EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen and other officials from the company reported on a series of meetings with FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Joel Taubenblatt and staff about 5G and spectrum items. “EchoStar reiterated its support for modernizing and improving the Commission’s spectrum aggregation policies,” a filing posted Monday in docket 23-319 said. The company urged that the FCC address proposed rule changes for the citizens broadband radio service band “including increasing authorized power levels and synchronizing downlink and uplink operations.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Friday approved a waiver for the New Bedford, Massachusetts, police department to expand its T-band public safety radio system. The waiver lets the police add nonpublic safety frequencies 482.1125 and 485.1125 MHz. The FCC asked for comment in April (see 2302010031) and there were no responses. The city’s use of the frequencies must not interfere with TV station WPXQ-TV Newport, Rhode Island, with which it shares the spectrum, the order said.

Competitive Carriers Association representatives discussed concerns about FCC SIM swap rules approved last year (see 2311150042). CCA members want clarification “on what, if any, regulatory requirements will become effective on July 8 … versus what provisions are keyed to Office of Management and Budget approval,” they said in a call with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, according to a filing posted Friday in docket 21-341. CCA also raised concerns about meeting the July 8 deadline.

Incompas CEO Chip Pickering and others from the group met with FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington to seek action on allowing fixed-wireless use of the lower 12 GHz band. Incompas and other proponents had hoped for movement early in 2024 (see [Ref:2312270045). Incompas also met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443 said. “Taking immediate action to make 500 megahertz of spectrum available in the lower 12 GHz for fixed wireless service offers the promise of reliable and affordable connectivity for U.S. consumers and increases the ability of the Commission to address the digital divide as it will allow current license holders offering fixed wireless solutions to apply for federal broadband deployment programs, like NTIA’s Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program,” Incompas said.

The Coalition for Emergency Response and Critical Infrastructure (CERCI) refuted the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance’s (PSSA) latest arguments for effectively giving control of the 4.9 GHz band to the FirstNet Authority (see [Ref:2405240048). PSSA said CERCI’s approach is “wrong from top to bottom.” The alliance’s latest argument “purports to ‘provide clarity regarding the Commission’s legal authority’ to adopt PSSA’s proposal, but it does no such thing,” CERCI said in a filing posted Friday in docket 07-100: “Rather than engage meaningfully with the legal issues CERCI has raised, PSSA primarily responds with policy arguments.” The FCC lacks authority, “absent express statutory authorization, to assign spectrum to a Federal entity,” including the authority, which is part of NTIA, CERCI said. The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, which led to the creation of FirstNet, gave the federal network access to only 700 MHz spectrum, CERCI said.

Momentum is growing behind the launch of stand-alone 5G networks, Heavy Reading analyst Ruth Brown said during a Light Reading webinar on service assurance Thursday. The wireless industry remains in a transitional stage, she said. Carriers are “very eager to start monetizing 5G” and offer “long-awaited advanced 5G services,” she said. “Operators are still working through this long investment cycle,” she said. Carriers feel increasing pressure to ensure they can monitor network operations and “respond dynamically, in real time, to service needs,” Brown said. Moving to the cloud will require service assurance changes and orchestration and life-cycle management, she said. Support “really needs to move to this dynamic, real-time model” and “we need to think about how we’re going to get there.” Brown said automation will be critical, but most carriers report they are already automating their networks. Providers' top priorities are tools for developing and testing software network functions and network diagnostics and the resolution of problems, she said. Cloud native and virtual networks are becoming “more normal” for carriers, said Mark Watts, a member of the Verizon technical staff. “We essentially look at each individual application and whether it fits into the cloud-native” environment, he said. Software-based applications are more nimble than legacy, hardware-based applications, he said, stressing the importance of testing. Verizon prides itself on its reliable network “and that starts with service assurance,” Watts said. “Software testing is … more and more important as we’re embarking on this cloud-native journey,” he said. “Ongoing monitoring” of the cloud-based system “continues to be a very high priority" for Verizon and operators across the globe, Watts said. As carriers introduce different hardware and software into their networks, interoperability is also critical to ensure “the longevity and ongoing reliability of the network,” he said. 5G slicing remains “a hot topic,” as is ensuring that the service offered through slices is automated and “supported more quickly and in a more nimble manner.” Slicing could offer increased security, better gaming, high-throughput or ultra-reliable services beyond what is typically available on Verizon’s network, he said.

Milwaukee and Lima, Ohio, opposed giving FirstNet and AT&T control of the 4.9 GHz band in the latest filings on the hotly contested spectrum (see 2406040018). The Public Safety Spectrum Alliance's proposal “would strip today’s 4.9 GHz public safety licensees’ right to expand their systems by forcing incumbent licensees to surrender spectrum they are not using,” Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson (D) said: “It would move the band to AT&T’s FirstNet network, which runs counter to a 2023 FCC order and its commitment to locally controlled public safety in the 4.9 GHz band.” Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith (D) warned the city “may lose rights to access the band and the vital resiliency it provides for emergency communications.”

Summit Ridge Group “achieved more than $500 million in approved reimbursements for its clients” through multiple FCC programs, it said. That includes through the TV broadcast repack, C-band clearance and Secure and Trusted Communications Program, a Wednesday news release said. Summit Ridge’s “success in reaching the $500 million reimbursement mark reflects its expertise and dedication to understanding and efficiently navigating the intricate landscape of FCC compliance regulations,” the company added.

SurgePays, which serves the “underbanked and underserved,” announced the launch of its LinkUp Mobile website and a national expansion of the service. The prepaid wireless service is available online and at convenience stores. "We are excited to deliver this service to the expanding robust prepaid market in North America,” said CEO Brian Cox: “Subscribers enjoy a free first month of service and ongoing savings of up to 10% each month, setting us apart from the competition.”

Shure executives updated the FCC on the needs of wireless mic users in a series of meetings, a filing posted Tuesday in docket 12-268 said. “We discussed the increasing demand for wireless microphone audio technologies … for professional users in the American music, theater, sports, broadcasting and film industries, among other sectors that rely on high-quality professional wireless microphone operations,” Shure said. The company is focused on developing spectrum-efficient technologies for all bands and sharing strategies for frequencies above 1 GHz, the filing said. Shure noted that the 1.2 GHz band is used for wireless mics in other countries, including Japan and France. Company execs met with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and Wireless Bureau and aides to Commissioners Anna Gomez, Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks.