The dynamic sharing framework the FCC adopted for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band may not translate elsewhere, said a Friday report to Congress. The FCC responded to instruction in the Spectrum Pipeline Act and earlier took comment on rule changes and on proposals to open 1 GHz of spectrum between 6 GHz and 56 GHz (see 1809120043). Commissioners didn’t vote on the 14-page report, by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. Work on the 3.5 GHz band is bearing fruit, the report said. “Intended to protect incumbent uses while encouraging innovative technologies and services," it "has fostered significant investment in the 3.5 GHz band,” the FCC said. “Most comments … coalesced around the adoption of a wait-and see-approach before the Commission decides to apply these techniques elsewhere.” Groups like the WinnForum are looking at similar sharing in other bands, the FCC said. “It is too soon to know whether other bands may be suitable for licensed or unlicensed use based on the techniques used in the 3.5 GHz band.” The 3.5 GHz rule changes were approved 3-1 at the October commissioners' meeting (see 1810230037). The staff report defends the changes. They "set the stage to: (1) promote investment in the band; (2) encourage rapid and robust network deployment; and (3) protect federal and non-federal incumbent users,” the report said. On proposals to reallocate spectrum for broadband above 6 GHz, the regulator “has made spectrum available for unlicensed use of the 64-71 GHz band and licensed fixed and mobile use in the 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, and 47 GHz bands,” the report said. It notes the 6 GHz NPRM also approved in October (see 1810230038). The document said fixed service operators “heavily” use that band. “More than 27,000 licenses are issued for point-to-point operations” there, it said: “This proceeding has not been finalized and may not ultimately require use of automated frequency control systems throughout the band or involve a full one gigahertz of spectrum."

A CLE heard criticism of FCC broadband mapping inaccuracies and of an AT&T executive appearing to some to celebrate a municipal network's struggles. Many at Thursday's Wolters Kluwer event agreed the maps need improvement, including Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley (D). He has a related draft NARUC resolution (see 1810310035). "The maps are completely inaccurate" and some providers claim to have service in places where they don't, he said: "We’re finding problems throughout our district," which covers about a third of Mississippi. Best Best law firm's Gerard Lederer, who represents municipalities, said "we simply would like to have facts. ... We really need to know where to fill in the gaps. If you don’t have agreement on that, I’m not sure how you can pursue the goal" of universal-type availability. The FCC has defended its process, and declined to comment now. An Oct. 24 tweet from AT&T Mississippi President Mayo Flynt that "another one bites the dust" on Opelika, Alabama, selling its "broadband business for big loss" also drew scrutiny Wednesday. USTelecom Vice President-Law and Policy Diane Griffin Holland said that, speaking personally, "We should not necessarily poke fun at or have a visceral reaction where a municipality seeks to take the initiative to deploy broadband." She thinks public-private partnerships could "take sort of the best of both worlds" to perhaps get "us closer to ubiquitous deployment." Mayo was highlighting AT&T's long-held position that "government-owned networks typically fail at great cost to taxpayers,” a spokesman said. “A number of municipal broadband efforts have failed over the last several years, often at great cost to local taxpayers," a USTelecom spokesman also noted. The group's "position has long been that bringing broadband to unserved areas is essential to closing today’s digital divide," he said. "The best way for municipalities to aid in this effort is through lowering the barriers to private sector deployment and partnering with private companies." As government is funding some projects to fill in digital gaps, some sought higher speeds. Speeds of 10/1 Mbps downstream/upstream may not be sufficient, and the Utilities Technology Council seeks 25/3 or higher, said General Counsel Brett Kilbourne. Many customers of utilities in sparsely populated areas buy 50 Mbps and above, even when slower speeds are available, he said. "Folks in rural areas want high speeds just as much as folks in urban areas."

