Bidding in the assignment phase of the C-band auction is complete, the FCC announced Wednesday. Assignment stage bidding started Feb. 8. Next, the FCC will unveil the list of winners. New Street told investors that announcement is likely next week. After results are announced, winners must make 20% deposits within 10 business days, at which point the quiet period ends. “The successful close of [bidding] in our latest 5G auction will deliver another 280 MHz of the prime, mid-band spectrum needed to power next-gen connections,” tweeted Commissioner Brendan Carr.

Winter storms knocked out communications for 25,279 users in Oklahoma and 332,265 in Texas, said an FCC news release Wednesday. The FCC’s network outage reporting system recorded seven outages in Oklahoma and 140 in Texas as of Wednesday morning, affecting four public safety access points. The FCC is coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agencies to identify communications aspects, said the release and acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel in a news-media call. “Initial reports indicate that communications service providers are working to ensure the availability of communications,” the release said. Power outages and rolling brownouts are forcing communications providers to use backup power, but icy roads are affecting their ability to refuel generators, it said. FEMA and CISA are working with the FCC and state and local authorities to identify and refuel priority communications sites. The FCC didn’t comment on why the agency’s disaster information reporting system hadn’t been activated or whether it would be. The FCC also issued releases with emergency contact information and procedures to obtain special temporary authority for communications providers dealing with the outages.

Stakeholders are seeking simple enrollment in the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, they said in replies due Tuesday in docket 20-445. Adopt a broad definition of “household," Public Knowledge asked. The National Council of Urban Indian Health raised concerns about eligibility requirements, asking the commission to let tribal citizens not residing on tribal lands participate “to the same extent that American Indians and Alaska Natives residing on tribal lands are able.” Encourage broadest adoption so the hardest-hit communities can participate, said the LGBT Technology Partnership & Institute. That includes allowing noneligible telecom carriers to take part, it and others said. The group sided with AT&T in asking the commission to provide a 90-day notice that the funds are projected to be exhausted. Starry said non-ETCs should be automatically approved if they can “objectively show that they currently offer a discounted service to low-income consumers or individuals adversely affected” by the COVID-19 pandemic. ETCs should get the opportunity to participate “even outside their designated ETC service area,” said CTIA. Others disagreed. The California Public Utility Commission said non-ETCs should “submit election notices and compliance plans that will be reviewed and approved." Others asked that the program include support for equipment like Wi-Fi routers and hot spots. The Competitive Carriers Association asked to include smartphones as a “connected device” and focus on “whether a device meets minimum requirements to support the kinds of functions needed for online learning and other similar applications.” Tracfone, which is being bought by Verizon, said the definition of “tablet” should include “4G/LTE-capable devices with a touchscreen that support video conferencing.” The Illinois Office of Broadband supported leveraging resources of state authorities to promote awareness and suggested providing financial support. The FCC should confirm that it, not states and localities, has enforcement authority because that would otherwise “disincentivize provider participation,” said Altice.

Nearly 50 entities offered advice on a 5G challenge notice of inquiry proposed by NTIA in cooperation with DOD (see 2101080021). NTIA posted comments Tuesday. Most stressed the importance of open radio access networks, as did filings we got last week (see 2102110064). Focus on commercial adoption of an “eventual open source solution,” Google said. A public-private partnership would be “optimal,” Google said: “Industry can interact directly with the NTIA in developing the contest framework, metric and qualitative criteria, and other aspects of the contest. … Industry can provide its assessment of the key obstacles to the NTIA’s and DoD’s objectives.” Pursue development of “open 5G technologies, leading to greater interoperability between government and commercial systems,” said the NASA Glenn Research Center’s Space Communications and Spectrum Management Project Office. “We welcome the opportunity to become part of this conversation, from providing technical advice to evaluating technologies and guiding development,” NASA said. Mandate compliance with the ORAN standard “for all the key interface,” Dell Technologies commented. An open 5G solution could “have deficiencies compared to existing commercial offers that are supplied by a single vendor and not open,” Dell warned: “The Department must also invest in research and development that accelerates the development of 5G infrastructure that utilizes the U.S.’s strengths in silicon, software, and cloud.” Create a lab managed by the Pentagon “where all vendors can bring their components of the open 5G stack for functional and interoperability testing,” Ericsson advised. It sought a "multi-vendor ‘Open Ecosystem Plugfest’" of 5G components. Intel emphasized standards. They “can enable interoperability, while still allowing for product differentiation,” it said: Focus on “openness of interfaces between the various components” rather than “the concept of open-source software,” CableLabs commented. Looking at just the network's wireless components “would ignore the necessary relationships and advancements in adjacent network technologies that will be critical to bringing to fruition the full vision and promise of 5G,” CableLabs said. Proprietary "lock[s] out vendors other than the manufacturer from the network,” said Mavenir: In the U.S., that means “foreign-headquartered companies sell equipment and services from their own company.”

