The FCC on Friday approved waivers for equipment manufacturers Autotalks, Innowireless and Keysight Technologies, and automaker North American Subaru to launch cellular vehicle-to-everything operations in the upper 30 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band. The notice comes days after Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated an order finalizing rules for C-V2X operations in the band (see 2407170042). The order imposes conditions approved for previous waiver recipients, as modified a year ago (see 2307050048). “All operations authorized pursuant to this waiver are limited to transportation and vehicle safety-related communications,” the order by the Wireless and Public Safety bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau said it added “an enhancement” to the universal licensing system by adding tribal-specific “entity types” to some ULS forms. “This enhancement will improve identification of how and where Tribal Nations are directly accessing licensed wireless spectrum, and use of the new entity types will exempt applications filed by Tribal Nations and Tribally controlled business entities from related FCC Application Fees,” a notice in Friday’s Daily Digest said.

NTIA proposed modifications to FCC rules that protect the Department of Commerce’s Table Mountain Field Site and Radio Quiet Zone, which is located north of Boulder, Colorado. The site is used to study the characteristics and propagation of electromagnetic radiation and spectrum coexistence in a real-world environment. “For frequencies of 15.7 GHz and above, the field strength limit should increase with frequency,” an undocketed filing posted Friday said. For those same frequencies, the field strength limit “should be defined as a spectrum density, of field strength (power) per megahertz instead of total signal power,” NTIA proposed. NTIA said it was similarly modifying its rules.

T-Mobile unveiled a “Your Name, Our Wireless” offering aimed at making it easier for mobile virtual network operators to launch. The service is “an end-to-end managed and operated solution, which simplifies backend set-up and day-to-day operations, allowing companies to focus on enhancing customer engagement and driving new revenue opportunities,” a Thursday news release said. The carrier cited as an example its work with rapper Leon "Roccstar" Youngblood to launch Roccstar Wireless. Launching an MVNO “can be complex” and “companies must navigate signing agreements with multiple suppliers, resulting in a prolonged time-to-market," said Daniel Thygesen, senior vice president of T-Mobile Wholesale. T-Mobile noted it already powers more than 200 MVNO brands.

WifiForward called on the FCC to reject Axon's waiver request that would allow it to market three investigative and surveillance devices operating at higher power levels than allowed under FCC rules in the heavily used 5 GHz spectrum. Law enforcement agencies are the intended market for the devices. The proposal has proven controversial (see 2403080044). Axon should “re-engineer its devices with compliant technology readily available in the highly-competitive Wi-Fi equipment and module marketplace,” WifiForward said. “There is no reason why, in 2024, a vendor should come before the Commission with outdated technology that fails to meet the band rules, proposing to disrupt the successful coexistence environment that the Commission so carefully built,” a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-40 said.

Verizon announced Thursday a new offer for its Mobile and Home Internet customers. Customers can subscribe to the Peacock Premium annual plan for $79.99, and get a year of Netflix Premium for free. The announcement comes ahead of Verizon’s release of Q2 earnings Monday.

Mongoose Works is entitled to an additional $69,686 in the C-band transition reimbursement, FCC Administrative Law Judge Jane Hinckley Halprin ordered Thursday (docket 21-333). Mongoose appealed a Wireless Bureau decision upholding the C-Band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse’s reducing Mongoose’s lump sum claim amount from $356,052 to $286,366 under the C-band relocation program (see 2309180019). In her 17-page order, the judge said Mongoose proved that its operations weren't restored to pre-reallocation capabilities and that the categorization of two of its antennas is inconsistent with the agency's C-band order.

The FCC on Thursday approved Nokia’s application to begin initial commercial operations as a spectrum access system administrator for the citizens broadband radio service band. Nokia has satisfied the commission’s SAS laboratory testing requirements, a notice from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology said. Nokia must file at the FCC information on the beginning date of its initial commercial deployment and specific geographic areas covered, the notice said.

Boost Mobile prepaid and Boost Infinite postpaid brands will be offered as Boost Mobile, EchoStar announced Wednesday. “Boost Mobile is now the only nationwide carrier with both prepaid and postpaid mobile services under one name because Boost believes how you pay is not a product,” EchoStar said. The company said it’s offering “simplified pricing” with unlimited plans starting at $25 a month, and is “kicking off a nationwide brand and advertising campaign.” EchoStar also offered a 30-day money-back guarantee allowing new customers to try Boost Mobile's 5G network “risk free.” EchoStar owns Dish Network, which obtained Boost Mobile from T-Mobile as part of an agreement with regulators allowing T-Mobile to buy Sprint (see 1911180038).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated for a commissioner vote a long-awaited order (see 2404180050) finalizing rules for cellular vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band, the agency said Wednesday. The order wasn’t circulated in anticipation of a vote during the commissioners' Aug. 7 open meeting. Accordingly, the FCC did not release the order's text. The order codifies “C-V2X technical parameters in the Commission’s rules, including power and emission limits and message prioritization,” a news release said. The rules provide flexibility for the auto industry “to use three 10-megahertz channels either separately, in combination as a 20 megahertz channel or as a single … channel” and would “establish prioritization of safety-of-life communications,” the release said. Licensees operating under C-V2X waivers wouldn’t need to change already deployed systems. The order also provides a two-year timeline for sunsetting existing dedicated short range communications technology, the FCC said. Under the rules, geofencing could be used to allow higher equivalent isotopically radiated power limits for on-board C-V2X units, as NTIA proposed. The proposal received broad support in comments just filed at the FCC (see 2407080024). “The evolution of the 5.9 GHz band advances new car safety technologies in an efficient and effective way while also growing our wireless economy,” Rosenworcel said: “This is sound spectrum management at work.” The order was circulated Tuesday, the FCC said. Rules for the band were changed late in 2020, allocating 45 MHz for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for C-V2X technology (see 2011180043). “This is a very positive development -- and something we’ve been urging the FCC to greenlight for nearly four years,” emailed Hilary Cain, senior vice president-policy at the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. “C-V2X is an exciting safety technology and a perfect example of the sort of spectrum-enabled innovation that’s possible when the FCC and [the] auto industry work together,” she said.