Protected status for federal earth stations using commercial satellite services is "overdue," NTIA said this week in docket 24-121 as the FCC sought comment on expanded federal use of commercial satellite spectrum bands (see 2406280034). NTIA said the FCC should move quickly on an NPRM that lays the path for that protected status for federal earth stations using commercial satellite services. It suggested a regime where federal agencies would submit information to the commission for notice and comment, and then entry into the FCC’s earth station database, akin to the process some FAA-operated C-band earth stations in Alaska use. Warning of the possible hindrance of 5G’s rollout, CTIA said any sweeping allocation of spectrum to federal users on a primary basis “would exacerbate the existing imbalance between federal and non-federal spectrum allocations.” It said the FCC and its Office of Engineering and Technology need to clearly define the spectrum bands not already allocated for federal fixed satellite service (FSS) and mobile satellite service (MSS) that might be looked at for expanded federal use. It said adding federal allocations to the lower C band and to the 13 GHz band could complicate investigation of the bands for commercial mobile use. The Satellite Industry Association said FSS and MSS allocations should be added to the federal portion of the Table of Frequency Allocations for nonfederal spectrum bands, while also making clear federal operations under the allocation are limited to federal earth stations communicating with nonfederal space stations. It said federal users should have to follow the same rules and procedures as nonfederal users. SIA's comments were similar its 2021 advocacy, when the agency also looked at the issue (see 2110180066). The 10.7-11.7 GHz band is “critical” for mobile wireless traffic backhaul and a “safe harbor” band for fixed service systems relocating out of the 6 GHz band, said Comsearch. Fixed service use of the band has almost tripled in the past decade, it said. Comsearch said that extensive use of the band points to how it must be preserved for nonfederal terrestrial operations.
Safe Connections Act
While time division duplexing (TDD) dominated early 5G deployments, frequency division duplexing (FDD) is starting to outpace the other technology, Stefan Pongratz, Dell’Oro Group vice president-radio access network market research, said in a blog this week. FDD relies on different frequencies for uplink and downlink, while TDD uses different time slots. “Operators initially tend to focus on the upper mid-band before complementing it with narrow-band FDD deployments,” Pongratz blogged. But results from 5G FDD-only deployments suggest “significant potential,” he said. In the Netherlands, a delay in making C-band spectrum available prompted providers “to optimize the use of existing assets, coordinating 4G and 5G technologies across high and low FDD bands to create a high-performance network.” Testing shows “impressive average data rates and latency results in the Netherlands even with the C-Band delays.”
T-Mobile on Wednesday became the last of the three major wireless carriers to report Q2 results, announcing it added 777,000 net postpaid phone subscribers and 406,000 fixed wireless subscribers. However, it warned of a financial hit of up to $450 million this year from the shuttering of the affordable connectivity program. Meanwhile, CEO Mike Sievert told analysts T-Mobile is “open-minded” but not set on buying additional fiber assets.
The three major U.S. tower companies reported Q2 results, with Crown Castle the last to go, on Tuesday. All three companies' CEOs said that despite some slowing in 5G deployments, major U.S. carriers still have a ways to go to build out their networks. In addition, they expressed optimism despite a downturn in deployments in recent quarters (see 2402290050).
Auto Innovators urged the FCC to act soon on a proposed order on cellular vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band that is in front of the commissioners (see 2407170042). The group represents the auto industry. Its representatives met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. Its representatives “also encouraged the Commission to work with the automotive industry to identify additional spectrum to both support new C-V2X use cases and to ensure that there is adequate spectrum for next-generation V2X technologies, such as 5G-V2X,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-138 said.
India, the U.S. and Southeast Asia lead the world in stand-alone (SA) 5G deployments, while Chinese operators and India’s Jio lead in active 5G SA users, Ookla said in a new report. Europe lags, “with operators still hesitant due to the relatively low [return] on existing 5G investments and unclear business cases for 5G SA.” The United Arab Emirates and South Korea lead in performance -- with download speeds reaching 879.89 Mbps and 729.89 Mbps, respectively, Ookla said. Ookla recorded just 11 new 5G SA deployments in nine countries in 2023 but said growth is expected to accelerate this year. “5G SA uses a dedicated 5G core network, unlocking the full capabilities of 5G with better speed, latency, support for large numbers of devices, and more agile service creation,” Ookla said: It also allows new features including network slicing, but comes with increased infrastructure complexity, higher costs and requires more staff training.
Dell’Oro Group warned that radio access network revenue worldwide is declining and that this trend should continue through 2028. Global RAN revenue is projected to decline at a 2% compound average growth “as continued 5G investments will be offset by rapidly declining LTE revenues,” Dell’Oro said last week. The Asia Pacific region is expected to lead declines. “It is not a surprise that there is rain after sunshine,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president-RAN market research: “In addition to [mobile broadband]-based coverage-related challenges, this disconnect between mobile data traffic growth and the capacity boost provided by the mid-band, taken together with continued monetization uncertainty, is clearly weighing on the market.”
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling Wednesday against the FCC's Universal Service Fund contribution factor for the first quarter of 2022 will likely have little to no immediate impact on the commission's USF-funded programs and providers contributing to the fund, trade groups and legal experts told us (see 2407240043). It's uncertain how the U.S. Supreme Court would interpret conflicting rulings of the 5th, 6th and 11th circuits. Consumers' Research asked SCOTUS in a supplemental brief filed Thursday (docket 23-456) to grant rehearing as a result of the circuit split.
The citizens broadband radio service band has shown that spectrum can be shared without interfering with government users, in particular the naval radars that use the band, Richard Bernhardt, Wireless ISP Association vice president-spectrum and industry, said Thursday. Recent changes approved by the FCC, working with DOD and NTIA (see 2406120027), will make the band much more usable, he said during a WISPA webinar on “CBRS 2.0.” The rule changes take effect Friday.
Omnispace’s Mindel De La Torre, former FCC international bureau chief, joins non-terrestrial network service provider Skylo Technologies as head-regulatory affairs ... Fox News Media names Katherine Meeks, previously Gibson, Dunn, as general counsel, effective Aug. 19; Bernard Gugar steps down as general counsel and executive vice president-corporate development ... Computer networking company Netgear appoints Pramod Badjate, ex-Arista Networks, as president-general manager-Netgear Business; Kirsten Daru, ex-Life360, as general counsel-chief privacy officer; Antonio Lopez Reus, ex-Amazon, as vice president-strategy and strategic partnerships; adds onXmaps’ Laura Orvidas to board; and promotes Fiona Spratt to senior vice president-people ... 5G mobile and fixed wireless solutions provider Inseego appoints Semtech’s David Markland as chief product officer and Dean Antonilli, as senior vice president-sales-service providers and names Sal Aroon, ex-Form, as vice president-head of operations.