Howard Buskirk

The FirstNet Authority appears likely to win easy approval of a renewal of its band 14 license, now before the FCC, industry experts said Friday. The National Sheriffs Association and the Major Cities Chiefs Association (see 2209070059) and 2208250056) have raised questions, but the general run of letters has praised the network. The license expires Nov. 15.

6G isn’t the next step after 5G, but similar to 4G there will be an interim stage -- 5G advanced -- speakers said during a GSMA webinar Thursday. GSMA also released a white paper on 5G-advanced. Experts forecast increased use of new technologies like integration of sensing and communication (ISAC) and unified time frequency-division duplexing (UDD). Upcoming 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release-18 will be “the inaugural release” for 5G-advanced, GSMA said.

Former FCC commissioners Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Robert McDowell and Mike O’Rielly questioned during a Hudson Institute event Wednesday the pending move by FCC Chairwoman to take on the 13 GHz band in a pending notice of inquiry in light of other bands waiting for action (see 2209200071). They also spoke of concerns with federal infrastructure spending and on the reauthorization of FCC auction authority (see 2209210076). All three do work for Hudson.

The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council approved two reports Wednesday, on best practices to improve communications supply chain security and on security vulnerabilities in hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). CSRIC also got updates from its other working groups. Neither report was immediately available.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s announcement Monday the FCC will launch a notice of inquiry on 12.7-13.25 GHz was a surprise to advocates of using 12.2-12.7 for 5G, but doesn’t necessarily have negative implications for a long-awaited order on the lower part of the spectrum range. The most substantial objections are likely to come from broadcasters, though fixed service, satellite and other links are in the band.

Top government speakers promised on Monday the U.S. government is moving forward on a long-awaited national spectrum strategy. But a top DOD official at NTIA’s Spectrum Policy Symposium warned federal users also have strong continuing needs, and clearing 3.1-3.45 GHz, a top candidate band for 5G, would be prohibitively expensive.

Preparations for the World Radiocommunication Conference are lagging because of the COVID-19 pandemic, though in-person meetings are now happening, experts said at the NTIA’s Spectrum Policy Symposium Monday. WRC-23 is only 14 months away, starting at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates Nov. 20, 2023.

Experts said repeatedly at the ForumGlobal 6G conference Friday that planning needs to start now for the next generation of wireless beyond 5G. Speakers agreed regulators around the world will have to look at additional bands and put increased emphasis on more dynamic sharing.

Ahead of an NTIA spectrum policy symposium Monday, the Aspen Institute released a paper Thursday urging the U.S. government to “issue a 10-year plan with clear national goals to release more spectrum into the commercial marketplace.” The paper follows a May meeting at the institute, which included FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and is seen as a possible precursor to a long-awaited strategy (see 2208150035). “The National Spectrum Strategy should make a clear statement of national spectrum goals -- agreed to by the FCC and the Administration -- that sets a roadmap for rulemaking and administrative actions over the next decade,” the paper said: “Clear, quantifiable goals provide a lodestar for whole-of-government action. They also help various stakeholders plan for the future and can influence technology development and resource allocation by private actors.” The strategy should plan for the allocation of three of four bands, below 15 GHz, each offering approximately 400 MHz of bandwidth, Aspen said: “Realizing this goal would enable multiple network operators to use 400 MHz channels in lower, better propagating bands as a foundation for multi-gigabit 6G.” The paper proposed making the highest bands, above 95 GHz, unlicensed by default. “Although the FCC recently authorized use of bands above 95 GHz, technology is still in early stages and the band is only sparsely used,” the paper said. “Given the inherent limited and highly directional signal propagation at these frequencies along with the super abundance of bandwidth, any concerns raised regarding interference in these bands should take a back seat to maximizing spectrum access and innovation.” Aspen suggested the White House “could set out the country’s overall spectrum goals through an Executive Order.” The group supports revising congressional budgeting to be “spectrum policy neutral.” Current scoring rules “consider inflows of auction revenues but do not account for economic benefits of other spectrum authorization approaches,’ Aspen said. “As a result, spectrum auction directives are often legislated as a ‘pay for’ to offset some Congressional spending priority. Congress should consider revising the rules to level the legislative playing field for other ways of making spectrum available into the commercial market, such as unlicensed or shared uses.” CTIA appreciates "the report’s focus on ensuring a balanced spectrum policy and its recognition of the need for additional licensed spectrum to meet growing demand and support the development of next-generation wireless networks,” a spokesperson emailed. “We must not lose focus on the pressing need for a pipeline of exclusive-use, licensed commercial spectrum, especially mid-band spectrum, in order to maintain America’s leadership of the emerging 5G economy.”

The FCC’s reconstituted Technology Advisory Council heard briefings on the work so far of its working groups, all focused on 6G, at its third meeting Thursday. All four WGs presented at some length on the status of their reports. One early finding is that artificial intelligence doesn't really exist and won't for many years.