CTIA sought a 12-month extension to the FCC's current six-month deadline for carriers to implement new rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. Commissioners approved the rules 5-0 in November (see 2311150042). “CTIA seeks a targeted revision to the Order to ensure that providers have adequate time to develop the comprehensive systems and processes needed to implement the new rules and best serve the Commission’s and industry’s shared goals,” said the petition, posted Tuesday in docket 21-341. “The Order underestimates the time needed for providers to implement the new rules,” CTIA said: Eighteen months is “the minimum window needed to complete the needed changes across the varied and complex systems impacted by the Order’s new authentication, notification, recordkeeping, and other requirements as well as other new rules by the Commission that impact some of these same systems.” CTIA noted that providers “already have robust protections in place such that consumers and businesses will not be left unprotected during this transition period.” CTIA warned that the record didn't support the deadline in the order, calling the decision “arbitrary and capricious.”

One of the big wireless questions for 2024 is whether Dish Network will succeed as a fourth national wireless provider, New Street’s Blair Levin said in a weekend note to investors. Another is whether another carrier will buy USCellular, he wrote. He added: “There is a question about whether any potential buyers would face a risk of a government rejection, particularly given the views of Democratic antitrust authorities and the results of the last major acquisition to face an FCC review (T-Mobile/Sprint)." Any buyer other than AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon would likely see easy approval, he noted. “Lots of studies are in the pipeline” in the aftermath of the national spectrum strategy, but “these won’t lead to more spectrum coming online before 2025,” Levin said. No resolution appears likely soon on the lower 3 GHz band, but 12 GHz “is the one place” the FCC could authorize a new band for terrestrial use, he said: "Depending on if and how the FCC does it, it could be a boost for DISH.” Levin also predicted Congress could authorize the FCC to sell returned AWS 3 licenses. Congress could authorize a “targeted reauction” without addressing broader DOD concerns “that are blocking efforts to reauthorize spectrum auctions.”

The Wi-Fi Alliance announced Monday the launch of its Wi-Fi 7 certification program, which puts the group’s stamp on gear and verifies that it’s interoperable with other Wi-Fi 7 products. “Cutting-edge capabilities in Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 enable innovations that rely on high throughput, deterministic latency, and greater reliability for critical traffic,” the alliance said. Smartphones, PCs, tablets and access points (APs) are expected to be earlier adopters of Wi-Fi 7, while customer premises equipment and augmented and virtual reality gear “will continue to gain early market traction,” it said. CommScope said the alliance has selected a member of the Ruckus Wi-Fi 7 AP family for the Wi-Fi 7 interoperability certification test bed.

The value of 5G in defense applications is expected to climb from $900 million last year to $2.3 billion by 2028, a compound annual growth rate of 19.9% during the period, ResearchAndMarkets.com said Monday. 5G “offers speeds up to 100 times faster than its predecessor, 4G, opening up unprecedented possibilities for individuals and enterprises alike,” the firm said: “The enhanced connectivity speeds, remarkably low latency, and expanded bandwidth that 5G provides are driving progress in societies and reshaping various industries. This transformation is greatly improving everyday experiences for people.”

Samsung Electronics America made a technical argument at the FCC in favor of approval of a waiver for a 5G base-station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see 2309130041). The proposed multiband radio “will not materially increase emissions” in the CBRS band, “or materially increase the CBRS noise floor, compared to two collocated standalone C-Band and CBRS radios; and it will have emissions that are lower than those permitted by the FCC’s rules,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 23-93. Key parts of the filing were redacted, including a table on measured noise levels from the composite radio. The multiband radio “will always have less emissions than a C-band radio or collocated C-band and CBRS radios operating in compliance with the FCC rules,” Samsung said.

Wisconsin’s Country WIreless asked the FCC for a six-month deadline extension to complete the removal, replacement and disposal of covered equipment and services from its network. “Country Wireless is working diligently to install a replacement network, which will enable the company to remove insecure equipment provided by Chinese manufacturers from our network,” said a filing last week: “As a small, rural operation, and through no fault of ours, we lack the financial resources to complete the project, as Congress has provided only 40% of the funds needed.”

Samsung Electronics America refuted objections NCTA raised to the company's request for an FCC waiver for a 5G base station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see [Ref:2309130041). “The practical implications … would be harmful to the CBRS ecosystem, particularly if used as precedent for future composite radios,” NCTA said in a late November filing that other cable interests joined. NCTA's technical assertions are at odds with the FCC rule “governing the measurement of emissions by composite devices" and "inconsistent with the rule itself, with the Office of Engineering and Technology’s well-settled guidance regarding the proper application of the rule, and with current and longstanding wireless industry measurement practices,” Samsung said in a response posted Friday in docket 23-93. The proposed radio won't have “a practical impact” on CBRS operations “compared to the deployment of two standalone radios, and therefore, Samsung’s radio will not disrupt any CBRS operators’ reasonable reliance interests,” Samsung said. Ericsson, Qualcomm and Verizon joined Samsung on the filing.

The FCC Wireless Bureau Friday agreed to give AEP the additional week it asked for (see 2401040037), until Jan. 12, before it responds to concerns the Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association (GWTCA) raised about the utility’s request for a waiver allowing it to operate 800 MHz low-power temporary repeaters and “talk-around on mobile units” in remote areas outside the range of its existing 800 MHz network. “We agree that a 7-day extension is warranted due to the intervening Christmas and New Year's Day holidays,” the bureau said: “Providing a 7-day extension will allow AEP to provide a meaningful response to GWTCA.”

NTIA may need Capitol Hill's help addressing spectrum authority issues, Michael Marcus, former FCC engineer and adjunct professor at Northeastern University, said in comments to NTIA on a national spectrum strategy. Section 323 of the Communications Act, which addresses interference issues, has never been amended, runs to just 214 words and uses terms that are “woefully anachronistic,” Marcus said. NTIA should request legislation replacing Section 323 with “legislative guidance on how the President and FCC resolve their respective rules.” But Marcus noted that crafting and approving legislation is difficult and it is rarely able to keep pace with a changing industry. One key issue is improving agency confidence in NTIA decisions, he said. NTIA and the FCC need additional resources to do a “more objective and timely analysis of the technical issues in spectrum sharing,” Marcus added.

T-Mobile reached speeds greater than 3.6 Gbps during a test of its network. This is “fast enough to download a two-hour HD movie in less than 7 seconds,” the company said Thursday. T-Mobile worked with Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies on the test, which was “the world’s first" six-carrier aggregation call made using sub-6 GHz spectrum, T-Mobile said. “5G carrier aggregation allows T-Mobile to combine multiple 5G channels (or carriers) to deliver greater speed and performance,” the provider said: In the test, researchers “merged six 5G channels of mid-band spectrum -- two channels of 2.5 GHz Ultra Capacity 5G, two channels of PCS spectrum and two channels” of advanced wireless service spectrum -- “creating an effective 245 MHz of aggregated 5G channels.”