PSSI Global Services faces no imminent or certain harm from the FCC's C-band order in the form of interference or too-little capacity in the band, the Wireless Bureau said in an order Wednesday denying the company's ask for a stay (see 2006190058). It said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's expedited schedule to hear PSSI's challenge to the order will let it handle the challenge long before satellite operators clear the lower portion of the band and wireless broadband providers begin operations there. It said PSSI's alleged injuries are “speculative.” The company didn't comment.

“NTIA has obviously lost its way,” FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said in a statement to us on Monday’s report on the 3.1-3.55 GHz band (see 2007070062). “If the immediate need for additional licensed spectrum weren’t so important for US 5G competitiveness, then maybe NTIA’s report on a critical spectrum band wouldn’t be so unnerving,” he said: “It is a timid and late review of the lower 3 GHz band, which almost everyone recognizes as a critical piece to help fulfill our current spectrum needs.” The C band and citizens broadband radio service band “are wonderful, and I have lead the charge to free up those bands, but 350 megahertz of licensed spectrum is not enough,” O’Rielly said. “The administration has generally done a good job on these issues, and I trust it is taking a much more aggressive approach on spectrum policy,” he said. NTIA has participated in the administration's efforts to ensure the U.S. leads the world in 5G, a spokesperson said, responding to O’Rielly. “We have an extensive track record of working with federal agencies and the FCC to make spectrum available to the private sector so they can deploy these game-changing advanced networks,” the spokesperson said: “NTIA also must ensure that critical, spectrum-dependent national security missions can be maintained. We do not have the luxury of ignoring the U.S. military's need for this vital public resource to keep our country safe.”

Don’t stop states from designating USF eligible telecom carriers, said a proposed resolution by the NARUC Telecom Committee for the state utility regulator association’s June 20-22 virtual meeting. The draft responds to an idea supported by some industry and FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly that’s raised state alarm (see 2006300010). It would ask Congress to reject the Expanding Opportunities for Broadband Deployment Act by Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., and amend the Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-7302) by House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., to require providers seeking reimbursement be designated ETCs. Despite “several disparaging remarks” by one FCC commissioner about states’ role, the commission should cooperate with them, acknowledging their “significant role in closing the digital divide and in all Universal Service Fund programs,” said the proposed resolution. A proposed resolution in NARUC's Electricity Committee would support FAA approving beyond visual line of sight waivers for utility drones.

Wireless interests made pitches for requiring 3.7 GHz licensees to make available time division duplexing synchronization with citizens broadband radio service operations in the adjacent band, in docket 18-122 replies posted Tuesday to responses to the petitions for reconsideration of the FCC C-band order. The C-band transition cost catalog is useful only if accurate, and getting additional comment won't delay the move, NCTA said, saying the Wireless Bureau should at least continue to revisit and seek occasional comment on the catalog to ensure the cost amounts stay reasonable. It said the FCC should make clear CBRS operations are entitled to interference protection and new 3.7 GHz licensees need to work with CBRS operators in good faith to prevent and mitigate that interference, including by making TDD available to CBRS operators. The Wireless ISP Association and NTCA also backed requiring flexible use licensees in the C band making TDD synchronization information available to adjacent CBRS band users. Charter said no one disputed the benefit of TDD synchronization, so requiring it would provide certainty. Intelsat said it can't be responsible for interference to earth stations post-transition if rules don't protect against flexible use operations' interference. It urged reconsidering technical specifications for telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C) filters. Recapping meetings with staff for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, NAB and content companies urged either all integrated receiver/decoder (IRD) equipment costs be allocated as a satellite cost, with satellite operators paying installation costs to MVPDs, or bifurcated, with the equipment costs a satellite operator expense and costs of installation allocated to the MVPD and in the lump sum. They said the average estimated cost of installation of an IRD is $900 when installed by the MVPD or a contractor. In a back-and-forth over Eutelsat's petition, SES filed. If carriers, which ultimately will pay moving costs, don't object to reimbursement criteria, it's hard to see what legitimate grounds those non-C-band users stand on, it said. Eutelsat said the opposition doesn't refute its core argument the move would proceed more smoothly with the FCC being absolutely clear about what are reasonable and necessary reimbursement costs. T-Mobile urged rejecting recon petitions seeking more protections for incumbent earth station users, TT&C/gateway sites and CBRS.

