NTIA supports the FCC’s proposal for expansion of nonfederal use of the 13 GHz band, provided there are protections for in-band and adjacent federal operations, said a filing last week in docket 22-352. NTIA responded on behalf of NASA and the National Science Foundation. To ensure “in-band compatibility” with NASA’s Deep Space Network receiving ground station at Goldstone, California, and NSF-operated radioastronomy (RA) observatories, “NTIA and the Commission should develop a coordination process that would protect these important scientific endeavors while still permitting more intensive use of the band,” NTIA said. “Because the RA observatories are located in remote areas, successful coordination should be possible,” NTIA said. The FCC launched a notice of inquiry on the future of the 13 GHz band two years ago (see 2210270046).

Commnet Wireless and NTUA Wireless asked for additional six-month extensions of pending deadlines to remove Huawei and ZTE components from their networks under the FCC’s rip-and-replace program. The carriers, which serve the Navajo Nation, requested the extension in a series of FCC filings, posted Tuesday in docket 18-89. Commnet said in one of the filings it faces a Jan. 27 completion date. “Commnet is unable to meet this deadline due to factors beyond its control, and we thus assert that the grant of a six-month extension as contemplated by the Commission’s rules is warranted and would serve the public interest,” the filing said: “Commnet continues to work diligently to complete its plan to remove, replace and securely dispose of equipment, however, even after receiving our previous extension, we also continue to face challenges with repeated delays caused primarily from zoning and permitting restrictions that have severely delayed our overall progress.”

Garmin International provided additional information to the FCC on its request for a waiver of rules for handheld general mobile radio service (GMRS) devices limiting them to one transmission every 30 seconds (see 2310060031). Garmin responded to a North Shore Emergency Association filing, which found an earlier filing on a September meeting of Garmin with FCC staff was inadequate (see 2407260036). “Garmin reiterated [during the meeting] that the data transmissions of its proposed GMRS device will have a reduced duty cycle and less practical effect on users of GMRS devices compared to the digital data transmissions currently permitted under the Commission’s GMRS rules, including by limiting data transmissions to interstitial channels,” said the latest Garmin filing, posted Tuesday in docket 24-7. “Specifically, Garmin is seeking to provide very short (50 milliseconds) digital data transmissions, such as GPS location data, once every five (5) seconds, provided that in non-emergency situations the channel being used has not been utilized for voice communications in the prior 30 seconds,” Garmin said.

Groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing opposed a CTIA request that the FCC indefinitely extend its September 2023 temporary waiver allowing use of the interim volume control testing method for hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) compliance. CTIA made the proposal as part of its FCC outreach on the draft GAC order, set for a commissioner vote Thursday (see 2409260047). The FCC’s waiver standard “dictates that the Commission should not act now to preemptively extend -- without imposing any time limits -- the September 2023 waiver allowing use of the interim HAC volume control testing method,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-388. The groups also raised concerns about the CTIA’s comments on labeling (see 2410090051). The FCC should “take into account that consumers with hearing loss must receive all the information they need to make an informed decision about any handset before purchase,” the filing said. Groups signing the filing were the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the Hearing Loss Association of America, Deaf Equality, TDIforAccess and Communication Service for the Deaf.

Consultant Whitey Bluestein argued in favor of the FCC adopting uniform handset unlocking standards. Current nonmandatory standards “were adopted 11 years ago" with “little or no consumer input,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 24-186: “Since then, industry structure, technology, networks, spectrum, devices, services, usage and regulations -- virtually everything comprising the mobile ecosystem -- have changed dramatically.” Among the changes, Bluestein cited smartphones are now “increasingly powerful” and their cost “has nearly doubled, averaging $823 in 2023, and expected to increase.” FCC commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 in July proposing that all wireless providers unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud” (see 2407180037).

Dell’Oro Group predicted total radio access network revenue will trend downward until 2029, as the RAN market undergoes “a second consecutive year of steep declines.” While “the pace of decline is expected to moderate after 2024, downward pressure is likely to persist until 6G becomes a reality,” Dell’Oro warned last week: “The overpromising of 5G and its inability to significantly alter the flat revenue trend among operators are fueling increased skepticism regarding the need for substantial investments in new technologies.” Some skepticism is “warranted,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president-RAN and telecom capital expenditures research at Dell’Oro. Operators invested more than $2 trillion in wireless networks “between 2010 and 2023 to build out 4G and 5G, yet revenues remain flat,” he said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on Friday approved tweaks that Continental Automotive wanted in a waiver the company received last year authorizing a tire pressure monitoring system operating in the 315 and 433 MHz bands (see 2312190080). The technical changes will "ensure clarity with respect to the equipment authorization process and implementation of the Order, and in light of the fact that Continental wishes to move forward now,” the company said in May when it sought the waiver (see 2405160024). “We modify two waiver conditions and include a new waiver condition that requires Continental’s device to minimize the amount of time that the device needs to complete the drive cycle calibration and permits shorter silent periods between transmissions for shorter drive cycles that occur prior to the full calibration of Continental’s [tire pressure] sensor,” OET said in an order in docket 22-382: “We find the modifications requested by Continental will provide additional clarity to the existing Waiver Order. Moreover, we agree with Continental that the revised waiver conditions are consistent with the existing record.”

The FCC continues getting advice supporting and opposing a proposal that would give the FirstNet Authority control of the 4.9 GHz band (see 2408160027). The Harvard Fire-Emergency Medical Services Department endorsed the proposal in a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100. “This action is essential to enhance public safety communications and ensure reliable, mission-critical support for first responders” and the FirstNet Authority “has proven it can effectively manage and deploy the public safety spectrum,” the department said. The Virginia Sheriffs' Association said the spectrum belongs “in the hands of sheriffs and other local entities who know best how to use it.”

CTIA representatives spoke with aides to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez about changes the group is seeking to the commission’s draft hearing-aid compatibility order (see 2410090051). The order is set for a commission vote Thursday (see 2409260047). “CTIA reiterated that its members have long been aligned with the goal of achieving 100 percent HAC and are working hard to introduce new and better wireless devices and services for all consumers, including those that use hearing devices,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-388.

Fixed wireless access customers are more satisfied with their service than traditional wired internet customers, J.D. Power reported Thursday. FWA customers have an overall satisfaction score of 630, on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 538 for wired internet customers, the report said. T-Mobile scored the highest at 649. “Fiber-wired internet service is the fastest and most reliable service for customers now reaching speeds over 5 Gig in some areas, but it comes at a cost, both in infrastructure investment and cost to the customer,” said Carl Lepper, J.D. Power senior director-technology, media and telecom: FWA is “a more accessible option that has become more widely available, less expensive and delivers more satisfaction across all parts of the customer experience we measure.”