Howard Buskirk

The FCC approved 4-0 NPRMs on expediting the transition to next-generation 911 and giving consumers more choice on the robocalls and robotexts they’ll receive (see 2305180069). Both were approved with limited comments from commissioners.

FCC commissioners approved an NPRM 4-0 Thursday seeking comment on potential sharing in the 42 GHz band. Industry officials disagree how much interest there will be in using the band on a shared basis (see 2305300055). But all commissioners welcomed the NPRM.

The attorneys general from 28 states urged the FCC to do anything that could help block illegal and unwanted robotexts to consumers, in reply comments on a March Further NPRM (see 2303160061). The AGs conceded that rules for robocalls may not be an exact match for robotexts. Carriers continue to urge caution in the approach taken by the commission, noting work already underway (see 2305090047).

5G is starting to lead to important changes in networks, speakers said Tuesday during an Informa Tech virtual 5G orchestration and service assurance conference. Network orchestration, which involves the automated configuration, management and coordination of parts of the network, is becoming an increasingly important concept for telcos, speakers agreed. It’s clear that to support customer demands service providers “will really have to fine-tune their orchestration,” said Jim Hodges, Heavy Reading research director. “There’s so much different in 5G … that we’re just starting to understand the service implications,” he said. After years of “hype” around 5G “we’re starting to see in 2023 finally some deployments,” said Troy Saulnier, who leads a network strategy team at Bell Canada. Industry is still waiting for a “major leap” into AI and using the cloud “to create this promise of a new explosion of services,” he said. Among the expected changes are digital logistics applications for retailers, improved latency demand by other customers and very-long battery life and lower energy consumption for the IoT, Saulnier said. Carriers need to “differentiate the customer experience” and tune it to “the actual customer in question,” he said. “We are all in this rapidly evolving digital landscape and there are many, many challenges and complexities that we need to deal with,” said Mehrdad Ekbatani, product-marketing manager-5G at Amdocs. Carriers are increasingly able to offer “differentiated services, but with that comes a lot of complexity,” he said. Providers need to keep investing in their networks as data consumption grows though revenue is “mostly flat” in mature markets, he said: “There is an urgent need here for more agility, more resilience” while controlling the costs. 5G was designed to be “open and agile,” Ekbatani said. Some use cases are emerging “but we don’t really know what the future will bring,” he said. “The only thing that we are guaranteed” is “there is going to be a continuous growth in management complexity” and “at the same we also have to transform our existing, siloed networks,” Ekbatani said. About 40% of the providers Fujitsu works with are still evaluating what to do on network orchestration, said Rhonda Holloway, Fujitsu director-network automation solution marketing. “As an industry we’re refining our approaches, our use cases and differentiators,” she said. Providers still “have a lot of uncertainty” about the best approach to network orchestration, she said: “It’s dependent on their network size, complexity, goals and budget” but also about “choosing between centralized, distributed or some kind of hybrid orchestration.”

The telecom industry is making progress toward “net zero” carbon emissions, but getting there will be a struggle as wireless networks expand and data use increases, said Mike Murphy, Ericsson North America chief technology officer, during an Ericsson webinar Tuesday. ABI Research recently selected Ericsson as the overall “Most Sustainable Telco Vendor.”

The Department of Transportation will view cellular-vehicle-to-everything and other V2X use of the 5.9 GHz band as a success when data shows the number of U.S. crashes and vehicle fatalities is falling, a DOT official said during an FCBA webinar Monday. An FCC official said the agency is looking forward to what it learns following the April approval of C-V2X waivers (see 2304240066). The FCC is still working on its final 5.9 GHz rules. Industry speakers said they hope the FCC will act soon.

The FCC appears headed for approval Thursday of a draft NPRM on facilitating the launch of next-generation 911 with relatively few changes (see 2305180069), industry officials said. APCO asked for added language and NTCA raised small carrier concerns, but otherwise a docket on the NPRM has been quiet since the draft item was circulated two weeks ago. Comments were filed last week in docket 21-479.

Amazon is talking to Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish Wireless about a deal to offer free or low-cost wireless service to Prime members, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. “We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time," an Amazon spokesperson emailed. “Don’t bet on it,” said MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett. “Telecom isn’t the first industry to have been turned upside down by the very notion that Amazon might enter their business, and it surely won’t be the last,” Moffett told investors: “Amazon quite obviously could do this if they wanted to” and could do it for free “even though the annual wholesale cost of providing wireless service for even a single line would likely be higher than the annual price of a Prime subscription.” Moffett noted regulatory issues could give the company pause. Rules for customer information in telecom “are MUCH stricter than what Amazon faces today” and “introducing that regulatory risk would be unwise, in our view,” he said. Industry analyst Jeff Kagan said on the TD Ameritrade Network Friday that Amazon is now a much bigger company than 10 years ago and is “into everything.” Amazon “tried once before, so did Facebook … but they all flopped,” he said. Ten years later, Comcast and Charter have had success with wireless offerings and “the entire wireless marketplace is full of resellers,” Kagan said. “If Amazon wants to get in, I think they could be successful this time,” he said. Kagan noted a $10/month offering would be low, but most people can already get $15/month service from other providers.

The FCC got only limited comment on its draft 42 GHz NPRM, teed up for a vote at the FCC’s meeting Thursday. Similar to a draft NPRM on next-generation 911 (see 2306020040), it's expected to pass 4-0 with limited tweaks. NCTA met with staff for all four commissioners, expressing general “appreciation for the FCC’s willingness to consider innovative uses of spectrum,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-158. “We noted that millimeter wave spectrum is not a substitute for mid-band spectrum, particularly 3.1 GHz and 7 GHz, but can be used to support different operations and services including for extremely high capacity and high-speed services, like real-time Augmented Reality-powered data sharing for innovations in smart cities, schools, offices, homes, libraries, hospitals, factories, and automobiles,” NCTA said. The group asked the FCC to seek comment on whether the proposal could also work in the lower 37 GHz band. Equipment is available that can be used in that band, but none is available for 42 GHz, NCTA noted: “Because of the existing equipment ecosystem, the Lower 37 GHz band will be available for commercial operations much more quickly than the 42 GHz band.” Amazon’s Kuiper Systems urged the FCC to “explore all options for maximizing use of millimeter wave spectrum” as part of the notice. Amazon suggested adding the language: “We also seek comment on whether to authorize secondary operations in the 42 GHz band. Can the Commission enable greater use of the band through one or more secondary allocations while protecting primary licensees from harmful interference?” Representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington. The two offered the only industry filings so far in the docket.

CTIA questioned the conclusions in a May NTIA report arguing that dynamic sharing and the citizens broadband radio service should be a model for future spectrum use (see 2305010063). Filings were due Wednesday but hadn't been posted by the NTIA. The Wireless ISP Association supported the findings in the report (see 2305310062).