The FCC confirmed Thursday it’s investigating Amazon and other online retailers for allegedly selling wireless signal jammers in violation of FCC rules. “We have several ongoing investigations into retailers, including Amazon, for potential violations of Commission rules related to the marketing and sale of equipment without proper FCC authorization,” an FCC spokesperson emailed. The FCC has long policed signal jammers. In one of the most high-profile cases, in 2016, the agency fined C.T.S. Technology of China $34.9 million for allegedly marketing 285 models of signal jamming devices to U.S. consumers (see 1605250071).

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.

Mongoose Works failed to show that the FCC Wireless Bureau erred in siding with the C-band Relocation Payment Clearinghouse's classification of two of the company's antennas, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said in a docket 21-333 brief Wednesday. Mongoose is appealing a Wireless Bureau decision upholding the Clearinghouse's reduction of Mongoose's C-band clearing lump sum claim amount by $69,686 (see 2309180019). The Enforcement Bureau said the earth station operator failed to cite an FCC rule or policy or otherwise support the argument that the two antennas should be categorized as large multi-beam earth station antennas. Instead, Mongoose states that its arguments are consistent with the C-band clearing order "without offering anything more," the bureau said.

J.P. Morgan cut estimates for AT&T's Q1 following last month's nationwide wireless outage (see 2402220058). "In Mobility, despite a 'quick recovery' following the company's network outage … we expect a slight subscriber impact from the outage and lower 1Q postpaid phone net adds to 300K," said analyst Sebastiano Petti. "We also lower 1Q postpaid phone [average revenue per user] to $55.59 to reflect the $5 per account bill credit for consumers affected by the outage."

Two retired senior military officials on Wednesday urged collaboration between the wireless industry and the DOD on opening the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands for licensed use. While the U.S. “has been the established global leader in wireless, a new technology superpower -- China -- is emerging with astonishing speed,” said Mike Rogers, a retired U.S. Navy admiral and former director of the National Security Agency, and Bruce Crawford, retired lieutenant general and former Army chief information officer. “Both our military and commercial sectors need access to spectrum -- but today our national spectrum policies are struggling to keep up with critical needs,” they said in a Stars and Stripes essay. The lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands align “with our allies around the globe and should be our priority,” they added. “We should explore all opportunities for full-power commercial access to these bands while ensuring that the needs of federal missions are fully met.” In addition, DOD needs clear direction and a schedule of auctions from the FCC, Rogers and Crawford wrote: “Too often our military is forced to respond to band-by-band spectrum access requests without any global view of the policy objective or insight into when or where the next request will be received. That is not how the military works.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology rejected petitions seeking changes to the commission’s 5.9 GHz rules filed by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation and the 5G Automotive Association. The alliance urged the FCC to reconsider its 2020 order opening 45 MHz of the band for Wi-Fi, while allocating 30 MHz for cellular vehicle-to-everything technologies. The 5GAA sought revised out-of-band emissions limits for unlicensed devices in the band. The response was mixed to both reconsideration petitions (see 2107230033). “In making the lower 45 megahertz available for more flexible unlicensed use, the Commission found that, when added to U-NII spectrum in the adjacent 5.725-5.850 GHz … band, the 45 megahertz of spectrum from the 5.850-5.895 GHz … band would provide for increased high-throughput broadband applications in spectrum that is a core component of today’s unlicensed ecosystem, thereby providing the American public with the most efficient and effective use of this valuable mid-band spectrum,” OET said in an order this week. In 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the order (see 2208120035). OET noted the decision rejects alliance claims the agency “exceeded its legal authority” in issuing the order: “The court rejected the argument that the change in administration requires the Commission to revisit its decision.” 5GAA’s coexistence analysis “does not convince us to reconsider the OOBE limits decision for indoor unlicensed operations adopted” in the order, OET said. “We conclude that the indoor unlicensed device OOBE limits the Commission adopted … will sufficiently protect C-V2X communications in the upper 30 megahertz from harmful interference,” OET said.

Time is ripe to examine in a broader context FCC requirements for handset unlocking, Verizon told the agency in a filing posted Wednesday in docket 23-171. Requiring providers to unlock their devices, “which often contain software that prevents them from operating on another carrier’s network … allows consumers to switch providers more easily,” Verizon said. But “an unlocking requirement may discourage a carrier from deeply discounting a phone because it cannot recoup its subsidy if a customer immediately moves to another carrier.” Verizon noted the rules have been inconsistent. The FCC adopted handset unlocking and other open platform requirements on carriers buying licenses in the 700 MHz upper C-block auction, Verizon noted. The carrier bought the 700 MHz licenses in an auction that ended in 2008, giving it low-band spectrum nationwide (see 0803250101). More recently, public interest groups urged handset unlocking requirements as a condition of T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Mint Mobile (see 2402220032), Verizon said: “Regardless of whether the Commission requires T-Mobile to accept some or all of the handset unlocking conditions requested, it should pursue a more considered and uniform approach to unlocking.”

The American Action Forum questioned how the U.S. really fared during last year’s World Radiocommunication Conference. “Delegations from across the world largely adopted China’s spectrum approach in the mid-band, allocating the upper part of the 6 GHz band for 5G services,” a report released Tuesday said. Jeffrey Westling, director-technology and innovation policy, is its author. While the U.S. has allocated the entire 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, actions at the last WRC may keep other countries from following the U.S.’s lead, it said. “Countries don’t have to allocate the band for 5G but can’t allocate spectrum in a manner that would cause harmful interference to 5G operations in neighboring jurisdictions,” the paper said: “Equipment manufacturers will have less incentive, and potential profit, in designing and manufacturing additional unlicensed equipment that operates in the upper portion of the band, as fewer countries will allow the use of that technology.” The U.S. struggled to persuade nations to adopt its approach “because it lacks a robust plan to commercialize spectrum in the mid-band for exclusive licenses, shared models, or even more unlicensed,” the paper argues: “Leading into the conference, the only mid-band spectrum teed up for commercialization was 3.1–3.45 GHz, and the DOD pushed back on efforts to allow commercialization of the band,” and without auction authority the U.S. “lacked stability in spectrum policy, perhaps concerning potential allies that desired a robust plan for mid-band.”

Etherstack urged the FCC to give FirstNet control of the 4.9 GHz band, noting that it’s well suited for 5G (see 2401190067). Part of the wider 4.4–5.0 GHz band was identified for international mobile telecommunications in several countries, and all of it is included in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project standard for 5G technologies, the software company said in a Monday filing in docket 07-100. 5G networks are deployed in the band in Japan, China and Hong Kong and private 5G in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, Etherstack said. “There are plans/consultations for the use of this spectrum band in a range of countries including Brazil, India, Indonesia and Vietnam,” the company said: “Importantly, Australia has also recently designated the 4.9 GHz band as a public safety band which can be used for cellular technology.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau granted waivers of the 2.5 GHz tribal application window for five licenses sought by the Ho-Chunk Nation. “Our decision here is limited to the suitability of these specific trust, Tribally-owned fee, and allotment lands, excluding urban areas, to be licensed under the Tribal Window,” said a Tuesday order: “We make no determination as to the status … with respect to other Commission rules or programs, nor for any other purpose.” Bureau staff must still process the applications for the licenses. The window to apply closed in September 2020 (see 2007310066).