Dish Network replied to the FCC that T-Mobile buying Sprint looks worse now than when it was announced. Many others also replied, opposing the transaction (see 1810310051). “Applicants have not come close to demonstrating that the merger as currently proposed would serve the public interest,” Dish said in docket 18-197. “The Opposition, as well as the internal documents produced by the Applicants, set their case back significantly.” The companies don’t deny the deal will mean higher prices, Dish said: “They argue that consumers should not care about the higher prices they will pay for their plans because they allegedly will have more data and greater speeds at their disposal.” Regional carrier C Spire said it “simply is asking the Commission to follow its own precedent by putting concrete conditions in place to guarantee that the vague assurances New T-Mobile offers to competitive carriers will be realized if the Commission permits the Proposed Transaction.” C Spire said: “’Trust us!’ is not an adequate public interest showing.” The deal “raises serious concerns about further market concentration in a market in which the four leading incumbents -- T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T -- account for around 98 percent of [U.S.] mobile wireless service revenues,” commented the AFL-CIO. New America’s Open Technology Institute said the deal would create “a consolidated wireless market that is conducive to coordinated effects between the remaining three dominant providers” -- it "would not only eliminate a significant competitor, thereby making it easier to reach a consensus among competing firms and sustain coordination, but also create a more homogeneous market structure.” OTI disputed claims Sprint needs the deal to survive financially: "Both companies have years of statements to investors and the public claiming that they are more than capable and in the process of preparing their mobile 5G networks across the country.” “Applicants offered an inadequate response to NTCA’s concerns about the public interest harms arising out of the proposed transaction, including most notably the negative impacts upon consumers in rural areas,” the group said, asking the deal be denied. But the Enterprise Wireless Alliance said the parties "provided ample documentation demonstrating that approval of their request would promote competition in the nationwide commercial wireless marketplace and accelerate the deployment of a 5G network covering much of the population of the country."

The Supreme Court debated the wisdom of directing Google’s $8.5 million data privacy settlement to charitable and academic organizations rather than to alleged victims (see 1805010051). During oral argument Wednesday in Frank v. Gaos (docket 17-961), Chief Justice John Roberts suggested Google could have awarded the money to organizations it hadn't contributed to in the past, alluding to criticisms from Ted Frank, litigation director for the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which challenged the settlement. New Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked whether it would be better to have a lottery or a pro rata system to ensure an injured party benefits. Justice Samuel Alito’s questioning suggested the deal awards a lot of money to attorneys, the class-action members get nothing, and groups potentially partial to Google benefit. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg suggested an indirect benefit outweighs what class members could have gotten. Frank told her each claiming class member “probably could have gotten between $5 and $10” with typical claims rates. Justice Sonia Sotomayor said of the settlement, “It seems like the system is working.” Google attorney Andrew Pincus said the question is whether the cost of distributing the money means the class gets essentially nothing, making an indirect benefit better.

President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday allowing the Patent and Trademark Office to set patent and trademark fees for eight years. HR-6758 also requires the PTO director submit legislative recommendations to Congress “to increase the number of women, minorities, and veterans who participate in entrepreneurship activities and apply for patents.” The Senate had sent the law to Trump earlier this month after passing it under unanimous consent. The PTO study would be with the Small Business Administration.

FCC "systems and some website content" will be unavailable Saturday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., “for annual emergency readiness testing,” says a banner running atop the fcc.gov this week. "This is a test to ensure agency systems resiliency should we experience a network outage," a spokesperson emailed. "While some public facing applications will be inaccessible," the electronic comment filing system and the electronic document system "will remain available; however, if any functions rely on internally hosted applications, those applications and functions will not be available.”

NARUC plans to vote next month on a resolution urging the FCC to extend the Mobility Fund Phase II process “until such time as all participants can be assured that their challenges are effective and the eligibility map is reflective of the on-the-ground experience of consumers,” said draft resolutions posted Tuesday. The Consumers and the Public Interest Committee plans to vote on the draft by Mississippi Public Service Commission Chairman Brandon Presley at NARUC’s annual meeting Nov. 11-14 in Orlando. If the FCC can’t assure state commissioners, “NARUC urges the FCC to withdraw the current process … and create an improved process that will ensure that the areas … receive the universal support required to fulfill the purpose of the fund,” the draft said. Some members found technological glitches in the FCC’s speed-test app, particularly the Apple iOS app, it said. Commissioners “found it difficult to supply the required numbers of tests given the lack of human resources; dealt with overwhelmed FCC employees who are under immense pressure to answer a large volume of questions; and found the entire FCC process to be underdeveloped and inefficient, leading to a lack of trust on the part of these NARUC members that the final eligibility maps will accurately reflect the need for service in the poorest parts of the nation.” The group plans to vote on a draft resolution promoting collaboration between state and federal regulators to prevent cyberattacks against electric utilities. It proposes the association organize a cybersecurity summit and develop best practices. The FCC declined comment.