Mozilla and others let pass a July 6 deadline to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court's decision to mostly uphold an FCC repeal of its earlier net neutrality order, the company blogged Monday and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit docket showed Tuesday. Mozilla petitioned the D.C. Circuit for rehearing on Mozilla vs. FCC, case no. 18-1051 (see 1910010018), which the court turned down in February (see 2002180054). "The D.C. Circuit decision positions the net neutrality movement to continue on many fronts, starting with a defense of California’s strong new law to protect consumers online -- a law that was on hold pending resolution of this case," wrote Mozilla Vice President-Global Policy, Trust and Security Alan Davidson and Chief Legal Officer Amy Keating. They expect other states to follow, and will "look to a future Congress or future FCC to take up the issue." The FCC is "pleased that the opponents of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order have decided not to appeal their loss in the D.C. Circuit," a spokesperson emailed Tuesday.

Industry wants the FCC to remain involved in implementing a Team Telecom executive order updating how DOD, DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security review license applications with foreign ownership ties (see 2004060071), said replies posted through Monday in docket 16-155. That will help resolve questions and "ensure that this process is used to target genuine concerns," CTIA said. CTIA said it's too early to declare mission accomplished before a required memo of understanding. USTelecom wants "sufficient time for parties to provide additional input before the Commission takes action" if the MOU provides additional clarity. NAB wants FCC licensee applicants to direct responses to the national security agencies rather than to the FCC to protect confidentiality on some matters. T-Mobile wants applicants to be able to seek a protective order. Windstream said the EO was "a step in the right direction" but silent on some "nuanced aspects of these review processes." Only in extraordinary circumstances should Team Telecom "unilaterally determine to investigate existing licensee ownership or impose new conditions on licensees whose ownership already has been approved" by the FCC, said Inmarsat.

The House Armed Services Committee advanced its FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) Wednesday on a 56-0 vote. The committee added two anti-Ligado amendments to the measure (see 2007010070). Additional amendments House Armed Services advanced include several that would implement March recommendations of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (see 2003110076). Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., meanwhile, was able reach a deal on a manager’s amendment to that committee’s FY21 NDAA (S-4049), which also has anti-Ligado language. The manager’s amendment now includes language from the Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecom Act (HR-6624/S-3189) and the Open Technology Fund Authorization Act (HR-6621/S-3820). HR-6624/S-3189 aims to fund creation of an NTIA-managed open radio access network R&D fund to spur movement to open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies (see 2001140067). The modified text would repurpose $75 million from the FCC Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund for R&D purposes. The original HR-6621/S-3189 would have provided more, which would have been drawn from spectrum auction proceeds. HR-6621/S-3820 would establish the Open Technology Fund as an independent grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media charged with “countering internet censorship and repressive surveillance and protecting the internet as a platform for the free exchange of ideas." The new Inhofe manager's amendment, as earlier, includes language from at least three other tech and telecom bills: the Developing Innovation and Growing the Internet of Things (Digit) Act (S-1611), Deepfake Report Act (S-2065) and Harvesting American Cybersecurity Knowledge through Education (Hacked) Act (S-2775). Senate leaders agreed to vote once the Senate returns from a two-week recess on an amendment to attach the text of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (Chips) for America Act. S-3933 would allocate $10 billion to match state and local incentives and direct the Commerce Department to establish a $3 billion grant program.

