Howard Buskirk

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.”

Carriers worldwide are moving to cloud-native technology but need to learn from their peers, experts said Wednesday during a TelecomTV virtual summit. Experts agreed carriers will find they need to hire staff with cloud expertise to supplement their more traditional telecom experience.

Steve Berry, who is leaving the Competitive Carriers Association at the end of the year (see 2209130072) after 13 years as president, told reporters a top priority for the rest of the year is getting Congress to fully fund the rip and replace program needed to remove Chinese gear from small carrier networks (see 2209090053). The program faces a $3.08 billion shortfall. “We need to get that done, we need to secure our networks,” he said: “It was a decision made by Congress. Now we’ve got to make sure that they actually pay for it.”

In one of its first hybrid events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC on Tuesday held an all-day environmental compliance workshop at its new headquarters. Staff presented and took questions on the FCC’s tower construction notification system, requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the rules for working with Native American tribes. “Your role in the process of reviewing and deploying wireless infrastructure is absolutely critical,” said Joel Taubenblatt, acting chief of the Wireless Bureau. “During the last few years during the pandemic, we've seen the importance of communications services across the country and wireless services,” he said: “We've seen how [the pandemic] has changed the way people interact with work, with schools, with their medical service providers, and with their family and friends. … We have seen how all of you have adjusted during this period of time to make sure that the review and deployment of wireless facilities can continue.” Daniela Arregui, Enforcement Bureau attorney adviser, underscored the importance of following FCC environmental rules. “Never start construction, including breaking ground, clearing brush, cutting trees, prior to completing the requirement of the environmental review,” she said. “It is important to document, authorize, and review each element of the project during each phase of construction,” she said: “Notify and actively engage with the state historic preservation officers and the tribal historic preservation officers throughout the process. Applicants should be doing more than minimally following up on an electronic Section 106 notification or responding to inquiries.” Notify the Wireless Bureau and the Enforcement bureaus “when you suspect a violation,” she said. Answer FCC inquiries whenever they are posed, Arregui said. “A letter of inquiry is a commission order” and “recipients are required to respond timely, fully, and completely,” she said. “Even if there is no substantive violation, the failure to respond completely can, itself, result in significant monetary penalties,” she said.

State departments of transportation in Florida, Georgia and Maryland, seeking waivers to launch cellular vehicle-to-everything operations in the 5.9 GHz band, got broad support in comments posted at the FCC by Tuesday. The applications came after a broader waiver request was filed late last year. Several comments said the waivers are important to U.S. competitiveness. Industry observers expect relatively quick action addressing the waivers (see 2209010047). Comments were due Monday in docket 19-138.

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has circulated for a vote by commissioners an NPRM seeking comment on rule revisions tied to the need of operators of unmanned aircraft systems for licensed spectrum, agency officials confirmed. The FCC has looked at the issue in the past. It initially took comment on use of the of 5030-5091 MHz band by drones in 2019, at the request of the Aerospace Industries Association (see 1912270039). Last year, the Wireless Bureau took additional comments as part of a record refresh (see 2110130044). The docket created, RM-11798, has been slow with only eight filings so far this year. In one of the most recent filings on the topic, Qualcomm urged the FCC to set aside 20 MHz in the band, “which drones will use to communicate directly with one another to coordinate safe and efficient flights and also for drones to broadcast Remote ID information in compliance with FAA regulations,” and two 20.5 MHz blocks “licensed exclusively to support network communications through which drones will communicate via cellular networks for Control and Non-Payload Communications.” The record “demonstrates that there is a range of UAS spectrum needs and reinforces the support for the Commission to take timely actions to meet those needs,” said Aviation Spectrum Resources.

The U.S. stance on communications with space operations planned for the moon sparked some disagreement at a World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee meeting Monday. WAC held a 90-minute virtual meeting, long by the group’s standards, as planning intensifies headed into WRC-23, slated to start at the Dubai World Trade Centre in the United Arab Emirates on Nov. 20, 2023.

A congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, released Friday, found that while most GPS receivers won't face interference from Ligado’s wireless network, Iridium’s mobile satellite services used by the DOD would likely see “harmful interference.” An NAS committee examining the FCC’s authorization of Ligado’s network also examined interference to DOD systems, but its conclusions there were classified and not publicly released. The report also highlighted the importance of receivers in addressing harmful interference.

The FCC appears increasingly likely to take a deeper dive into the data retention and privacy policies of wireless carriers. In recent days, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent follow-up letters of inquiry to major wireless carriers and mobile virtual network operators, asking for documents and including further, highly detailed questions about their policies (see 2209070077).

Private communications networks are critical to utilities, Sheryl Riggs, president of the Utilities Technology Council, said at the start of a UTC broadband workshop, which runs through Friday. “Many people don’t give a lot of thought to the utility industry; they just assume they’re always there,” Riggs said. “A big reason for this is because of the communications systems -- they’re the invisible infrastructure that utilities rely on to ensure the power, the gas and water is on and available at all times,” she said. Clean energy and the power grid of the future are in the news daily, she said. “All these new technologies … rely on private communications networks that utilities and UTC members develop and operate every day,” she said. Utilities are also increasingly focused on broadband, Riggs said: “More and more utilities of all kinds are becoming key players in connecting people through broadband networks. As important as these networks are to modernizing our energy system, they’re also critical in bridging the digital divide.” UTC recognizes the need to connect more Americans to broadband, Riggs said. “There are unserved and underserved communities in rural and urban areas, shut off for far too long from the exciting world that broadband opens up,” she said. “We need broadband equity and inclusion to all communities,” she said. Utility investments in fiber as they modernize the grid also position them to be broadband players, Riggs said. Public power companies and electric co-ops are offering broadband service to their customers “providing GB speeds at affordable prices,” she said. Some UTC members in rural areas are offering faster, more reliable service than what’s available in urban and suburban areas, she said. Larger investor-owned utilities are mainly leasing part of their fiber networks to ISPs through middle-mile deployments, she said: “This trend is accelerating … and we can see that because more grant money is coming down the pipeline.” Riggs noted utilities are likely to pursue middle-mile broadband infrastructure program funding being made available through NTIA. Attendees heard presentations from NTIA, the Rural Utilities Service and the FCC on funding opportunities.