Advocates of sharing in the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) and 6 GHz bands remain concerned that parts of those bands could be reallocated for full-power licensed use, but decisions probably won’t be made for some time, Disruptive Analysis consultant Dean Bubley said Tuesday during a Broadband Breakfast webinar. Bubley and Dave Wright, policy director for Spectrum for the Future, said CBRS offers unique capabilities that many users want and that help the U.S. compete with China.
The FCC is expected to unanimously approve an order at its open meeting Thursday that would update a number of low-power TV and translator rules, industry and FCC officials told us. The final item is expected to change little from the draft version, which updates and clarifies agency policies on station relocation, channel sharing, alerting and other matters. “In light of changes within the broadcast industry and LPTV Service over the last forty years, we adopt changes to our rules to ensure that the LPTV Service continues to flourish and serve the public interest long into the future,” the draft says.
Wireless industry groups and EchoStar suppliers are voicing some concerns and opposition to SpaceX's proposed purchase of EchoStar's AWS-4, AWS H-block and AWS-3 block licenses, according to FCC filings in docket 25-302 this week. EchoStar has struck spectrum rights deals with SpaceX and AT&T to end a pair of FCC investigations into its use of the 2 GHz band and the deadline extensions it received for its 5G network buildout (see 2505130003).
The Senate Commerce Committee’s FCC oversight hearing Wednesday remains likely to feature a heavy emphasis on examining commission Chairman Brendan Carr’s media regulatory actions, including his mid-September comments against ABC and parent Disney, which were widely perceived as inciting the network’s since-reversed decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air (see 2509220059). Carr threatened ABC in a podcast interview, saying the network should discipline Kimmel for comments about the reaction to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk (see 2509170064) or face FCC action.
Muon Space hopes to launch its FireSat1, FireSat2 and FireSat3 satellites for wildfire monitoring and detection into low earth orbit as soon as June. In an FCC Space Bureau application Friday, Muon said the satellites are planned in partnership with the nonprofit Earth Fire Alliance. They would operate at a nominal altitude of 600 kilometers and use an X-band downlink for payload data, the company said.
The FCC on Monday approved Nokia as a spectrum access system administrator in the citizens broadband radio service band for a five-year term. The order also approved Nokia to support spectrum manager leasing for priority access licenses.
NATE supports the Safer Buildings Coalition’s July petition asking the FCC to launch a rulemaking on guidelines for getting consent from licensees to install signal boosters, said a filing Friday in docket RM-12009 (see 2511130025). The FCC’s regulatory framework for Part 90 industrial signal boosters “contains significant gaps that negatively impact both our contractor members and public safety communications,” NATE said. “The absence of clear, standardized authorization procedures creates an environment where requirements vary unpredictably across jurisdictions and license holders.”
The National Emergency Number Association warned the FCC that allowing correctional facilities to jam cell signals must not interfere with people's ability to call 911, according to a filing posted Monday in docket 13-111. The FCC unanimously approved a further NPRM on cell jamming in September (see 2509300063), and initial comments are due Dec. 26. NENA declined to comment “on the technical merit” of various systems. “However, whichever systems are allowed … and installed in correctional facilities must include careful engineering and assurances that legitimate 9-1-1 calls and public safety traffic won’t be blocked.”
The FCC Office of International Affairs has signed off on Google subsidiary Starfish Infrastructure's planned Bulikula submarine cable system, which will connect Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Hawaii to Fiji and French Polynesia. Starfish applied for approval 13 months ago (see 2411180002). In a public notice last week, the FCC said the subsea system license was granted with routine conditions.
Direct Action for Rights and Equality (DARE) last week asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the FCC’s controversial changes to rules for incarcerated people's communications services, which commissioners approved 2-1 in October (see 2510280045). The 1st Circuit already heard a challenge to the initial 2024 order before the FCC majority revised the rules (see 2510070044).