Pushback against SpaceX's request for relaxed out-of-band power flux density limits for its supplemental coverage from space service (see 2408130008) is all about trying to use the regulatory process to block competition, SpaceX and T-Mobile said Friday in docket 23-135. SpaceX said "a familiar cast of wannabe competitors [is advocating] needlessly restrictive technical limits [lacking] support in physics or sound engineering practice." AT&T and Verizon are advocating unnecessarily low power levels for SpaceX/T-Mobile "while giving their own partner AST a free pass," it added. The Dish/EchoStar petition, SpaceX said, is trying to get proprietary information "to aid its own failing ambitions." Meanwhile, Omnispace uses its petition "to prop up a decade-old spectrum play that it fears will lose financial value if American consumers can enjoy ubiquitous mobile connectivity using the PCS G Block downlink." T-Mobile said the other wireless operators' assertions ignore SCS operational realities and rely on faulty engineering analyses, while Omnispace and Dish/EchoStar "miss the point."

Spectrum for the Future (SFTF) encouraged the NTIA to focus on sharing as it examines the future of 6G, as the agency took comment as part of the national spectrum strategy (see 2408220043). “NTIA needs to approach the 6G ecosystem by looking beyond a single standard with a single deployment strategy,” SFTF said: “The reality of spectrum use and availability today, as well as in the future, compels spectrum policy to broaden its focus and embrace other coexistence standards and spectrum frameworks, like spectrum sharing.” Research shows that Wi-Fi handles 79% of AT&T’s mobile traffic, 77% of T-Mobile’s and 78% of Verizon’s. Like earlier generations, “6G networks will form only one part of a resilient and competitive wireless ecosystem.”

Prepaid competition is heating up between Verizon and T-Mobile. On Thursday, T-Mobile’s Mint Mobile announced AT&T and Verizon customers can switch to the low-cost carrier “and get service for the rest of the family for free.” Switchers buy one line, starting at $15/month, and get up to four additional lines for free for three months. “At Mint, our mission is to right the wrongs of AT&T and Verizon … who have collectively raised prices 11 times in just the last year,” said Aron North, Mint chief marketing officer. Verizon’s Visible made a counteroffer on Friday, saying T-Mobile customers could receive a five-year rate guarantee at $15 per month, per line. “While Mint is promoting this short-term deal that won’t last, we want to give people looking for a better deal ongoing savings, service and value with no hidden fees, period,” said Nancy Clark, president of Verizon Value.

Representatives of CTIA and the major carriers urged the FCC to address an issue the agency raised on pole attachments in 2019, providing clarity that wireless providers have access to utility light poles (see 1911200033). CTIA met with Wireline Bureau staff, along with representatives of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. "Commission actions over the past several years to clarify the rights and responsibilities under the Communications Act, including for the Section 224 pole attachment framework, have helped enhance transparency and efficiencies in the siting process,” a filing posted Friday in docket 17-84 said. CTIA urged the commission to “seek ways to streamline infrastructure deployment and clarify the rights and obligations of pole owners and attachers, in order to reduce or eliminate deployment barriers that remain.”

Filings continue at the FCC on the hotly contested issue of whether the FCC should grant the FirstNet Authority and AT&T effective control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2408160027). The proposal for such from the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance (PSSA) generated filings from both sides. Giving FirstNet control “would strip today’s 4.9 GHz public safety licensees’ right to expand their systems by forcing incumbent licensees to surrender the spectrum they are not using,” Amesville, Ohio, Mayor Gary Goosman wrote in a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100. “It would permit AT&T to use the band for commercial purposes, which runs counter to the mission of this public safety band,” Goosman said. The Virginia Fire Chiefs Association disagreed. “The FirstNet Authority has proven it can effectively manage the public safety spectrum, as evidenced by the successful nationwide deployment of Band 14,” it said.

