The FAA plans to seek comment on proposed rules on remote identification of unmanned aircraft systems. “With nearly 1.5 million drones and 155,000 remote pilots registered with the FAA, the ability to provide identification and location is essential to keeping drones safely separated from other aircraft operating in our airspace,” the Transportation Department said Thursday. Comment dates will come in a Federal Register notice, now expected Tuesday. “While we are still reviewing the details of the proposed remote identification rule, we are pleased that the FAA is finally moving forward with rulemaking for remote ID standards after four delays,” said Brian Wynne, CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. “We have long called for the establishment and implementation of these standards.” Drones offer “enormous potential to improve productivity and enhance safety,” said Tim Day, U.S. Chamber Technology Engagement Center senior vice president: “Remote ID will help ensure the safety and security of the airspace and enable more innovative applications and uses of unmanned aircraft systems such as package delivery and long-range surveying.” The Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Coalition welcomed the notice and said it plans to submit detailed comments. The group “strongly supports efforts to promote remote ID implementation before the final rule is in place,” said a statement.

The FCC made various “non-substantive, editorial revisions to the Table of Frequency Allocations” consistent with the World Radicommunication Conference in 2015, it said in a Monday notice. The FCC also made “certain amendments to the Federal Table, for informational purposes only, based on the recommendations” of NTIA, said the order, in docket 19-289. “We add to the Federal Table a primary allocation for the Earth exploration-satellite service (EESS) (Earth-to-space) in the 7190-7250 MHz band and two international footnotes (5.460A, 5.460B) that limit the use of this EESS uplink allocation,” the notice said, among the table revisions. It also added “a primary allocation for the maritime mobile-satellite service (MMSS) (space-to-Earth) in the 7375-7750 MHz bands and two international footnotes (5.461AA, 5.461AB) that limit the use of this MMSS downlink allocation.” The order is by the offices of Managing Director and Engineering and Technology.

The C-Band Alliance says it would be the best choice as facilitator for a C-band transition, orchestrating and coordinating both orbital and terrestrial spectrum clearing, in a docket 18-122 ex parte posting Monday on a meeting involving CBA CEO Bill Tolpegin and SES and Intelsat executives with FCC officials including Office of Economics and Analytics Acting Chief Giulia McHenry and Wireless Chief Don Stockdale. In a separate ex parte letter, NPR recapped a meeting with agency officials over what a transition needs to accomplish. That includes adequate incentives for satellite operators to maintain service and capacity and full coverage of C-band satellite customers' and earth station operators' costs due to spectrum reallocation, including increased operating costs. It said the FCC also must allow "robust operations" in the remaining fixed satellite service part of the band.

CTIA and member companies laid down a marker on the proposed use of the 960-1164 MHz and 5030-5091 MHz bands by unmanned aerial systems, in a meeting with officials from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. Initial comments are due Thursday on a November FCC notice in docket 19-356. “The Commission’s flexible-use licensing approach has enabled U.S. wireless operators to seamlessly transition from 2G to 3G to 4G and now to 5G services without the need for additional rulemaking processes,” CTIA said, in a letter posted Monday. “Use of commercial spectrum for UAS should not require any changes to this wildly successful approach of allowing industry to develop and protect each entity from interference.” Drones will need “access to commercial mobile spectrum and infrastructure for both communications and control functions,” CTIA said: “While the L-Band (960-1164 MHz) and C-Band (5030-5091 MHz) will have roles in providing safe and secure UAS operations, both are limited due to propagation characteristics and existing uses, and in any event technical and service rules for the bands would take years to develop.” Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Qualcomm representatives were among those at the meeting.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ordered cases 19-1233 and 19-1244 consolidated in Great Lakes Communication v. FCC and held in abeyance as requested by FCC (see 1912120005), filed Monday (in Pacer).

The Commerce Department confirmed Monday it designated Doug Kinkoph as acting NTIA administrator. Former acting Administrator Diane Rinaldo left NTIA last week, just seven months after David Redl's own abrupt exit as agency head (see 1912160049). NTIA described Kinkoph's temporary role as "performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information." Kinkoph had been Rinaldo's deputy and was delegated to oversee wireless issues while she ran the agency (see 1905140063). Rinaldo had recused herself from handling spectrum deployment issues because her husband works as a lobbyist for T-Mobile.

The FCC will study availability and effectiveness of call-blocking options, said Friday's public notice. It plans to open a record in docket 17-97 and will take comment for 30 days after Federal Register publication, replies 30 days later. A declaratory ruling in June (see 1906060056) tasked the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau with writing a June call blocking report. The report will address any consumer costs to adopting the technologies. A follow-up is due in 2021.

Thirty-nine winning bidders in the FCC's first toll-free numbers auction, in the 833 code, were announced Friday, the agency said in docket 19-101. Somos posted the winning bidders of 1,659 phone numbers. The auction raised $285,075. National Sales Partners led winners, at $176,109. Other big bidders include Leland Smith, Coore, Primary Wave Media and FracTel. “This information includes the Toll Free numbers initially selected by each applicant for the 833 Auction,” Somos said: Jan. 16, “Somos will release bidding information on every number available in the auction, including, for every bid placed on a number, the amount of the bid and bidder’s name.” Final payments are due Jan. 8. Companies like 1-800-Flowers.com, Comet Media, Dish Network and Verizon won little if anything.

Net neutrality won a prime spot in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 agenda. The Democrat proposed a bill Thursday that would build on a 2018 executive order that restricted procurement to ISPs that follow open-internet principles, codifying that and banning zero rating and blocking, throttling and paid prioritization. It would direct the Department of Public Service to hold mobile and fixed ISPs accountable by investigating and fining providers that violate net neutrality. ISPs would have to disclose net management practices and annually certify compliance with New York net neutrality rules. The bill would give a private right of action so any New Yorker could bring a complaint against violators. Cuomo said "while the federal administration works to undermine this asset, in New York we are advancing the strongest net neutrality proposal in the nation so big corporations can't control what information we access or stymie smaller competitors.” Assemblymember Patricia Fahy (D) praised Cuomo for seeking to codify his 2018 EO: “The principles of a free and open internet are essential.” Fahy is one of several New York lawmakers with net neutrality bills; legislators were expected to talk before January about possible coordination (see 1910240024). It's "promising and shows that the governor’s team is thinking about the issue comprehensively,” said Free Press Action Fund General Counsel Matt Wood. Public Knowledge also wants to see the text but is encouraged, said Policy Director Phillip Berenbroick. “With the FCC missing in action, it is critical that state governments step up.” New America’s Open Technology Institute also welcomed it. DPS, NCTA and CTIA declined comment; the FCC and USTelecom didn’t respond.

Apple iPhone and smartphone models by Samsung don’t exceed FCC RF specific absorption rate (SAR) limits, reported the Office of Engineering and Technology Thursday. Chicago Tribune tests found some exceeded such limits. “The FCC takes claims of non-compliance with its regulations seriously and commenced its own testing program of the implicated handsets,” the regulator said: “All sample cell phones tested by the FCC Laboratory, both grantee-provided and FCC-purchased samples, produced maximum 1-g average SAR values less than the 1.6 W/kg limit specified in the FCC rules.” The newspaper didn’t comment.