The FCC released two items Wednesday on proposals from past World Radiocommunication Conferences. The full commission issued an order adopting proposals from WRC-15 -- which took place 10 years ago -- and an NPRM seeking comment on proposals from WRC-19. It’s not unusual for the FCC to take years to enact WRC proposals, said Scott Harris, managing partner of Crest Hill Advisors.
The cable industry has embarked on a "bizarre" strategy of trying to prevent spectrum auctions and starve fixed-wireless access (FWA) of more spectrum rights, High Tech Forum founder Richard Bennett wrote Wednesday. FWA providers are excited about the 800 MHz target for new spectrum licenses, as laid out in Congress' budget reconciliation package, previously called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, he said. Cable's response is "positioning itself as the one true champion of Wi-Fi, the presumed loser from the OBBB auction plan." However, he said, "Wi-Fi doesn’t care what technologies users employ for Internet access. Wi-Fi simply connects devices in a home or office to each other. Telcos need -- and use -- Wi-Fi for the same reason cable does: to convenience its customers."
The window to file FCC Form 855 certifications for hearing-aid rule compliance opens Jan. 2 and closes Feb. 2, said the Wireless Bureau in a public notice Monday. The FCC “requires wireless service providers to file FCC Form 855 certifications to ensure compliance with the Commission’s wireless hearing aid compatibility rules,” the reminder said. “Service providers who offer handset models for sale or use in the United States are required to annually file this form.”
The FCC should retain its current citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) rules, said Cambium Networks in a letter posted in docket 17-258 Monday. “Increases to permitted power in some or all of the band would undermine deployments that are providing vital services to American communities.” Reallocating portions of the CBRS band or increasing the maximum power would require Cambium to replace its equipment “at significant operator and consumer expense,” the company said. “Further, permitting significantly higher power levels would lead to waste in [the] BEAD program, as existing CBRS equipment supporting fixed wireless BEAD deployments would need to be replaced and such costs have not been included in BEAD,” Cambium added. “It is inconsistent for the federal government to make billions of dollars available for broadband deployment and expect recipients to invest their own capital, at the same time that it calls into question the usefulness of the most relied-upon spectrum for broadband deployment.”
Wireless ISPs continued to weigh in at the FCC last week to oppose major changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2512010052). Questions remain about the future of the band, with some wireless carriers looking at the spectrum for full-powered licensed use, and others urging higher power levels for some operations (see 2511260031).
Alaskan carrier GCI urged the FCC to provide more guidance to allow providers to comment on the Alaska Connect Fund eligible-areas map and performance plan template (see 2511190039). Comments were due Thursday in docket 23-328. The FCC's public notice “raises critical questions that necessitate corrections and further clarifications regarding key parameters before providers can fully offer input.”
The FCC barred Q Link Wireless from participating in the agency's Lifeline or any other USF program, according to a letter posted in Friday’s Daily Digest. In July, Q Link Wireless CEO Issa Asad was sentenced to 60 months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud tied to the Lifeline program (see 2507280019). Asad and the company also pleaded guilty to money laundering through the COVID-19-era Paycheck Protection Program.
Hikvision USA has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to review an FCC order seeking to close potential loopholes in the agency's equipment authorization process (see 2510280024). The company criticized the order after it was approved in October.
NCTA representatives spoke with FCC staff to urge the agency to impose a uniform 180-day handset-unlocking mandate on all carriers, according to a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-186. “In addition to increasing consumer choice and reducing consumer confusion,” an unlocking mandate would “promote affordability” by “reducing the artificial friction imposed on consumers seeking to switch to more competitive providers.”
The FCC moved quickly this week to seek comment on an NPRM about rules for an upper C-band auction, approved by commissioners 3-0 on Nov. 20. The NPRM includes questions on making spectrum available to tribes. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has acknowledged that the agency is under the gun to move forward on what would be the first major spectrum auction since the 3.45 GHz auction, which ended in 2022 (see 2511200046). Comments are due Jan. 5, replies Feb. 3, in docket 25-59, said a notice for Friday's Federal Register.