Howard Buskirk

The world is falling behind in its push to lower the digital gender gap and get more women connected globally, GSMA said in a report released Wednesday. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said the numbers from GSMA are critical as policymakers work to close the gap.

The 42 GHz NPRM, teed up for a vote at the FCC’s June 18 meeting (see 2305180069), was largely unexpected, though it had apparently been in the works since 2021 when staff for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel started asking about putting the band to work, industry officials told us. The 500-MHz of spectrum is uniquely unoccupied, with no federal or nonfederal incumbents.

The FCC Friday granted FirstNet a renewal of its Band 14 license “for the remaining period of its authorization,” not to exceed 10 years, starting Nov. 15, 2022, “or for the remaining period of its authorization from Congress.” The Spectrum Act, which created FirstNet, provided licensing for an initial 10-year term. The law limits renewal to a term “not to exceed 10 years.” FirstNet’s license formally expired in November, but FCC officials said then the license remained active as long as the renewal application was pending in the agency’s universal licensing system (see 2211160071). Most industry observers expected the license to be renewed (see 2209230045). The FCC notes in the order that while the application was pending before the agency, the National Sheriff’s Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, six members of the Verizon First Responder Advisory Council and T-Mobile “filed comments opposing unconditional renewal of FirstNet’s license” but didn't propose that renewal be denied. The FCC imposes a number of conditions. The order notes that in its comments T-Mobile cites a 2020 GAO report (see 2009240056) that recommended that FirstNet strengthen oversight of AT&T “by adhering to GAO best practices, sharing oversight with stakeholders, and using end-user satisfaction to gauge performance.” The FCC notes the Public Safety Bureau asked FirstNet to provide additional information on how it's holding AT&T “accountable for meeting its contractual obligations, and also asked how FirstNet addressed the findings and recommendations” in the report. “We find that FirstNet’s response is sufficient to meet the renewal standard, but direct FirstNet to notify us when GAO has closed the remaining outstanding recommendation,” the order said: “We will also continue to monitor AT&T’s performance under the contract and FirstNet’s oversight of AT&T under FirstNet’s renewed license.” A 2021 Commerce Department Inspector General Report “questioned FirstNet’s governance over network security and its ability to hold AT&T accountable for failing or ineffective security requirements, leaving the network susceptible to security risks,” the order said: “The IG Report made six recommendations for remedial actions by FirstNet, and directed FirstNet to provide an action plan to the DOC Inspector General.” The FCC said the authority must complete “implementation of the recommendations in the IG Report, in the projected time frame, and we direct FirstNet to notify us of its satisfaction of these recommendations.” The Public Safety Bureau issued the order. The FirstNet Authority is “pleased to have its Band 14 spectrum license renewed, which will allow public safety to have uninterrupted access to advanced broadband services, capabilities, and features to better serve communities nationwide,” a spokesperson emailed. “We appreciate the FCC’s careful consideration of our license renewal application and recognition of the FirstNet program’s achievements,” the spokesperson said.

Recent issues at the FTC raise “troubling” questions for the future of independent agencies, including the FCC, said Mark Jamison, American Enterprise Institute nonresident senior fellow, during an AEI forum Thursday. Jamison was joined by former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly and former FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, both Republicans.

5G has been “very hyped for a long time,” but the reality is less dramatic, former tower company executive James Eisenstein said Wednesday during a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy webcast. Eisenstein is former CEO and chairman of Grupo TorreSur, a Latin America-focused tower company, and a founder of American Tower, the largest U.S. player. The U.S. tower market is “very mature” and “you’re not seeing significant growth,” he said. At this point 80% of growth is coming from existing carriers adding equipment to towers, he said. In each previous generation of wireless “the carriers had something new, conceptually, to sell” and “something that people really wanted,” Eisenstein said: “That doesn’t exist for 5G -- there is no silver bullet. We can talk about smart cities and things like that, and AI, but the reality is the carriers aren’t making any more money.” The carriers have also “painted themselves into a corner” by hyping 5G since 2019, he said. A lot of people still don’t have 5G phones and customers who do “really don’t notice a difference” over 4G, he said. Carriers in reality “are building out 5G more slowly than they hype, or than they talk about,” he said. That means the top-line growth for major tower companies also isn’t as high as expected, he said: “Then you’ve got Dish [Wireless] not building out as quickly as people had thought.” Eisenstein blames in part rising interest rates, which mean less capital available, and adjusted free cash flow and other indicators “have dropped significantly." Carriers worldwide are seeing the same issues and aren’t building out 5G as quickly as expected, he said. The only significant growth is coming in developing nations like India, Eisenstein said. “It all depends on where the tower industry has gotten off the ground,” he said. Despite industry complaints, U.S. carriers have all the spectrum they need for 5G, he said: “It’s not as if they can’t build out”; they’re just choosing not to deploy that quickly.

Carriers are making strides toward cutting energy consumption and becoming greener, but companies need to improve how they work together, speakers said Wednesday at a TelecomTV green network summit. Questions remain, including how AI can help make networks more efficient, while the use of AI technology by itself consumes a growing amount of power, experts said.

Las Vegas has been able to deploy a private network in just three years, initially as a way to control costs, but it continues to find new ways to use the network, said Michael Sherwood, the city’s chief innovation and technology officer, at the Private Networks Global Forum Tuesday. Other speakers said momentum is starting to build for private networks.

The U.S. government’s national standards strategy for critical and emerging technology (CET), unveiled earlier this month, is helpful but won’t fundamentally change how standards are developed, speakers said Tuesday on a USTelecom webinar. The experts said the strategy is explicit that industry should play a lead role. The strategy is complementary to the national cybersecurity strategy, also released this year (see 2303020051), they said.

The FCC’s final order, NPRM and Further NPRM on the 12 GHz band had a number of changes, which were noted Thursday as commissioners approved the item 4-0 (see 2305180052). There were few changes to a 60 GHz order, also approved unanimously last week (see 2305170039), based on a second side-by-side comparison.

An FCC draft NPRM, released Thursday, on the 42 GHz band seeks comment on three versions of a shared licensing approach. A proposed NPRM on facilitating the launch of next-generation 911 is a follow-up to a National Association of State 911 Administrators' petition seeking a rulemaking or notice of inquiry to fully implement NG911 (see 2110190066 and 2201200043), a draft makes clear. The FCC also released a draft NPRM proposing to strengthen robocall and robotext rules. All are scheduled for commissioner votes at the June 8 meeting. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled the agenda Wednesday (see 2305170059).