The FCC Enforcement Bureau ordered Andrew Mart of Naperville, Illinois, to explain within 10 days his operation of an amateur radio that was found to be transmitting at 20.8 MHz, outside permitted bands. No amateur radio license, issued by the U.S. or another country with reciprocal U.S. operating privileges, “allows transmissions on frequencies outside the authorized amateur bands, including the transmissions you admitted making,” the letter said.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau on Friday reminded carriers with supplemental coverage from space “arrangements” that they must file annual reports by Oct. 15. The reports must cover “911 voice calls, text messages and emergency call center data,” said the notice in docket 24-318. The commission “adopted these reporting requirements in 2024 as part of interim 911 requirements for terrestrial providers that use SCS arrangements to extend their coverage service areas.”
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday scheduled oral argument for Nov. 24 on challenges to the FCC’s 4.9 GHz rules (docket 24-1363). The FCC approved the order during the last administration with support from current Chairman Brendan Carr (see 2411130027).
Opponents of T-Mobile’s purchase of wireless assets from UScellular, including spectrum, met with Arpan Sura, an aide to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, about their application for review of the transaction (see 2507310041). Representatives of the Rural Wireless Association, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society and the Communications Workers of America attended, according to a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-286. The transaction was approved by the Wireless Bureau and the Office of International Affairs without a commissioner vote.
NCTA and WISPA said the FCC should think twice before quickly agreeing to give Viaero a waiver of a rule that limits a single party to owning four citizens broadband radio service priority access licenses (PAL) in any market. Comments were due Wednesday to the Wireless Bureau on Viaero's proposal to buy 10 priority access licenses from Citizens Band License Co., which would result in it exceeding the limit in seven counties in Colorado (see 2509050021).
The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved a waiver Thursday for Aroostook County, Maine, allowing it to license a VHF channel from the industrial/business pool and use it for internal public safety and first responder communications. The bureau said the county contends that it plans to replace its aging system, but construction has been delayed for more than two years due to a “lack of available frequencies.”
Skepticism about Elon Musk's ambition that Starlink become a fully integrated global carrier delivering fixed broadband and direct-to-device service using its own licensed spectrum is short-sighted, space consultant Carlos Placido wrote Wednesday. Starlink becoming a mobile network operator "could fundamentally transform the mobile ecosystem." An obvious scenario is a bundling of Starlink residential fixed broadband with D2D, he said. But beyond that, "a particularly disruptive move" for SpaceX would be integrating small-cell base station capabilities onto Starlink broadband terminals and antennas, letting customers extend mobile coverage through Starlink's satellite backhaul, Placido said. "The result? A hybrid infrastructure that seamlessly integrates terrestrial and satellite networks into a next-generation mobile connectivity model."
FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty assured Competitive Carriers Association members that the agency understands their need for faster buildouts and access to more spectrum. “We are working to create a regulatory environment that empowers you, the private sector, to build and innovate,” she said in written remarks for CCA's annual convention, posted Wednesday.
Most people are using AI over mobile platforms, which will mean even more data on carrier networks, CTIA President Ajit Pai said at a Politico event Tuesday (see 2509160040). As an example, he talked about a recent vacation with his family to Japan, where he made extensive use of an AI-based travel app. Pai tied AI to CTIA’s push to make more full-power licensed spectrum available for carriers and streamline wireless siting rules. “We’re starting to see more and more companies start to use AI and 5G to make their operations more efficient,” he added. “We’re just scratching the surface.”
The FCC sought comment Tuesday on a July petition by the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC) urging the FCC to launch a rulemaking on guidelines for getting consent from licensees to install signal boosters (see 2507210025). Comments are due Oct. 16, replies Oct. 31, said a Public Safety Bureau notice in docket RM-12009.