Maryland’s Montgomery County Council decided not to vote on a 5G proposal to streamline local processes to spur small-cell wireless infrastructure deployment, meaning it will have to wait until a new council convenes in December. Members were to vote Tuesday after the council last week amended the bill to stipulate more wireless infrastructure applications go through a conditional-use process that requires hearings rather than the quicker limited-use process originally sought (see 1810230030). Council President Hans Riemer (D) and outgoing County Executive Ike Leggett opposed the amendment. Riemer hopes to take up the issue with the next council, he said Tuesday. “We need to support the future of wireless while balancing the impact it will have on our communities,” Riemer said Tuesday. The original measure did that, but “several changes proposed by my colleagues would have undermined the central purpose of the zoning measure,” he said. “A zoning measure based on a goal of keeping wireless away from our residents is not realistic or desirable.” Riemer is up for election next week and his one-year term as president expires in December.

A concern with the coming era of smart cities is a potential for data misuse or a surveillance state, said FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly at a Charter Communications event Tuesday (remarks later posted). He said privacy advocates are misguided to fret about consumer data being used for marketing purposes when far greater harms could come from the state using data to control or punish citizens. He said the FCC has been trying to ensure the proper regulatory framework for smart city rollouts as it tries to remove state and local deployment barriers and guard against its own mission creep. He said beyond the various millimeter band auctions to come, starting with the 28 GHz band, a number of other bands need FCC attention, such as 26, 23 and 50 GHz. He said the agency needs to focus on opening the 3.7-4.2 GHz band and spectrum below 3.5 GHz. He said the FCC should start a proceeding to review the 5.9 GHz band and determine its best use since dedicated short-range communications systems there seem increasingly unlikely due to alternatives like cellular vehicle-to-everything technology. Monday, the FCC released initial results on Wi-Fi coexistence with DSRC (see 1810290063). Columbia, South Carolina, Mayor Steve Benjamin (D) said smart cities raise a variety of questions, such as ensuring network deployment in public rights of way doesn't impede other users and that all ROW users "pay their fair share" for that access. On rollout in rural areas, "we don't yet have the answers" or the economies of scale that would make the technology available, said NTIA Senior Broadband Program Specialist Jean Rice. Tests are ongoing in states involving aspects of smart cities such as telehealth or agriculture, Rice noted. Criticizing the privacy law California passed this summer, Chamber of Commerce Assistant Policy Counsel Jordan Crenshaw said the Chamber wants to stem the tide of different state laws and has a working group on developing privacy principles for model legislation to be pitched to Congress. He wants protection ensuring localities don't charge unreasonable siting fees and regulatory certainty in the form of "a permanent net neutrality solution" that doesn't involve treating cable as a Communications Act Title II common carrier.

CTA hired Akin Gump to draft a complaint that, if pursued in the U.S. Court of International Trade, would seek an injunction blocking tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports before they rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1, we learned from those familiar with the plans. The association is shopping the draft around with other anti-tariff trade groups, seeking legal and financial backing for a court challenge over the IP-related sanctions, they said. Association staffers briefed CTA members on the strategy during an annual conference two weeks ago in Boston (see 1810160041), we're told. Though CTA hasn’t persuaded another trade group to “step up to the plate yet,” there’s time to win backing because no court action would be contemplated before January, said one high-placed individual in CTA membership. We polled a half-dozen trade groups whose opposition to the tariffs is well-publicized to gauge their interest in joining the litigation. Few commented Monday, nor did CTA. The Telecommunications Industry Association said Monday it doesn't now "plan to join the litigation."