EchoStar representatives met with an aide to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to criticize a recent SpaceX study warning of interference from fixed-wireless operations in the lower 12 GHz band (see 2409040035). “SpaceX’s study was designed to fail, because it employs unrealistic assumptions, and assumes interference scenarios that bear no resemblance to real-world fixed 5G deployments,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 20-443. “The Commission should move forward to authorize a higher-power fixed service in the band, which will unlock the substantial benefits of this valuable mid-band spectrum for millions of Americans, including those in Tribal communities,” EchoStar said.

Citizens Against Government Waste opposed a handset unlocking mandate as proposed in a July NPRM that FCC commissioners approved unanimously (see 2407180037). “The NPRM as currently proposed is unnecessary,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 24-186: “The wireless industry has adopted standards for cell phone unblocking. Limitations on unblocking exist solely due to merger conditions created by the FCC for select mobile providers. And consumers can choose to purchase unlocked devices either through a device manufacturer or on the secondary market.” AT&T also opposed a mandate, questioning the FCC's authority to act. An AT&T representative met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Anna Gomez. “Because no provision of the Communications Act explicitly grants the Commission authority to require handset unlocking or to regulate handset sales or financing in any manner, the Commission proposed” in the NPRM relying on "general grants of authority and on the authority to modify spectrum licenses,” AT&T said.

CTIA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce supported Verizon’s challenge of the FCC's April fines for data violations, filing amicus briefs in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On a 3-2 vote in April, commissioners imposed fines against the three major wireless carriers for allegedly not safeguarding data on customers' real-time locations years earlier (see 2404290044). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented. The two groups earlier filed in support of AT&T’s challenge of its fine in the 5th Circuit (see 2408060035). “For years, wireless service providers enabled beneficial, legitimate uses of customer location data with their customers’ consent,” CTIA said in a brief filed this week in docket 24-1733. These uses included the provision of emergency assistance and fraud detection, CTIA said. “For years, the FCC was aware of these services, never once suggesting an issue,” the group said: “But after a third party not before this Court misused a location service, the Commission changed its mind and, in the Order under review, declared Verizon’s location-based services unlawful -- levying a $46.9-million forfeiture to boot. The Commission’s newfound interpretation is patently unlawful and flouts both the text of the statute and decades of the agency’s own precedent.” The FCC “abused its investigative and enforcement authority to violate the company’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury,” the Chamber told the court. The agency then “announced and applied novel legal interpretations of the Communications Act to calculate and impose staggering forfeitures for activities that were not at the time of conduct a violation of any agency rule or law.”

The Society of Broadcast Engineers asked the FCC to set aside 55 MHz at the top of the 6 GHz U-NII-8 band as a “safe harbor” for electronic newsgathering (ENG) operations. “Fundamentally, SBE respectfully submits that temporarily reserving a small swath of spectrum for incumbent, mission-critical broadcast ENG operations has no policy drawbacks, and instead only benefits both the public and affected industry stakeholders,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295.

T-Mobile announced Tuesday it’s adding data available through its $20/month Home and Small Business internet backup plans. Those plans currently allow 130 GB of 5G data/month, “which is enough data to keep a typical household connected for up to seven days when their primary cable or fiber ISP goes down,” T-Mobile said. Starting Thursday, new and existing customers will get three additional 130 GB data passes annually, “providing extra peace of mind and connectivity,” T-Mobile said.

Most parts of a hearing-aid compatibility order moving the U.S. to 100% compatibility are effective Dec. 13, said an FCC notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Commissioners approved the HAC order 5-0 in October (see 410170030). “By our actions in this final rule, 48 million Americans with hearing loss will be able to choose among the same handset models that are available to consumers without hearing loss,” the notice said. “No longer will they be limited in their choice of technologies, features, and prices available in the handset model marketplace.”

The reelection of Donald Trump takes the “dark cloud of net neutrality off the table” and will likely mean T-Mobile and other U.S. carriers will move toward 5G network slicing offerings, Joe Madden, lead analyst at Mobile Experts, said Tuesday. T-Mobile is “in position now” while other major U.S. carriers “still need to develop their standalone core networks to full nationwide coverage,” Madden said in a Fierce Wireless opinion essay. Slicing lets providers create multiple virtual networks on top of a shared network. “Network slicing is going to be a significant portion of the private cellular market … and it will be focused on business areas where the operators have advantages,” Madden said: “Broadcast television is one of the early winners, with guaranteed uplink bandwidth anywhere, anytime. Retail (including big chains with thousands of stores) and pop-up events will be a big use case, as well as drones delivering packages.” The stance of last year’s net neutrality order on slicing was a key issue ahead of approval (see 2405080044).

Verizon continued its push for FCC handset unlocking rules last week in a series of meetings with commissioner aides. Verizon seeks a locking period of at least 60 days for postpaid phones, 180 days for prepaid, the carrier said in meetings with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks. A filing was posted Thursday in docket 24-186. “Regardless of the locking period the Commission adopts, a uniform unlocking policy that applies to all providers is paramount; the record is replete with evidence that uniformity will benefit both consumers and competition,” it said.

Nationwide commercial mobile radio service providers have until Dec. 12 to comply with the FCC's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline call georouting rule, while non-nationwide providers have until Dec. 12, 2026, said a notice for Tuesday's Federal Register. The georouting order was adopted 5-0 at the agency's October meeting (see 2410170026) and goes into effect Dec. 12, the notice said.

NTIA urged that the FCC approve a five-year extension for Echodyne of a waiver of rules allowing ground-based use of its radar, which detects objects on the ground and in the air, using the 24.45-24.65 GHz band. The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on the request earlier this year (see 2402260041). The Department of Homeland Security holds 185 frequency assignments in the band for use through the U.S., NTIA said in a filing Friday in RM-11819. “DHS advises NTIA that these systems have proven invaluable in the detection and identification of small, unmanned aircraft systems used by drug-trafficking cartels and other nefarious actors intending to cause harm to United States infrastructure and residents,” the filing said: “These radar systems have been operating for over five years, with no reported cases of harmful interference to incumbent services in the band to the best of NTIA’s knowledge.”