The FCC wasted no time in setting the comment dates on a Further NPRM on a voluntary cyber trust mark program commissioners unanimously approved March 14 (see 2403140034). Comments are due April 24, replies May 24, in docket 23-239, said a notice for Monday’s Federal Register. The FNPRM was added to the order that Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated at the request of commissioners (see 2403180046). “We seek comment on whether we should require manufacturers to disclose to the Commission whether firmware and/or software were developed and manufactured in a ‘high-risk country,’ as well as where firmware and software updates will be developed and deployed from,” the notice says.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Friday approved special temporary authority allowing Morgan County, Indiana, to operate its travelers’ information station for a 15-day period at higher power levels than allowed under commission rules so it can “manage the expected influx of visitors, traffic congestion, and public safety surrounding the April 8 … solar eclipse.” The county can use 100 watts of power, rather than 10, starting April 1. The county is part of the eclipse's zone of totality.

Gogo Business Aviation requested a time extension to meet requirements of the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program but requested details remain confidential. “The Extension Request contains proprietary commercial and operational information intended to provide maximum disclosure to the Commission for its consideration of Gogo’s request for additional time in which to complete its [replacement] process,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. Gogo requested permanent confidential treatment and nondisclosure “because it is impossible to predict when the information contained in the Application would no longer be useful to Gogo’s competitors, other third parties, or, in light of the national security risks ... malignant entities that would seek to take advantage of potential security vulnerabilities in the nation’s communications networks.”

AT&T employees represented by the Communications Workers of America ratified a new mobility collective bargaining agreement, covering about 5,000 workers in the Southwest, AT&T said Friday. The employees work in retail, at call centers and as technicians in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. The new agreement expires Feb. 25, 2028. AT&T is “one of the largest employers of union-represented employees in the U.S., where more than 63,000 employees are unionized,” the carrier said. CWA hailed the agreement before it was ratified, noting it provides a 5% pay hike for employees this year and other benefits, including a $55 monthly stipend for remote employees.

CTIA warned of a “patchwork” of state net neutrality rules and called for national policies, filing last week in FCC docket 23-320. Because broadband internet access service “is an inherently interstate service, the Commission should exercise its preemption authority to ensure that BIAS is governed by a uniform national framework rather than disparate requirements that vary state-by-state,” CTIA said. “Commenters on both sides of the classification issue … agree and support broad preemption of state regulation of BIAS,” the group said. CTIA said “the need for uniformity is especially acute if the Commission seeks to regulate BIAS under Title II” of the Communications Act. “Proceeding case-by-case, imposing only a regulatory floor, or adopting a narrow view of preemption would spur litigation and regulatory uncertainty that could hinder investments in improved BIAS services beyond those inherent in Title II.”

Representatives of the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition spoke with FCC Wireline Bureau staff to discuss its backing for the agency’s November proposal allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2311090028). Among those at the meeting were staff from East Moline School District 37, located in East Moline, Illinois, and SmartWAVE, a district vendor. The district found that during the COVID-19 pandemic “many families could not afford Internet service and that the vast majority of Chromebooks they handed out wouldn’t work with hot spots due to poor mobile coverage,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-31: The district “worked with SmartWAVE Technologies to purchase access points and placed them on top of existing infrastructure like streetlights. All students are given a Chromebook, which then automatically connects to the network wherever they are situated.” The district found “this model is akin to extending its existing school WiFi network and devices into the community, which is much easier for their six-person IT department to manage, compared with tracking the service and devices provided by traditional mobile carrier hotspots,” SHLB said.

Verizon said the FCC doesn’t need a usage rule for Wi-Fi hot spots that the E-rate program funds (see 2401300063). E-rate rules “will require schools and libraries to pay part of the cost of Wi-Fi hotspots, which will discourage" them "from subscribing to unused services,” the carrier told Wireline Bureau staff, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-31. The commission “has found it necessary to apply a usage rule only when the support amount covers the entire cost of a service” including services offered under the emergency connectivity fund, Lifeline and the affordable connectivity program, Verizon said: “If the Commission adopts a usage rule in this proceeding, the rule should be flexible and simple for schools and libraries to apply, and focus primarily on guarding against large-scale warehousing.”

Dish Network executives laid out the company’s positions on mostly wireless issues during a meeting Monday with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and staff, said a filing posted Thursday in 20-443 and other dockets. “An updated spectrum screen that is consistently enforced will promote competition, especially toward the goal of at least four nationwide wireless carriers,” Dish said (see 240104004), urging action on the lower 12 GHz band (see 2312270045). “Substantial evidence in the record shows that fixed 5G services can provide broadband to tens of millions of Americans, while fully protecting existing non-geostationary orbit Fixed-Satellite Service and Direct Broadcast Satellite customers,” Dish said. The company also touched on 5G Fund rules, addressed in an order circulated Wednesday by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel (see 2403200071). “Give greater weight” to 5G Fund projects that use open radio access network technology, Dish urged: “By doing so, not only can the Commission ensure that federal funds are being used to close the digital divide, but it can facilitate deployments that will connect communities well into the future.”

Axon Enterprise fired back at critics of its December request for a waiver allowing it to market three investigation and surveillance devices to law enforcement agencies (see 2403080044). The devices can operate in the 5725-5850 MHz band “without causing harmful interference to other users of these frequencies,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-40: “Despite this fact, the Wi-Fi industry makes wholly unjustified claims that the use of Axon’s devices by law enforcement during public safety emergencies ‘could create a perfect storm of disruption of longstanding consumer reliance on Wi-Fi.’” Axon noted that nearly all bands are “highly congested and involve often complex spectrum sharing arrangements with other users.” Critics also ignore “the critical importance of providing law enforcement with effective tools to conduct indoor investigation and surveillance missions during volatile and exceedingly dangerous situations,” Axon said.

Scott Harris, NTIA senior spectrum adviser and point person on the national spectrum strategy, has left the agency, he said on social media Thursday. The departure was expected (see 2403050048) and comes a week after NTIA released the strategy's implementation plan (see 2403120056). Harris posted photos from his farewell party, at which NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson and others wore socks emblazoned with an image of Harris’ face. Harris was the former chief of the FCC International Bureau and founder of the law firm now known as HWG.