Now that the comment cycle is complete, move on proposals to allow TV white spaces (TVWS) devices to operate with higher power in less-congested areas, Microsoft and other commenters asked the FCC. Others continue to raise concerns (see 2005050033). Replies were posted through Wednesday in docket 20-36 on an NPRM that commissioners approved 5-0 in February (see 2002280055). Make the changes discussed in the NPRM but address other changes in future items, Microsoft replied. There's broad support for TVWS changes from service providers, tech companies, businesses and schools in rural areas and public interest organizations, the company said: “The record also demonstrates that the proposed rule changes will accelerate the pace of TVWS deployments and significantly improve the ability of TVWS technology to narrow the digital divide.” There's broad agreement “more robust rules” here “would improve connectivity in rural, tribal, and other unserved and underserved areas,” the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition said. New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, Consumer Reports, Access Humboldt, Next Century Cities, Common Cause, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition and Benton Institute for Broadband and Society were among those on the filing. “Limit this proceeding to the narrow set of proposals set forth in the NPRM” and don't “consider extraneous requests that would dramatically expand those proposals or effectively rewrite Part 15 of the Commission’s rules,” NAB said. Some would expand the proceeding to consider “areas that have already been fully debated and where there have been no new developments that would warrant changes,” the group said. The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council endorsed the changes in general for rural areas, seeking companion tweaks for private land mobile radio operations on TV channels 14-20. NPSTC is “simply seeking to maintain an equivalent level of protection to that offered today,” the group said: “The proposed doubling of the allowed TVWS antenna height will have a significant effect on the separation distance needed to maintain an equivalent level of protection” to public land mobile radio operations. Wireless mic makers kept up their concerns. “Refine the movable platforms proposal by narrowing the scope of eligible vehicles and accounting for antenna height and directionality in the design of the rules,” Shure said: “Retain the less congested areas framework while rejecting impractical/computationally intensive alternative proposals centered around population density and/or terrain-based modeling.”
Staying the FCC's Ligado approval won't cause harm but is needed to prevent serious harm from harmful interference to GPS devices and satellite communications, said nearly six dozen aeronautical, GPS and satellite interests in a docket 11-109 posting Wednesday. Citing NTIA concerns about Ligado's L-band terrestrial wireless plan, the coalition said the FCC "made little, if any, cognizable effort to accommodate or address those concerns. Letter signatories included American Airlines, American Meteorological Society, FedEx, Iridium, JetBlue, National Emergency Number Association, Spire Global, Trimble and UPS. The FCC, which was asked to reconsider the approval (see 2005210043), didn't comment. The Association of Equipment Manufacturers said that in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks it urged reconsideration of the Ligado approval, noting the harmful interference to GPS.
The “consumer-facing pop” for Wi-Fi 6 device introductions will be “relatively short term,” perhaps even in time for the 2020 holiday season, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told the Wi-Fi Alliance’s virtual membership meeting Tuesday. “This is not a case in which a year-one decision may yield results in a decade.” He cited the agency making 1,200 MHz of bandwidth available (see 2005260025). The new standard is rolling out, said Pai. It will be more than 2.5 times faster than current Wi-Fi and “will offer better performance for connected devices,” he said. Qualcomm launched such products last month (see 2005280046). Wi-Fi 6 is “such a big deal” partly because Wi-Fi “has become such a big deal,” said Pai. It carries more than half the internet’s overall traffic, he said. “Offloading mobile data traffic to Wi-Fi is vital to keeping our cellular networks from being overwhelmed.” COVID-19 "amplified how indispensable Wi-Fi has become,” said Pai.
Calls for the FCC to reconsider its approval of Ligado's terrestrial L-band network plans (see 2005280005) got backers and opponents in docket 11-109 postings Tuesday. Deere doesn't object to Ligado's terrestrial L-band network under the technical parameters laid out in the FCC approval, but contended the commission wrongly characterized it as endorsing the plan. It said it backed petitions for reconsideration of the approval that would substitute the 1 dB standard of GPS interference protection instead of "the impracticable 'performance-based' metric" the FCC went with. The recon petitions don't bring up new evidence that would justify reconsideration, Ligado consultant Roberson and Associates said. The various recon arguments -- including that 1 dB standard is more appropriate and that the GPS compatibility tests don't show GPS devices can operate without harm -- lack factual basis and are contrary to evidence presented in the order, it said. The Brattle Group, also a Ligado consultant, said the FCC “appropriately weighed the benefits and costs” of the license modifications. “The 23 MHz guard band, reduced power levels, and other conditions imposed on Ligado’s ATC network operations will drive down the potential cost of allowing low-power terrestrial deployment nearly to zero, as there appear to be limited interference concerns,” Brattle said: “Any potential remaining costs decline with time as they are mitigated and the stock of GPS devices turns over.” Aviation consultant JHW Unmanned Solutions countered arguments the modifications pose a threat to air safety. The FCC’s order “appropriately accepted the analyses of the Federal Aviation Administration, the expert Federal agency on issues regarding potential interference with aviation GPS devices and, more broadly, aviation safety,” the firm said: "Petitioners advance no legitimate challenge to the Order’s comprehensive analysis of these issues nor do they provide any new information.” Backers and opponents of Ligado's terrestrial wireless plans "seem to be talking past each other," with each side seemingly convinced it's in the right and puzzled by the opposition, the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation blogged Monday, citing letters from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to House Armed Services Committee members (see 2005270045). The problem is "fundamental disconnects" in interpreting data, and there should be an independent expert evaluation of test results and a cost-benefit analysis, it said. Ligado said the FCC "fully consulted" with NTIA, considered its views and correctly rejected the proposed 1 dB standard, evaluating harmful interference by measuring actual performance.
