Howard Buskirk

Groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Consumer Reports (CR) supported robust rules as part of the FCC’s proposed cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices in reply comments posted Monday in docket 23-239. In a letter posted last week, CTA, CTIA and other industry groups laid down a marker, saying the program should be voluntary and based on existing National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance (see 2311090033).

CTIA and NCTA locked horns in reply comments on whether the FCC should examine spectrum aggregation limits. AT&T asked for a rulemaking in 2021, focused on mid-band holdings, but the FCC's questions in a September notice (see 2309220064) go beyond what AT&T sought (see 2310060051). T-Mobile took fire from Dish Network and AT&T.

An FCC NPRM released Thursday proposes allowing schools and libraries to apply for funding from the E-rate program for Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet access services that can be used off-premises. FCC Republican Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented, as they did last month on a declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose eligible for E-rate funding (see 2310190056).

The Joe Biden administration released its national spectrum strategy Monday and a presidential memorandum on modernizing U.S.policy is coming. Administration officials provided some of the details Monday morning on a call with reporters. The plan identifies 2,786 MHz of spectrum for potential repurposing,

Aeronet told the FCC it can abide by restrictions NTIA proposed in a filing on future use of the 70, 80 and 90 GHz bands. The FCC Wireless Bureau subsequently asked for a record refresh, including comments on the NTIA letter (see 2310180039). “Aeronet is confident that going forward it will be possible to coordinate in less restrictive ways than the NTIA proposed rule text,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-133: “Aeronet recommends that whatever rules the Commission adopts make clear that direct coordination between service providers in the 70/80 GHz bands and federal users is permitted and even encouraged. As new services are rolled out, direct coordination between users will enhance service delivery, ease overly conservative requirements, and ensure that federal spectrum usage remains protected.” Comments were due Wednesday. AT&T said it generally supports changes to the rules, including modifications to the link registration and antenna standards rules “as those modifications will promote spectrum efficiency and support 5G expansion.” The carrier also supported technical changes “to support 5G services across the nation.” The FCC “should modify its antenna rules to increase the maximum beamwidth from 1.2 degrees to 2.2 degrees, reduce minimum antenna gain from 43 dBi to 38 dBi, and reduce co-polar and cross-polar discrimination requirements for 70/80 GHz antennas,” AT&T said: “These rule changes would enable the development of smaller, lighter antennas that are more adaptable for 5G backhaul deployments in diverse settings.” Tech company Sierra Nevada asked that any use of the spectrum doesn't “undermine” proposals separately made to the FCC to allocate the 90 GHz band to enhanced flight vision system radar (see 2203250061). “Allowing that use could greatly enhance aviation safety by enabling pilots to have an additional visual-like reference to surrounding terrain, obstacles, buildings, and the airport environment,” the company said. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) asked the FCC to examine adjacent-band protections for radioastronomy operations at 76-81 GHz. “Radio astronomy is not allocated in the spectrum band at 71-76 GHz so the use case of radio astronomy operations immediately above 76 GHz must be discussed separately, and this is missing,” NRAO said.

AI, quantum science and other emerging technologies can make telecom networks more secure, but they also create new challenges when used by bad actors, Rich Baich, AT&T chief information security officer, said during an AT&T forum Wednesday. Former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Christopher Krebs said the government will always be limited in the role in can play in making networks more secure. The forum comes as the FCC considers a notice of inquiry on using AI to curb unwanted robocalls (see 2310250070).

Worldwide 5G strategies have differed widely by region, Gabriel Brown, Heavy Reading senior principal analyst, said during an Informa Tech webinar Tuesday. 5G deployments really started in 2020 with 1.9 billion subscriptions expected by the end of this year, Brown said. Mid-band deployments have been critical, allowing operators to “effectively double site capacity … very rapidly,” he said.

Despite changes in leadership in the months leading up to World Radiocommunication Conference in Dubai, the U.S. is in a good position before the start of the conference next month, government officials said during a U.S. ITU Association conference. Steve Lang, who replaced Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the conference (see 2309120069), also spoke Thursday (see 2310260054). WRC-23 starts Nov. 20.

A declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding, posted in Thursday’s Daily Digest, addresses objections by Commissioner Nathan Simington that the ruling was an “unlawful course of action.” Simington and Commissioner Brendan Carr dissented on the ruling, approved 3-2 last week (see 2310190056|). The commission added additional text clarifying its authority to make the change. “Accordingly, section 254(h)(1)(B) of the Communications Act authorizes the Commission to support the provision of communications services, including broadband, to schools and libraries for educational purposes, and this Declaratory Ruling fits squarely within that authority,” the final order says. The final version further clarifies commission authority in a new footnote. “Section 254(h)(1)(B) does not contain any reference to ‘classrooms,’ and thus the dissenters’ concerns that section 254(h)(2)(A) is limited to ‘access to advanced . . . services for . . . classrooms,’ are inapposite,” the footnote says: “Nevertheless, we also note that Congress declined to define ‘classrooms’ for this purpose, and recent history has shown that in today’s world, teaching and learning often occur outside of brick and mortar school buildings and thus ‘classroom’ may be interpreted more broadly.” The commission found that “the use of Wi-Fi on school buses to aid the many students who lack robust internet access at home similarly enhances eligible schools’ and libraries’ access to advanced telecommunications and information services.” The ruling includes written statements by the five commissioners.

The upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference is critical to U.S. tech policy and the nation’s focus is becoming clear, said Steve Lang, who replaced Anna Gomez as head of the U.S. delegation to the WRC (see 2309120069). “I know how absolutely critical our success at the WRC is to our global strategic interests,” including U.S. economic and technological leadership and national security, said Lang during a U.S. ITU Association conference Thursday. That’s true “not just for the U.S. but our like-minded allies who share our democratic values and rights-respecting approach to technology,” he said. “It’s easy to connect the dots between what happens at the WRC and our defense interests and our commercial successes, but really it’s essential to our overall technological competitiveness,” he said. The decisions at WRC have implications for how technology will work in the future, Lang said. “That’s why it is so critical that the United States and our like-minded allies are leading” at the WRC, he said. Lang said from past work he has existing relationships with others who will represent their nations at the WRC and with ITU officials. But he noted he is a career diplomat who has led U.S. delegations to other international meetings, but not an engineer or telecom lawyer. “I’ve been diving in deep with our team of experts to understand the technical aspects and nuances that we’re facing” at the WRC, he said. Relationships are critical to success in international negotiations, Lang said. For the past few weeks, he said he has been “meeting with as many delegates from other member states as possible” as well as stakeholders. “This process is helping me both to understand our priorities … and also to develop a framework for how we can communicate" them, he said. The WRC starts Nov. 20 in Dubai.