Howard Buskirk

AT&T CEO John Stankey on Wednesday criticized the Biden administration’s work on making more spectrum available for wireless carriers. During the carrier's release of Q2 results, Stankey apologized for the February AT&T wireless outage, the topic of an FCC report this week (see 2407220034).

The Biden administration appears headed toward a coordination and licensing framework in the lower 37 GHz band, one of five targeted for further study in the administration’s national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048). Analysts told us wireless carriers likely have little interest in seeing the band set aside for licensed use, unlike some other bands the administration is studying, especially lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz. The FCC will probably seek comment on 37 GHz in a public notice “on or about” Aug. 6, NTIA said in a recent blog.

Consumer and public interest advocates opposed a push in the 11th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court by a group representing lead generators and their clients aimed at overturning the FCC’s Dec. 18 robocall and robotext order. The order was approved 4-1, with Commissioner Nathan Simington dissenting. It clamps down on the lead generator (LG) loophole (see 231208004) and will become effective in January unless the court intervenes.

Questions remain about a proposed order on cellular vehicle-to-everything use of the 5.9 GHz band that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated for a vote last week (see 2407170042). The Wi-Fi Alliance asked that the agency also address Wi-Fi in the band. The FCC rewrote rules for the band in 2020, allocating 45 MHz for Wi-Fi and 30 MHz for C-V2X technology (see 2011180043).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau's report on the Feb. 22 nationwide outage of AT&T’s wireless network (see 2403040062) found procedural mistakes by the carrier. Released Monday, the report said the Enforcement Bureau could impose sanctions. Based on information from AT&T, the report said “all voice and 5G data services for all users of AT&T Mobility were unavailable as a result of the outage, affecting more than 125 million registered devices, blocking more than 92 million voice calls, and preventing more than 25,000 calls” to 911. The direct cause was “an error by an employee who misconfigured a single network element, ultimately causing the AT&T Mobility network to respond by entering Protection Mode and disconnecting all wireless devices,” the bureau said: “Adequate peer review should have prevented the network change from being approved, and, in turn, from being loaded onto the network. This peer review did not take place.” The report cited a lack of post-installation testing, inadequate lab testing and “insufficient safeguards and controls” on AT&T's part, as well as insufficient procedures for mitigating problems. It noted the company has “taken numerous steps to prevent a reoccurrence.” For instance, within two days of the outage, “AT&T implemented additional technical controls in its network,” the report found: “This included scanning the network for any network elements lacking the controls that would have prevented the outage, and promptly putting those controls in place. AT&T has engaged in ongoing forensic work and implemented additional enhancements to promote network robustness and resilience.” AT&T has "implemented changes to prevent what happened in February from occurring again," a spokesperson emailed: "We fell short of the standards that we hold ourselves to, and we regret that we failed to meet the expectations of our customers and the public safety community.”

Verizon lost 410,000 prepaid wireless customers tied to the end of the affordable connectivity program in Q2, the company said Monday as it became the first major wireless carrier to report earnings since the impact of ACP's demise could be measured. Overall prepaid customer losses were 624,000. But Verizon also gained a net 148,000 postpaid customers, which beat expectations. Revenue of $32.8 billion just missed consensus estimates. Though most numbers were positive, Verizon was down 6.08% to $39.09 for the day.

The FCC appeared to make only limited changes to an NPRM proposing industry-wide handset unlocking rules that commissioners approved 5-0 Thursday. The agency posted the NPRM Friday. The biggest change came in a paragraph on exceptions to the 60-day locking period that Commissioner Brendan Carr requested, as indicated Thursday (see 2407180037). “Should the rule permit any other exceptions to deter fraud including instances where individuals or groups illegally obtain devices and resell them to the public (i.e. handset trafficking)?” the notice now says: “For example, should lost or stolen phones also fall under an exception to the 60-day unlocking requirement?” The final order also notes concerns that Tango Networks and CS Hawthorn raised (see 2407160048). Only Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez issued written statements attached to the NPRM. Comment deadlines will be set in an upcoming Federal Register notice.

The FCC Thursday unanimously approved, as expected (see 2407160048), an NPRM that proposes industry-wide handset unlocking rules, requiring all mobile wireless providers to unlock handsets 60 days after they’re activated, unless a carrier determines the handset “was purchased through fraud.” The only change of note was an edit on handset and fraud issues added at Commissioner Brendan Carr's request, an FCC official said.

FCC commissioners approved 3-2 a draft order and Further NPRM at their Thursday open meeting that lets schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services. The FCC Republicans issued dissents as expected (see 2407170035). In a lengthy dissent, Commissioner Brendan Carr questioned whether the order would survive a legal challenge.

The FCC on Tuesday released a draft NPRM that considers consumer protections against AI-generated robocalls and two other items scheduled for a vote at the commissioners' Aug. 7 open meeting (see 2407160064). In addition, it released drafts of an order creating an emergency alert system code for missing and endangered persons and an NPRM on procedural updates to the robocall database.