The Washington, D.C., Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency asked the FCC for a waiver to do a live wireless emergency alert system test Jan. 8, starting at 11 a.m., in preparation for the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. The test “involves the use of the WEA text message and city’s official e-mail list portion of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System” and covers an area including the Capitol and White House, said a filing posted Monday in docket 15-91.

With Chairman Ajit Pai expected to announce Tuesday that the FCC will consider an order reallocating the 5.9 GHz band at the Nov. 18 FCC meeting (see 2010190040), NTIA staked out a position on protecting federal incumbents. Commissioners agreed 5-0 in December to examine revised rules, reallocating 45 MHz for sharing with Wi-Fi, 20 MHz for cellular vehicle to everything (C-V2X) and possibly 10 MHz for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC). DOD “operates fixed and mobile radars for surveillance (including airborne surveillance), test range instrumentation, airborne transponders, and testing in support of the tracking and control of airborne vehicles,” said an NTIA technical report filed last week in docket 19-138. NASA and the Department of Energy “operate radar systems in the 5.9 GHz band,” it said. Operations proposed by the FCC’s NPRM must protect higher-priority federal systems in the 5.9 GHz band, where primary allocations include federal radiolocation services. The report lists locations across the U.S. where extra protections are needed. For indoor use, “the analysis indicates that exclusion zones are not necessary to protect federal operations,” the report said: “NTIA recommends rules be put in place to help ensure the indoor devices are not deployed outdoors and that expedient and effective corrective measures be in place to eliminate interference should it occur.” It recommends C-V2X users be required to comply with rules already in place for DSRC. A broad coalition of groups, on the left and right, plus wireless ISPs, sent a letter to the White House Monday supporting reallocation. The 5.9 GHz band is “mostly unused in the vast majority of the country,” the letter said. It “can make an almost-immediate difference for better, faster, higher-capacity Wi-Fi because the band is directly adjacent to existing 5 GHz unlicensed spectrum,” it said: “This band supports Wi-Fi for millions of consumer devices and critical functions like medical telemetry, airport operations, container ports, railway monitoring and logistics, and the industrial Internet of Things networks used in manufacturing and retail fulfillment.” Among the 97 signers: the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Engine, Public Knowledge, the Open Technology Institute at New America, the R Street Institute and Less Government.

A petition for reconsideration of the FCC's selection of CohnReznick as C-band clearinghouse (see 2010220062) "is very much on the table, as are other approaches," Vertix Consulting partner Greg Weiner emailed us Thursday. Vertix challenged the clearinghouse search team's recommendation of the CohnReznick team (see 2008190045).

ICANN's meeting was in Hamburg; Phase 1 of the expedited Whois policy development process resulted in a new policy for generic top-level domain registration data; and the Governmental Advisory Committee wants ICANN to require registrars and registries make public data of legal persons, which they now could redact (see 2010210001).

The COVID-19 pandemic is an economic and public health challenge, with small businesses -- especially minority-owned ones -- bearing the brunt, Chairman Ajit Pai said Friday at an FCC tech supplier diversity event. (See also his prepared remarks). Black-owned businesses are shutting down at twice the rate White-owned businesses are, and the pandemic exacerbated preexisting issues like a lack of access to capital, he said. Much of the virtual showcase was an explanation of such resources as the Small Business Administration's. Melissa Bradley, founder of Washington startup accelerator 1863 Ventures, said there are other grant programs, though there's no good way of tracking them. They often are narrow in scope and focus on an underserved neighborhood or geography, she said. Sonja Wells, interim chief lending officer for Black-owned City First Bank, said it did about $32 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, and could have done more. She said minority businesses often aren't as prepared with required documentation, such as audited financial statements, as they should be when applying for funding. In a discussion about available funding for LGBTQ-owned businesses, National Urban League Senior Vice President-Policy and Advocacy Clint Odom said lawmakers are listening to constituents more closely about social justice issues and "need to hear from you about such issues." Internet Association interim CEO Jon Berroya said a second benchmark survey on workforce data for companies in the internet industry is being prepared.

