Dish Network, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile were among 57 potential bidders qualified to participate in the C-band auction, which starts Dec. 8, the FCC said Thursday. Others include Cox Communications, UScellular, Smith Bagley, Carolina West Wireless and Pine Cellular. An additional 17 bidders were deemed not qualified, including Viasat, Pine Belt Cellular and Altice USA’s CSC Wireless.

FCC Office of Economics and Analytics data shows the digital divide is closing, said an agency release Thursday. Americans living in areas without access to terrestrial fixed broadband of at least 25/3 Mbps decreased 46% from the end of 2016 to the end of 2019. The data is based on Form 477 filings. “Services at higher speeds saw even more significant deployment, with the number of Americans living in areas without broadband speeds of at least 250/25 Mbps falling by 77% since the end of 2016,” the release said. “In just three years, the number of American consumers living in areas without access to fixed broadband has been almost cut in half,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Today’s report confirms that our work enabled the private sector to deliver record-breaking results,” said Commissioner Brendan Carr. “The FCC should continue to prioritize a connectivity agenda and pursue reforms that will incentivize buildout of Internet infrastructure.” Free Press Policy Manager Dana Floberg disputed the FCC's progress on the digital divide. "As @freepress has shown time & again, Pai is actually taking credit for the passage of time -- not for anything his FCC has done," she tweeted. "At last count, 92% of fiber deployments made under Pai's term were actually planned & announced under his predecessor -- when #TitleII was in place!" That's referring to net neutrality and the Communications Act.

SpaceX's focus in coming months is expanding its consumer footprint in the U.S. and its service into new countries, said Vice President-Starlink and Commercial Sales Jonathan Hofeller in a Euroconsult discussion Tuesday. Canada's Innovation, Science and Economic Development Department approved SpaceX providing service last week. Hofeller said SpaceX also aims to broaden its customer base into government, educational and enterprise. Telesat Senior Vice President-Corporate and Business Development Michael Schwartz said its low earth orbit constellation is being designed to emulate fiber as much as possible, with launches to start in early 2023. He said it anticipates announcing a manufacturer of its LEO satellites later this year. Stewart Sanders, head of the SES/O3b mPower Program, said first launch of SES' mPower constellation will be in less than a year, with service commencing in 2022. Asked about the state of Iridium's 2019 memorandum of understanding with OneWeb for a combined L- and Ku-band service offering, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said he doesn't know where it stands, with OneWeb emerging from bankruptcy. "They're still resetting themselves as a company," he said.

The FCC is getting oppositions (see 2011030053) on draft rules, set for a commissioner vote next week, allowing Wi-Fi to share 45 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band. Filings were posted Monday in docket 19-138. Facebook opposes exclusion zones there. The proposal relies on “profoundly flawed analysis of federal radar operations authorized in the 5.9 GHz band -- an analysis whose assumptions about Wi-Fi operation are both inaccurate and inconsistent with the Commission’s own assumptions in the 6 GHz Order,” Facebook said: “Because the NTIA analysis did not appear in the record until very recently (Oct. 23rd), the parties have not yet had a meaningful opportunity to study and respond.” The order would “cement in place” cellular vehicle-to-everything “as the presumptive technology standard for all future automotive communications technologies,” Continental Automotive Systems said. “Because in many cases licenses to the technology at the core of C-V2X cellular standards are not directly available to many automotive industry participants in the supply chain, or if so are often subject to unreasonable terms, the exclusive use proposal generates the potential for patent holders to abuse and distort the market for the next-generation of automotive communications,” Continental said: “The Commission should have a full understanding of the consequences to the automotive supply chain in this regard.” The company spoke with Office of Engineering and Technology and Office of Economics and Analytics staff.

AT&T's board picked ex-FCC Chairman William Kennard as chairman, following the January retirement of Randall Stephenson, currently AT&T’s executive chairman. Kennard, the second FCC chairman under President Bill Clinton, from 1997 to 2001, subsequently worked for the Carlyle Group and was ambassador to the European Union. AT&T previously said the board would elect an independent chairman after Stephenson’s retirement, said a Friday news release. “Bill’s deep knowledge of communications, media and technology, proven leadership and broad experience across capital markets and government uniquely positions him to serve as AT&T’s new chairman,” Stephenson said. John Stankey replaced Stephenson as CEO July 1 (see 2004240027).

