CTIA representatives met with Chief Alejandro Roark and other officials from the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau on a February Further NPRM on whether the Telephone Consumer Protection Act applies to robocalls and robotexts from wireless service providers to subscribers (see 2404220029). CTIA discussed how the current framework for communications by wireless service providers to their subscribers "at no charge facilitates the sending of service-related communications that help ensure consumers’ safety and connectivity and protect consumers against fraud and scams, among other benefits,” a filing posted Thursday in docket 02-278 said. CTIA raised concerns about proposals in the FNPRM “to change or limit the existing framework, including proposals to carve out certain types of communications or require wireless providers to honor opt-out requests for any type of call or text to any wireless subscriber -- prepaid or postpaid alike,” the filing said.

AT&T agreed it will drop claims that supplemental coverage from space is currently available to its consumers following a challenge from T-Mobile. A National Advertising Review Board panel agreed with the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division that AT&T should discontinue the claim, NARB said Thursday: “It was not disputed that AT&T does not currently offer SCS coverage to its cellular customers.” AT&T said while it disagrees with “NARB’s conclusion recommending that the commercial be discontinued or modified,” it “supports NARB’s self-regulatory process and will comply with NARB’s decision,” NARB said.

The 5G Automotive Association called for expeditious FCC approval of a long-awaited order finalizing rules for cellular vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band. Representatives of the group met with aides to Commissioners Anna Gomez, Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 19-138. 5GAA said that based on Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's statements (see 2407170042), the order “appears to be generally consistent with 5GAA’s most recent advocacy” on C-V2X use of the band. Fremont, California, meanwhile, became the latest city to seek a waiver of the current rules for deploying C-V2X for roadside and on-board units for “a wide range of applications to enhance public safety, efficiency, and overall traffic management.”

Representatives of the Edison Electric Institute discussed electric utilities' need for licensed spectrum to support uncrewed aerial systems. Accordingly, they urged that the FCC examine the 4.9 and 5 GHz bands. “Access to licensed spectrum would enable networked operations, expanding drone range and facilitating Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights,” a filing Tuesday in docket 22-323 said: “This would significantly improve inspection efficiency and enhance security.” EEI representatives met with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington, after an earlier session with staff for Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2407250020).

Telit Communications' ME310M1 is the first module based on Sony’s Altair ALT1350 chipset to receive AT&T approval, the company said Wednesday. The chipset is “the first in the world to support both unlicensed spectrum and satellite connectivity, enhancing IoT device functionality and application,” it noted. The module is energy efficient, allowing for smaller device sizes and reducing the frequency of battery replacements, “a critical advantage in many IoT applications,” Telit said.

Gogo Business Aviation asked the FCC to move forward on a rulemaking proceeding that considers revised rules for the 800 MHz commercial air-ground service to enable more flexible use of the spectrum. In June, the Wireless Bureau sought comment on Gogo’s request for an NPRM. Only APCO filed initial comments, Gogo noted in reply comments posted Wednesday in docket 24-184. APCO urged independent technical analysis of the interference potential of the rule change and a requirement for real-world testing, among its requests. While Gogo “disagrees with APCO’s proposals, each can be addressed and more deeply explored in the context of an NPRM,” the company said. Gogo “is developing a next-generation network to deliver higher capacity, higher quality broadband connectivity to aircraft operating in the United States,” Gogo said: “These network upgrades expand capacity and help Gogo BA more efficiently use its spectrum to meet aircraft operators’ ever-increasing demand for broadband data and new types of broadband services.”

Comments are due Sept. 9, replies Sept. 23, on an FCC NPRM that proposes industry-wide handset unlocking rules, a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register said. Commissioners approved the NPRM 5-0 last month (see 2407180037). It proposes a requirement that all mobile wireless providers unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud.”

Representatives of the FirstNet Authority, joined by AT&T, “discussed and fielded questions” from the FCC Public Safety Bureau on whether FirstNet should be subject to the agency’s network outage and disaster information reporting systems rules (see 2406140053). The main topic was FirstNet Central, “a tool available to FirstNet public safety users that provides near-real time network status information, including visibility into areas that may be experiencing outages, the cause if known, and estimated restoration time if known,” said a filing this week in docket 21-346. Representatives “explained and demonstrated the features and functionality of the FirstNet Central platform” and how users “can visualize network outage data inclusive of towers, outage notifications, and various informative map layers and showed how users can subscribe to and customize alerts,” the authority said.

The neutral host market is likely to hit $8.7 billion in 2028, offering an opportunity “for those who can make both the technology and economics work,” 5G Americas said in a report released Wednesday. 5G Americas defines neutral hosts as “shared wireless infrastructures that allow multiple network providers to offer connectivity and coverage to different sectors and customers.” Potential “headwinds” include the decline of distributed antenna system equipment sales, security risks, energy costs and consumption, and potential regulatory barriers, the report said. “Tailwinds include the growth of private networks, the availability of shared spectrum, the demand for Bring Your Own Device and innovative partnership models.”

SpaceX filed a report at the FCC that found high-power mobile use of the 13 GHz band would cause harmful out-of-band interference to its customers in three metropolitan areas studied up to 83.2% of the time. It would cause harmful blocking interference up to 76.8% of the time, the study said. “Either type of interference would crush SpaceX’s service for these consumers and businesses, and they both occur simultaneously,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 22-352 said. SpaceX has directed most of its wrath at the lower 12 GHz band, which is being studied for fixed-wireless use (see 2407030061). Carriers see the band's upper part as a candidate for 5G, and eventually 6G, based on comments in response to an FCC NPRM (see 2308140046). The record “shows that the upper 12 GHz band is not a priority for the mobile industry, which has asked the Commission to focus instead on frequency bands in the mobile spectrum pipeline,” SpaceX said: No carrier “has made an actual technical proposal” to use the band. “Any high-power mobile service in the upper 12 GHz band threatens to do as much damage to American satellite customers as [Dish Network’s] deeply flawed plea for terrestrial service in the lower 12 GHz band.”