All satellite operators in the C band signed on to the accelerated, incentivized timeline for clearing it, the FCC said Monday, as expected (see 2005260037). “The acceptance of accelerated relocation by all eligible satellite operators vindicates the FCC’s approach for making C-band spectrum available for 5G more quickly," Chairman Ajit Pai said. "Our initiative will enable this critical mid-band spectrum to be used for new and innovative wireless services that will be delivered to American consumers years ahead of schedule." The elections by Intelsat, SES, Eutelsat, Telesat and Claro together represent relocation payments exceeding the 80% threshold established by the FCC, thus triggering accelerated clearing, said a Wireless Bureau public notice. Under February's C-band order, transition plans and estimated costs are due June 12.
California’s Justice Department hasn’t submitted final rules implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act to the Office of Administrative Law, an OAL spokesperson emailed hours before a possible Monday deadline to get rules out to the public by July 1 when CCPA enforcement begins. Section 11343.4(b)(3) of California government code says how to request an earlier effective date, noted the agency’s representative. Privacy lawyers said the department would have had to submit rules by Sunday, but because that wasn't a business day, OAL would probably take them Monday. Missing the deadline might mean final rules wait until Oct. 1, three months after Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) says he will enforce them (see 2005210054). However, some attorneys said the statute section referenced by OLA provides potential ways to get rules out by July 1. “The AG could submit the final CCPA regulations late and ask for the July 1 effective date based on ‘good cause,’” Pepper Hamilton’s Sharon Klein emailed Monday. OAL “already has a long list of 55 regulations slated for review, and it is unclear how receptive OAL would be to expediting regulations that (as of the last draft) are nearly 30 pages long,” she said. BakerHostetler attorneys blogged Friday that California law might allow the AG to argue that CCPA is exempt from normal deadline rules because the privacy statute specifies July 1 is the effective date. Wiley’s Joan Stewart emailed us Friday that she doesn’t see how the AG can stay on schedule and expect “enforcement in a vacuum come July 1.” CCPA, which took effect Jan. 1, doesn’t require the AG to adopt rules before enforcement begins, said Media Alliance Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg. A delay’s practical effect is “to prevent AG enforcement of the specific areas of CCPA tied into their rule-making until they complete that rule-making,” she emailed. “While it is unlikely businesses would be reprimanded for highly technical CCPA violations until the rules are finalized, lack of a good faith effort to comply with the CCPA at all will probably be actionable as of July 1 regardless.” Becerra’s office didn’t comment.
The upper end of the estimated replacement C-band satellite costs in the preliminary cost catalog reflects "reasonable and appropriate" variables, Boeing said in an FCC docket 18-122 posting Friday. A significantly accelerated build and launch timeline requires "mission-specific design accommodations, inventory management, factory capacity balancing, and innovative partnerships with key suppliers," all of which comes with a price tag, it said. Boeing opposed prohibiting hybrid satellite use by limiting reimbursements to single-purpose satellites operating solely with a C-band payload and within the continental U.S. Intelsat said it "emphatically" agrees with SES (see 2005220030) that the price catalog needs to be finalized posthaste because it's "a lynchpin" for calculating the scope of work needed. Claro said it's electing for accelerated C-band relocation.
NTIA's petition that the FCC stay its Ligado order (see 2005220055) is "remarkably thin [and] meritless," the company said Friday in a docket 11-109 reply to be posted. The yearslong proceeding gave NTIA ample time to comment so its complaints about the process are groundless, and its arguments about the substance of the approval were "already meticulously considered and rejected," it said. NTIA concedes there's no risk of imminent irreparable injury since the planned L-band terrestrial network is at least 18 months off, so its petition really seeks "a lockdown of the FCC’s process and puts at risk progress on spectrum developments that hinder 5G and destabilize FCC decision making," it said. NTIA didn't comment. Some speculate Ligado could sell some of its spectrum (see 2005290030).
Comments are due June 12, replies June 29 on the FCC FY 2020 budget proposal (see 2005130057), said Thursday's Federal Register.
C-band satellite operators and wireless interests joined in opposition to small satellite operators' ask for a stay of the FCC's C-band order while they challenge it in U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (see 2005180036), according to docket 18-122 postings Thursday. A delay to the C-band repurposing for terrestrial 5G deployments counters FCC goals and the public interest in getting the spectrum to new uses, Intelsat said. CTIA said the SSOs haven't shown irreparable injury absent a stay or that their alleged losses couldn't be remediated. The SSOs also ignore "the massive harm that a stay would cause to CTIA members and other prospective bidders (who have invested significant time and resources to prepare for the auction) and American consumers," it said. The SSOs forfeited their right to challenge the proposed modifications of their licenses by filing what they called "a protest" that lacked the specific allegations of fact and affidavits it needs, Verizon said. Also filing against the SSO stay were SES, Telesat and Eutelsat. Backing SSOs ABS Global, Hispasat and Empresa is PSSI Global Services. PSSI said it and the SSOs will prevail in their opposition to the order based on the "substantial and irreparable" harms it's already causing, and the FCC didn't give adequate notice of the fundamental changes to their licenses. As of Thursday early evening, the SSOs hadn't filed suit with the D.C. Circuit. Eutelsat said it also is opting for accelerated relocation of its C-band operations, as have multiple other C-band operators (see 2005260037).