The FCC is getting broad satellite industry agreement for better defining spectrum sharing rights between non-geostationary orbit fixed satellite service (FSS) systems authorized in different processing rounds. There's little consensus beyond that in replies Wednesday on SpaceX's petition for revised spectrum-sharing rules among NGSOs (see 2006160045). Most agree the FCC needs to clarify the relationship between licensees authorized in different processing rounds and revisit the mechanism to determine the order in which licensees select “home” spectrum in the absence of coordination, SpaceX said. The company urged "a swift rulemaking" because any delay would perpetuate the lack of clarity in rules while the clock is ticking on NGSO operators' deployment milestones. Amazon's Kuiper said due to lack of agreement, next should be a notice of inquiry to gather more ideas to inform an NPRM. "The time is ripe" for a rulemaking to define spectrum sharing rights among different processing round NGSOs, giving superior rights to earlier round systems while providing opportunities for new entrants and system expansion, O3b said. SpaceX's approach would discourage coordination between parties, while merging processing rounds or relying on ITU priority to determine relative spectrum rights conflict with FCC policy, it said. Also critical, OneWeb said there's general agreement licensees from earlier NGSO FSS processing rounds should be entitled to some interference protection from applicants in subsequent ones. Telesat said there's no general agreement on defining and implementing interference protection, and whatever route the FCC goes shouldn't depend on sharing beam pointing information in real time, which couldn't be implemented for systems that assign frequencies dynamically and would require competitors to exchange highly sensitive proprietary information. The FCC should get input via an NPRM regarding how to define sharing procedures for NGSO FSS systems, Kepler Communications said. It said using ITU priority as the basis for spectrum sharing would go against long-held FCC position that applications should all have equal access to available spectrum.

Dish Network entered the retail wireless business after completing its $1.4 billion purchase of Sprint's Boost Mobile (see 2007010017), it said Wednesday. Some 9.3 million customers are involved, T-Mobile said. Dish's buy of Sprint's prepaid business was a government condition for T-Mobile's Sprint acquisition. "T-Mobile followed through on fulfilling one of the most significant commitments we made as part of this merger process," said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. "Today’s action is a key step towards promoting vigorous competition in the wireless marketplace, particularly for price-conscious consumers in our nation’s cities," said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. "With this divestiture and its existing spectrum resources, DISH has the potential to make a big impact on a wireless marketplace that is transitioning to 5G." Pai vowed to stay vigilant to ensure "T-Mobile and DISH comply in the coming months and years" with FCC conditions. Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim said: “This deal is a significant milestone in realizing" DOJ’s remedy "designed to strengthen competition for high-quality 5G networks.” Dish said it will keep the Boost brand, and reinstituted a popular payment plan that Boost ended six years ago. Dish said its "$hrink-It!" plan starts at $45 monthly for 15 GB and goes down by $5 after three on-time payments and another $5 after six. Dish is introducing a $35 monthly 10 GB plan. Bill Ho, analyst at 556 Ventures, said he's optimistic about Dish's short-term prospects in wireless provided it spends to keep prepaid customers. Companies "can buy any customer," he said, but it takes subsidies to keep them or gain new ones. Incompas CEO Chip Pickering predicted Dish will price Boost competitively and succeed at keeping and building that customer base and could use the cash flow to help fund its 5G network. Pickering said the prepaid mobile business is more valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic because there's more demand for low-cost service and new public policy in the works to subsidize it. New Street's Blair Levin expected Dish will attempt to "leapfrog" competitors with new technology and spectrum capacity when it transitions to its own 5G network. The Utility Reform Network, "always happy to see a new competitor," remains skeptical whether Dish can competitively affect the facilities-based market, said Managing Director Christine Mailloux.

The first joint DOJ/FTC vertical merger guidelines, issued Tuesday, should give more transparency and predictability about how government views such deals, DOJ said. It said the agencies might apply both horizontal and vertical merger guidelines in a deal evaluation since transactions often present elements of both. It said when agencies identify a potential competitive concern in a relevant market, they will also specify one or more related products. It said the guidelines identify conditions under which a vertical combination wouldn't require an extensive investigation because the deal wouldn't create or enhance the combined firm's ability or incentive to hurt rivals. TechFreedom said while the new guidelines recognize vertical deals can be pro-competition and reject creating a presumption against vertical combinations in the tech sector, they also "create substantial uncertainty by eliminating a safe harbor for smaller vertical mergers.” The American Antitrust Institute said including the safe harbor “would have impaired vertical merger enforcement,” but the guidelines don't provide guidance supporting strong enforcement, such as a presumption certain vertical combos are likely to harm competition but rebuttable by evidence that the deal wouldn't enhance market power.