The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Monday on Echodyne’s pursuit of a five-year extension of its waiver of rules allowing ground-based use of its EchoGuard radar, which detects objects on the ground and in the air, using the 24.45–24.65 GHz band (see 2402090064). Comments are due March 27, replies April 11, in docket 17-352. A 2019 waiver expires June 12 (see 1906130051).

CTIA told the FCC “the record strongly supports” its request for a 12-month extension (see 2401090026) of the FCC's six-month deadline for carriers to implement rules protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. “The record also makes clear that a workable compliance deadline serves the public interest,” CTIA said, in a filing posted Monday in docket 21-341: “CTIA shares the Commission’s goals of fraud prevention and security for consumers and business customers.” The FCC “significantly underestimated the time needed for industry compliance with the new SIM swap and port-out fraud rules,” the Competitive Carriers Association said. Meeting a six-month deadline “would be a significant challenge to even the largest nationwide carriers” and most CCA members are “smaller carriers with extremely limited resources and often over-extended staff multitasking on multiple projects,” CCA said. NCTA also supported CTIA’s petition, saying the new rules “will require the development of new authentication procedures, new customer notifications, and new recordkeeping, among other things.” Covered companies “will have to undertake significant employee training efforts,” NCTA said. Replies to oppositions were due Friday at the FCC.

AT&T has started deploying Ericsson cloud radio access network technology on its network, the companies said Monday. AT&T announced in December a five-year contract with Ericsson worth as much as $14 billion for open RAN (see 2312050049). “The two companies have completed a Cloud RAN call as a milestone in deploying Open RAN,” said a news release: “AT&T now has commercial traffic flowing on Cloud RAN sites, the first ones of which are located south of Dallas. … The configuration used for the Cloud RAN call has been deployed in the AT&T network, and third-party vendors will be able to use this configuration for Open RAN in the future.”

AT&T CEO John Stankey apologized for last week’s outage, which affected about 75% of customers (see 2402220058), in a Sunday employee letter, saying, “No matter the timing, one thing is clear -- we let down many of our customers, including many of you and your families." AT&T will immediately credit customers for a full day of service, he said. In addition, Stankey said the company’s ongoing review indicates the culprit was “application and execution of an incorrect process used while working to expand our network.”

Alaska’s Bristol Bay Cellular Partnership agreed to start sending wireless emergency alerts to subscribers, said a filing posted Friday in docket 15-91. The carrier said in 2008 it filed at the FCC a letter saying it wouldn’t participate in the WEA system and is now changing its position.

EchoStar, RS Access and Go Long Wireless entered into an agreement with the Cherokee Nation to make 100 MHz of lower 12 GHz spectrum available to the tribe for fixed wireless. EchoStar’s Dish Network earlier offered to make the band available in tribal areas as the FCC looks at revising rules for the band (see 2309110061). The companies said they are looking to sign similar agreements with other tribes. “Under the terms of the agreement, the Cherokee Nation (or another participating Tribal entity) would be assigned free and clear 100 MHz of spectrum (12.2-12.3 GHz) and could use as much of that 100 MHz band as it needs for fixed wireless service, with the [multichannel video distribution and data service] licensee and the Tribal entity having a mutual right to use each other’s unused spectrum as needed for their own operations across the entire 12.2 GHz band,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443. The approach “would help close the longstanding digital divide for underserved and hard-to-reach Tribal lands, while simultaneously respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination,” the filing said. In a call last week with FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez and aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington, tribal broadband advocates discussed the potential significance of a proposal giving tribes access to the lower 12 GHz band. The advocates made similar points in an earlier meeting with Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 2402140035).

Comments and petitions are due March 11, responses March 21, and replies to responses March 26 on a Dish Network and Liberty Latin America request to transfer Dish spectrum licenses in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Liberty, the FCC Office of International Affairs said in a public notice Friday. The PN also established docket 24-55 for the proceeding.

Mavenir said it's working with Terrestar on 5G non-terrestrial-network (NTN) solutions that use open radio access networks. “Satellite Operators are actively looking at ways to harness 5G NTN capabilities within their network topology, to extend coverage and capacity in areas where traditional terrestrial networks may be economically unfeasible or impractical,” Mavenir said Friday. Mavenir is collaborating with Terrestar on its push to offer narrowband IoT service. “Open RAN deployments are demonstrating their clear potential for enabling unprecedented levels of connectivity for consumers and industries, surpassing the possibilities of traditional RAN software builds,” said Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli.

CTIA officials updated FCC staff about progress on deploying managed access systems (MAS) to curb the use of illicit phones in correctional facilities. The FCC Wireless Bureau last year tentatively approved applications of five contraband interdiction system operators to help address contraband phones (see 2306230033). “CTIA’s members have continued to commit both their resources and their technical expertise to make it easier for corrections officials to implement MAS interdiction solutions,” said a filing Thursday in docket 13-111. Efforts include “enhanced coordination with MAS vendors, creation of a MAS ‘How To’ checklist for corrections officials and system vendors, support for federal funding, identification of efficient and accurate methods for permanently disabling contraband devices, and streamlining the roaming agreements needed to enable” evolved MAS, CTIA said.

Rural Wireless Association representatives raised concerns with aides to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about how the agency documents progress of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. The program is aimed at removing unsecure gear from telecom networks. Congressional reports fail “to accurately depict the current state of the Reimbursement Program by vastly underestimating how much participants have spent … to date,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-89. The reports “have only mentioned the total monies that have been reimbursed to program participants, which is significantly lower than the total spending that program participants have incurred to date,” RWA said: “Many program participants have been forced to file modifications due to the lack of funding and such modifications have slowed the submission of invoices, which would further demonstrate costs already incurred by participants.” Moreover, RWA is frustrated that the latest reports seem to blame program participants for delays, the filing said.