Cox Communications has begun a field pilot test of Tarana Wireless equipment in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the fixed wireless access technology company said Tuesday. The work with Cox joins fixed wireless partnerships with Midco and Mediacom, it said. Midco is using Tarana fixed wireless for 11 Connect America Fund buildouts, it said, while Mediacom is deploying Tarana tech to meet Rural Deployment Opportunity Fund requirements and expand its footprint to thousands of unversed households in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Ericsson joined the Mobile Satellite Services Association, it said Tuesday. Launched in February, the consortium focuses on the supplemental coverage from space and the direct-to-device ecosystem using L- and S-band spectrum (see 2402090013). "Through MSSA, Ericsson is keen to advance the goal of ubiquitous connectivity through the integration of terrestrial and space-based networks,” said Freddie Sodergren, Ericsson Business Area Networks head-technology and strategy.

The FCC said it has opened the window for filing applications to participate in the agency’s three-year, $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries. It closes Nov. 1. “School districts and libraries across the country have proven to be prime targets for cyber criminals” and “vulnerabilities in the networks are real -- and growing," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday. “Through this pilot program, we’ll have a chance to better understand what equipment, services, and tools will help protect school and library broadband networks from cyberthreats,” she said. Commissioners approved the program 3-2 in June with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2406060043).

The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will hold the second meeting under its new charter on Sept. 27, starting at 1 p.m., at FCC headquarters, the FCC said Monday. The group held its initial meeting June 28 (see 2406280050). Its focus this term is on AI and 6G.

The FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee will meet Oct. 18 starting at noon at FCC headquarters, the commission said Monday. The announcement confirms what had been a tentative meeting date (see 2408010050). DAC last met in May (see 2405160051).

Southern Ohio Communications Services (SOCS) asked the FCC for a six-month extension of an Oct. 6 deadline to remove Huawei and ZTE components from its network under the FCC’s rip-and-replace program. SOCS “has worked diligently” to complete the removal, replacement and disposal of “covered” equipment in its network, said a filing last week in docket 18-89. However, some of its ZTE gear “has not yet been disposed of,” the ISP said: Most is in storage waiting for disposal and the only remaining component still attached to the network is a single ZTE router, SOCS said: “SOCS has purchased the replacement equipment for this item and is now waiting for the vendor to install it.”

Consumers' Research objected again to the FCC's proposed quarterly USF contribution factor for Q4 2024. The group said in comments posted Friday in docket 96-45 that the FCC should reject the proposed 35.8% contribution factor and let Congress "fund universal service via a standard tax appropriation." The group challenged the USF contribution mechanism in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which granted a stay of its ruling in favor of Consumers' Research pending the FCC's petition for a writ of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court last month (see 2408270030).

The FCC reminded ISPs Tuesday that all providers must comply with the commission's consumer broadband labels by Oct. 10. The commission gave smaller providers until then to come into compliance. Most providers were required to comply by April 10 (see 2310100058).

NTIA wants comments by Oct. 15 on its Local Estimates of Internet Adoption (LEIA) project (docket NTIA-2024-0003), a new joint effort with the U.S. Census Bureau, said a notice for Thursday's Federal Register. The agencies will use Project LEIA to "develop model-based estimates of internet adoption for smaller populations than would typically be possible using survey data alone," it said. The project aims to fill a "key gap in our knowledge of digital equity challenges," said Rafi Goldberg, NTIA senior adviser-digital equity, in a blog Monday. The agencies released their first "set of experimental, single-year estimates of household wired internet adoption for every county" in the U.S., Goldberg said. The new model is based on 2022 American Community Service data "in combination with several variables related to subscribership levels," he said. Project LEIA was developed to "obtain feedback from stakeholders and enhance future estimates," said a Census Bureau news release. It used "small area estimation methods" and "restricted data" to produce a feasibility report, user guide and data files.

The FCC’s three-year, $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries will likely be highly competitive, with lots of interest nationally, Julia Legg, account manager at E-Rate Central, predicted on Wednesday during a Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition webinar. SHLB received dozens of questions about program details during the webinar. The FCC wants to fund as many eligible schools, libraries and consortiums as possible, including “those that include tribal entities, and a mix of large and small, urban and rural” programs, Legg said. All the details haven’t been published on reporting requirements, but a baseline report will be required in year one, with annual reports due within 60 days of the end of the year, she said. Applicants disagreeing with a decision have 30 days to appeal, half the time normally available for E-rate appeals, she said. Allison Baker, associate chief of the FCC Wireline Bureau, said the agency will accept applications from entities not participating in the E-rate program, but they must be eligible for it. Sue McNeil, chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, warned potential applicants that failure to file a complete Part 2 application could mean being removed from the pilot and potentially being referred to the Enforcement Bureau: “Nobody wants that.” Some 30 questions raised in the webinar that weren't answered will be addressed during an Oct. 2 SHLB workshop, said John Windhausen, SHLB executive director. The FCC approved the pilot program 3-2 in June with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2406060043). The initial window to apply for the program opens Sept. 17 and closes Nov. 1 (see 2409040036).