Liberty Latin America's proposed buy of AT&T's wireline business in Puerto Rico would cut major fiber network operators on the island from three to two, hurting competition, DOJ said in a Clayton Act complaint Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington (docket 20-cv-03064). In a proposed final judgment, Justice said Liberty and AT&T agreed to a consent decree that would see Liberty selling assets including a fiber-based network it has in the San Juan area and other fiber assets across the rest of the island, plus retail fiber-based enterprise customer accounts and the right to pull fiber through Liberty's conduit. It said the agreement would give WorldNet Telecommunications an option to buy segments of AT&T's aerial fiber-based core network. "The divestiture will place WorldNet in the position to become a strong competitor in the provision of fiber-based connectivity and telecommunications services to enterprise customers throughout Puerto Rico," DOJ said. Liberty didn't comment. Its $1.95 billion deal for AT&T's wireline and wireless operations in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands was announced 12 months ago.

The CohnReznick team was chosen to be C-band relocation payment clearinghouse. The FCC Wireless Bureau said in an order Thursday that partnering with a financial institution is a must for a clearinghouse team, but that institution doesn't have to be a signer to the clearinghouse agreement. The lack of a financial signatory had been a chief criticism by the Vertix Consulting team, who also sought the clearinghouse appointment (see 2008190045). The bureau said CohnReznick's description of how it would ensure clearinghouse funds' safety and security is consistent with the terms of the C-band clearing order and the clearinghouse request for proposals. Vertix didn't comment.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied en banc rehearing to utilities and local governments challenging 2018 FCC wireless infrastructure orders on small cells and local moratoriums. Challengers may opt to appeal to the Supreme Court. A three-judge panel in August mostly supported the FCC decisions, prompting September requests for rehearing by the full circuit (see 2009290047). Circuit Judges Mary Schroeder, Jay Bybee and Daniel Bress voted to deny one petition by American Electric Power and Southern Co., and supported denying another petition by the American Public Power Association, said Thursday’s order (in Pacer). Bress voted to grant the petition by Portland, Oregon, and other locals, but Schroeder and Bybee recommended denying it. “We were pleased Judge Bress voted to grant rehearing, but disappointed the Ninth Circuit did not take up the petition,” emailed Joseph Van Eaton, who represented Portland and several other localities. APPA is "reviewing the decision and conferring with members and counsel on next steps," a spokesperson said. The FCC is pleased the court denied rehearing and won’t disturb the agency’s 5G infrastructure actions, a spokesperson said. Thursday's decision "reaffirms a great win for the industry that will provide certainty and will help expedite 5G across the country," said a Wireless Infrastructure Association spokesperson. AEP didn’t comment.

Amazon, Comcast and Facebook were the top tech and telecom sector lobbying spenders during Q3, based on filings due Monday. Twitter, Ligado and T-Mobile reported major increases vs. Q3 2019; Huawei, CenturyLink and Google reported major decreases. NAB was among those earlier reporting decreases, while Charter was among those saying they increased spending (see 2010200059). Facebook shelled out $4.9 million, up 2%. Amazon reported $4.41 million, an 11% increase. Comcast spent $2.96 million, a 1% dip. T-Mobile's $2.64 million was a more than 19% boost. AT&T spent $2.53 million, an almost 22% decline. CTIA was up 3% at $2.35 million. Verizon spent $2.24 million, down more than 7%. Google posted $1.93 million, a more than 35% drop. Qualcomm spent $1.71 million, an almost 4% decline. Apple reported $1.56 million, more than 12% below last year. Ligado spent just over $1 million, a more than 51% rise. Dell was $850,000, down more than 15%. CenturyLink reported $570,000, a 40% drop. Twitter was $430,000, up more than 34%. The Competitive Carriers Association was little changed at $180,000. Huawei reported $100,000, down more than 94%.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association spoke with aides to all five FCC commissioners to argue for approval next week (see 2010060060) of the compound expansions draft order, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-250. The order “will promote broadband deployment and provide greater certainty,” WIA said. CTIA also supported the order: “By revising its Section 6409(a) rules to streamline review of site expansions of up to 30 feet, the Commission will facilitate the collocation of antennas and associated ground equipment on existing towers to enable 5G, advancing the Commission’s longstanding policy to promote more intensive use of existing infrastructure, while recognizing localities’ role in local land use decisions.” NATOA spoke with aides to Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks about concerns (see here and here). “While we continue to believe that Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act cannot be reasonably read to allow for new deployment outside the tower site, should the Commission nevertheless amend its rules to this end, the permitted distance of the excavation or deployment from the site should be relative to the size of the existing tower site,” NATOA said. The group criticized the lack of a cap on the allowed size of deployments: “It could allow additions to tower sites of unlimited size -- an outcome that cannot be reconciled with a statute requiring approval only of modifications that are not substantial.”