NARUC to Consider Resolutions on 6 GHz Interference, IP-CTS Transition
NARUC plans to weigh proposed resolutions urging FCC caution on the 6 GHz band and IP-captioned telephone service (IP CTS), at its annual meeting Nov. 17-20 in San Antonio. A resolution before the Telecom, Water and Critical Infrastructure committees asks…
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the FCC to “modify its proposal to not allow unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band unless and until such time that it has tested and proven that its [automated frequency coordination (AFC)] system works as intended to protect utility and other [critical infrastructure industry] systems, and that the FCC require AFC for all unlicensed operations.” It would be “premature if not irresponsible” for the FCC not to rigorously test for possible interference, it said. “The 6 GHz band satisfies the unique needs of utilities due to its ability to transmit data quickly over long distances,” the notes the draft. “If forced out of the band, utilities and other CII licensees have few, if any, reasonable alternatives. Meanwhile, there are other spectrum bands that are currently available or that could be made available that would more efficiently serve the needs for unlicensed operations and more efficiently than the 6 GHz.” Commissioners Robert Pickett of Alaska, Sarah Freeman of Indiana and Mary-Anna Holden of New Jersey jointly sponsored the resolution. The IP-CTS draft resolution by Nebraska Commissioner Tim Schram asks the FCC to adopt service quality standards for all IP-CTS providers before migrating to exclusively automated speech recognition (ASR) services. ASR-only IP CTS providers should "be required to demonstrate that their services can perform in 911 and other emergency and public safety scenarios by, for example, ensuring that a [communications assistant] can help with the call until ASR-only services have a proven track record to handle emergency, life-threatening situations,” it says. And to be functionally equivalent with CA-based IP CTS, "a user’s privacy and confidentiality should be protected by an ASR-only IP CTS provider as well as its third-party ASR partners or underlying providers.”