The FCC Connected Care Pilot Program application filing window opens at noon EST Friday and runs through Dec. 7, said an FCC Wireline Bureau public notice Thursday that provided guidance on submissions. Chairman Ajit Pai said the $100 million program for providing connected care services "explores how universal service support can provide next-level health care to our nation’s most vulnerable populations, including low-income Americans and veterans." Commissioner Brendan Carr said the pilot "is the healthcare equivalent of shifting from Blockbuster to Netflix," as connected devices eliminate the need to travel for healthcare. The pilot "can ensure that Americans receive quality care while continuing to maintain physical separation [and] be used to treat a wide range of health conditions," he said.

Strong growth in IoT was driven by demand for connected devices, Qualcomm investors were told. Work from home creates more connectivity needs, said Chief Financial Officer Akash Palkhiwala, and the company expects those trends to continue this year. The company isn't selling to Huawei and doesn’t have a license to do so, but President Cristiano Amon said the opportunity creates an expansion of the addressable market for its technologies unit: Qualcomm is “hedged” given its high traction with high-tier OEMs, but if, long term, it receives a license to sell to Huawei, it would be a “net positive.” China’s price-driven transition to 5G will have an impact on how fifth-generation wireless unfolds in emerging markets, he said. Amon said 130 operators globally are investing in millimeter wave. With device prices becoming “very reasonable” with mmWave, “that opportunity for attach is going to be a significant tailwind,” he said. The automotive industry, meanwhile, is moving at an “unprecedented rate,” said CEO Steve Mollenkopf, and the company expects to expand its share there “as we have done in smartphones.” 5G ramp up and “significant design wins” with OEMs drove a 73% surge in revenue to $8.3 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 27, said the chief. The company has more than 110 5G agreements, including all major handset makers, and forecasts 175 million-225 million units for calendar 2020. Shares closed 13% higher Thursday at $145.41.

ITS America President Shailen Bhatt wants the FCC to give all vehicle-to-everything technologies a chance to succeed, not any specific technology (see 2011030053).

AST's request for U.S. market access for a 243-satelltie non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) constellation to provide mobile satellite service (see 2004140001) is getting pushback from some satellite operators and wireless providers. In a petition to deny this week with the FCC International Bureau, Hughes/EchoStar said none of the 617-960 MHz or 17110-2200 MHz spectrum AST wants to use is allocated for such use or otherwise available for licensing. They urged dismissal or deferred consideration of AST’s proposed V-band operations until a new processing round. Verizon said providing satellite-based connectivity to smartphones and tablets using terrestrial wireless spectrum would be incompatible with rules, and AST didn't explain how it could do so without interfering with U.S. terrestrial operations. The telco said AST didn't provide enough technical information to assess whether its SpaceMobile satellite network would interfere with wireless networks. It's "of such magnitude that [it] must be addressed via rulemaking before the full Commission," T-Mobile asked. The carrier said AST isn't seeking authority now to use terrestrial mobile spectrum and instead plans to lease terrestrial mobile spectrum, but rules for long-term de facto transfer leases say if the underlying spectrum is only for certain services, those restrictions also apply to the spectrum lessee. CTIA said AST's request lacks any demonstration of how terrestrial mobile operations will be protected. The group said high-band spectrum use that's inconsistent with the table of allocations should be subject to rulemaking. Telesat Canada said AST's petition came well after the deadline for the last V-band processing round, so it's unclear why the petition was accepted: It should be considered if a new processing round is opened, alongside other V-band asks. The company said any AST approval should be conditioned on protecting systems authorized in that initial processing round, like Telesat's. Boeing didn't object to AST OK and seeks first a processing round for V-band NGSO systems. AT&T said AST's technology "is promising," but its petition raises technical issues deserving study, and the requester should provide technical evidence to confirm that coexistence with terrestrial mobile systems is feasible. Rakuten Mobile, an AST investor, said the satellite operator's technology "could significantly improve 4G and 5G availability." AST didn't comment Wednesday.

Stations “are under no obligation” to provide political advertisements the lowest unit price after Election Day, said a guidance public notice in Tuesday’s FCC Daily Digest. The Communications Act specifies that the lowest unit price is for ads in the 60 days preceding the date of the election, the PN said. “Although the term ‘election’ is not defined in Section 315, we interpret this term for purposes of the 2020 election to mean November 3, 2020, the election date designated by federal law.” Political ads after Election Day still must follow political ad file rules.