The number of times federal agencies cited other federal laws as exemptions from Freedom of Information Act requests more than doubled from FY 2012 to FY 2019, as processed FOIA requests increased about 32%, GAO reported Thursday. Most commonly cited was a federal law making U.S. visa issuance records confidential, it said. 2010-19, 91 agencies used 256 different statutes as exemptions more than 525,000 times, it said. The report included the FCC and FTC. GAO said DOJ provided technical comments.

Major carriers disagreed on what the government should do to move forward based on a 5G Challenge notice of inquiry proposed by NTIA in cooperation with DOD (see 2101080021). Verizon didn’t comment nor did most major associations, we were told this week. Filings were due Tuesday and will likely be posted next week, an NTIA spokesperson said. The FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act instructed DOD to carry out a “demonstration project to evaluate the maturity, performance and cost of covered technologies to provide additional options for providers of fifth-generation wireless network services.” T-Mobile urged caution, noting efforts on open radio access networks underway. “Keep in mind the work that the wireless industry has already performed, and will continue to perform, to develop these technologies,” T-Mobile said: “Open network interfaces are already a part of 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G protocols.” Rather than pursuing the challenge, the Pentagon could “accelerate 5G network diversity by taking advantage of the work that, among others, 3GPP has already performed to implement solutions unique to DoD,” the company said. “It can also work with Congress to seek funding for and implement the already-established 5G grant program intended to accomplish exactly what the NOI seemingly hopes to achieve through the Challenge,” the carrier said. AT&T said the challenge could help DOD fulfill requirements under the NDAA and “demonstrate the value” of ORANs. “Such action can send a strong signal not only to the U.S. marketplace and investment community but also to our international partners," the telco said: “Establish a true plug and play environment open to any vendor that is compatible and with published, open interfaces to ensure interoperability.” NTIA and DOD have a “unique opportunity to augment the progress and impact of related efforts across the federal government as part of a whole-of-nation 5G effort,” the Open RAN Policy Coalition commented: “The success of this Challenge, like the success of 5G itself, depends on engaging a broad set of diverse stakeholders.” Prioritize “real-world applications rather than basic research,” the coalition urged: “Clarify the terms, scope and goals of the challenge to support open and interoperable interfaces.”

The C-band relocation payment clearinghouse will have its website launched Feb. 22 and its handbook of claims and process guidance published April 1, said clearinghouse representatives in a call with C-Band Technical Working Group-2, per an FCC docket 18-122 posting Wednesday. It will be ready to start accepting claims May 14.

Staff plans a workshop on digital marketplace incentives and how to ensure the industry does "a better job” protecting privacy and consumer data, said acting FTC Chair Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Wednesday. The agency seeks input about “which remedies best address particular types of harm and feedback on the effectiveness of our existing orders,” she told a Future of Privacy Forum event. She said she asked staff to examine health apps, including telehealth and contact tracing apps, calling the pandemic her “first priority.” She asked staff to “actively investigate biased and discriminatory algorithms.” On artificial intelligence, the official wants staff to explore “the best ways to address AI-generated consumer harms.”

The federal court reviewing California’s net neutrality law asked how DOJ's withdrawing its challenge (see 2102080073) affects the separate lawsuit by ACA Connects, USTelecom, CTIA and NCTA. ISP plaintiffs and California should file a brief joint status report by Feb. 16 “stating their position as to whether the United States of America's voluntary dismissal in 18-cv-02660 affects this matter in any way, and, if so, how,” said Monday's minute order (in Pacer) in case 2:18-cv-02684 at U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California. ACA opposition to the California law is unchanged, a spokesperson said. USTelecom didn’t comment Tuesday, and CTIA and NCTA declined to comment.

Satellite interests backed and wireless interests opposed a Satellite Industry Association call for a fixed satellite service (FSS) allocation in the 51.4-52.4 GHz band, in FCC comments Tuesday in RM-11871. Many satellite operators are developing networks and systems that would operate using feeder links in the V band, Boeing said in support of SIA. "Immediate action ... is warranted" since a global FSS allocation in the spectrum adopted at the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference took effect Jan. 1, Boeing said. Amazon's Kuiper said a proposed rulemaking should be expanded to allow non-geostationary use of the spectrum, as well as geostationary, instead of initiating a second NPRM for NGSO use. NGSO and GSO providers can maximize their feeder link operations with access to the 51 GHz spectrum, it said. Hughes said the swath is domestically allocated as a shared federal and nonfederal band for terrestrial fixed and mobile wireless services, but it's largely unused by federal and nonfederal services. But CTIA said access to high-band airwaves is a major part of the U.S. 5G strategy, and the availability of such "is already heavily imbalanced towards satellite use." It said SIA's effort would "forestall steady progress that the U.S. has made in identifying and licensing high-band spectrum for mobile terrestrial use." SIA's petition said FSS in 51 GHz can share with other services while protecting passive services in adjacent bands.