carriers see the band's upper part as a candidate for 5G, and eventually 6G, based on comments in response to an FCC NPRM (see 2308140046). The record “shows that the upper 12 GHz band is not a priority for the mobile industry, which has asked the Commission to focus instead on frequency bands in the mobile spectrum pipeline,” SpaceX said: No carrier “has made an actual technical proposal” to use the band. “Any high-power mobile service in the upper 12 GHz band threatens to do as much damage to American satellite customers as [Dish Network’s] deeply flawed plea for terrestrial service in the lower 12 GHz band.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau sought comment Tuesday on a NextNav proposal that the agency reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band “to enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing services (see 2404160043). Comments are due Sept. 5, replies Sept. 20, in docket 24-240. NextNav asked that the commission reconfigure the lower 900 MHz band by creating a 5-MHz uplink in the 902-907 MHz band paired with a 10-MHz downlink in the 918-928 MHz band, shifting remaining non-multilateration location and monitoring service (M-LMS) licensees to the 907-918 MHz part of the band, the notice said: “NextNav proposes a spectrum ‘swap’ to trade in its current M-LMS holdings for a single, nationwide 15-megahertz flexible use license pursuant to the new band plan.” The agency said some 1,500 active non-M-LMS licenses are in the band. The FCC seeks comment “on all aspects" of the NextNav petition, “including its associated costs and benefits,” the notice said. “We seek to develop a robust record and welcome comment on additional related issues that commenters may identify.” The notice is “an important next step in delivering an innovative spectrum solution in the Lower 900 MHz band,” NextNav CEO Mariam Sorond said. “Providing a complement and backup to GPS is critical for safeguarding things we need daily -- from location mapping and tracking services to serving as an important tool for locating emergency callers to addressing critical infrastructure and national security needs.”

Before the FCC takes further action on supplemental coverage from space (SCS) issues, the agency should consider seeking additional public comment, Apple said in docket 23-65 filing, posted Tuesday. Areas needing more input include carrier/satellite operators' interconnectivity, including plans that rely on industry standards and support legacy devices, the filing said. A further inquiry or rulemaking would help ensure that neither future SCS service deployments nor new regulations would negatively affect features or performance, it said. Additional proceedings wouldn't be an obstacle for parties providing satellite-enabled services under the current rules. In addition, Apple, in the filing, explained how iPhone 14 and 15 traffic gets routed in its emergency SOS messaging partnership with Globalstar.

The FCC's World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee held its second meeting Monday as it prepares for the next WRC, in 2027, moving forward on some early items for the conference. Among the proposals considered was agenda item 1.7, which examines studies on sharing and compatibility and the use of international mobile telecommunications in the 4, 7/8 and 15 GHz bands. Informal Working Group (IWG) 2, Mobile and Fixed Services, recommended two views. The first alternative supports the sharing and compatibility studies called for at WRC-23, “with a view to ensure the protection of services to which the frequency bands are allocated on a primary basis, including in adjacent bands, as appropriate.” Alternative 2 has the same findings but “adds additional language referencing employment of coexistence mechanisms to safeguard incumbent operations,” said IWG-2 Chair Daudeleine Meme, Verizon's vice president-federal regulatory and legal. “There were extensive discussions” and “in the end it was agreed to present two alternatives,” she said. IWG-2 member Scott Kotler, director-regulatory engineering at Lockheed Martin, noted item 1.7 is “critical” to the U.S. aerospace and defense industry “to innovate, to meet the needs and demands of existing services, while also exploring innovative opportunities for new wireless services.” Kotler said the alternative view better reflects the national spectrum strategy and administration principles “on what the U.S. would not support at WRC-27 for IMT.” Other speakers supported Kotler’s view. The WAC voted and approved both alternative views.

NTIA will hold a multistakeholder forum on Aug. 23 for nonfederal stakeholders to meet with federal agencies conducting studies of the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands as part of the national spectrum strategy. In that and future meetings, “NTIA will solicit targeted information from the public, including industry and academia, on spectrum use cases, coexistence scenarios, existing technology solutions, and technical inputs,” a notice for Tuesday’s Federal Register said. The meeting, at 10 a.m., is at the Herbert C. Hoover Federal Building Auditorium. The 3.1-3.45 GHz and 7.125-8.4 GHz bands are a top target for wireless carriers looking for more spectrum for 5G and 6G (see 2403120056).