Noting its launch operations are continuing, Dish Wireless asked the FCC to keep confidential information submitted to it as part of the broadband data collection process. In particular, Dish sought confidential treatment for the mobile propagation modeling and mobile link budget information it submitted, and mobile voice and data subscription numbers. Dish “recognizes that the current rules do not allow for confidential treatment of ‘provider-specific mobile deployment data,’” a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-195 said. But “disclosing the entirety of the data that DISH is required to submit in these two proceedings would have the perverse effect of harming a nascent 5G competitor, which would undermine the Commission’s ultimate goal of increasing broadband availability and competition,” Dish said.

The Wireless Innovation Forum announced the formation of the Highly Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Task Group. The organization will examine how sharing based on the citizens radio service band model can have applications in other bands. Google’s Andrew Clegg will head the project; he also is WInnForum’s chief technology officer. The group is expected to release a report or recommendation by February 2025, a Wednesday news release said. The release mentions the lower 3 GHz band, a top target of carriers for full-power licensed use (see 2405060051). “The purpose of this project is to start with the best practices identified in CBRS spectrum sharing, and then attempt to simplify and optimize these practices for future applications, including the 3.1 GHz band” Clegg said: “Future spectrum sharing will inevitably face a greater number of incumbent systems and a need for more rapid dynamic reconfiguration, and WInnForum is up to the challenge of adapting what we’ve done in CBRS. It’s the best place to start, given the sharing expertise we’ve developed over nearly ten years.” CommScope, Federated Wireless, Nokia, Sony, the Wireless ISP Association “and others to be announced” are backing the project.

Focused on electromagnetic compatibility, the American National Standards Committee C63 urged that the FCC incorporate a new American National Standards Institute standard into its Part 2 and Part 15 rules for test sites for radiated emission testing between 30 MHz and 1 GHz. “After years of site validation (SV) measurement procedures" contained in other standards, ANSC C63 “decided to create a separate standard, specific for SV procedures,” said an undocketed petition posted Thursday at the FCC. ANSC C63 noted it’s the “principal standards organization responsible for developing American National Standards for electromagnetic compatibility measurements and testing procedures.” The FCC and electronics manufacturers who desire to market their products in the U.S. use the standards.

The First Responder Network Authority board Wednesday approved launching a 10-year initiative with $2 billion in coverage investments. In June, the board approved $534 million for network enhancements as part of a $684 million budget package for FY 2025 (see 2406240031). “We know that the No. 1 priority for public safety continues to be coverage,” said Jocelyn Moore, chair of the board’s Programs and Future Planning Committee. FirstNet has already invested in in-building coverage, building more deployables, priority access for public safety officials and upgrading its wireless facilities to 5G from 4G, she said. FirstNet is focused on expanding its network in tribal, rural and territorial areas, Moore said. FirstNet is also examining satellite-direct-to-device capabilities for users of the network. The network now has more than 6.1 million connections and “we’re far from done.” A FirstNet team attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and is in Chicago this week for the Democratic National Convention, said Sylvia Moir, Advocacy Committee chair. FirstNet has coordinated with AT&T "to ensure needs are met to support public safety operations,” she said. The investments the authority is making in the network will enable 5G for all public safety users across 50 states and outlying territories, said Brian Crawford, Finance and Investment Committee chair. “Those investments ensure that the network not only maintains parity with other commercial service providers but is also able to fully support a suite of evolving 5G-enabled services,” he said. The meeting was the last for five members, who are at the end of their three-year terms -- Chair Richard Carrizzo, Crawford, Moir, Billy Hewes and Paul Patrick. The board met at the Utah Department of Public Safety in Salt Lake City. Authority Executive Director Joe Wassel said board members were in Utah as school starts and keeping 35,000 students and faculty safe is “a serious business.”

Consumers are waiting longer than ever to trade in their mobile devices -- “an all-time high of 3.7 years,” said Assurant, which tracks consumer trade-ins. Devices are also worth more, $141.02 in Q2, compared with $110.87 a year earlier. Android devices saw a “notable” 37% increase in value, while Apple devices were up 20%, Assurant said. “The number one device turned in from trade-in and upgrade programs, and the only 4G model, was the iPhone 11, accounting for 31% of the top five models,” the Tuesday report said: “For the fifth consecutive quarter, the number one Android device turned in … was the Samsung Galaxy S21.” Apple customers held their devices for an average of 3.8 years, Android 3.5.