Three electricity associations support an Edison Electric Institute request for a stay, pending judicial review, of an April FCC order opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use (see 2004230059). “EEI is likely to prevail on the merits; utilities would suffer irreparable harm absent a stay, and other parties would not suffer immediate harm if the stay is granted,” said the American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and Utilities Technology Council in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. The Wi-Fi Alliance and NCTA opposed the stay, as did Apple and other tech companies (see here). “All of EEI’s arguments -- those it is likely to make to the Court and on which its Petition is premised -- rest on the baseless assertion that harmful interference will occur,” the alliance said: Objections “amount to little more than disagreement -- without facts --with the Commission’s decision.” NCTA said the commission “carefully analyzed an extensive technical record and correctly determined that ‘fixed microwave links will have an insignificant chance of experiencing harmful interference from indoor low-power unlicensed operations.’”
Europeans won’t be able to benefit from all that Wi-Fi has to offer without more spectrum, said Bruno Martin, Facebook director-wireless augmented and virtual reality, Thursday at a European spectrum management conference. “We do need to harmonize our usage of the 6 GHz” worldwide, Martin said. Just allocating 500 MHz “will enable the first wave of products using the spectrum, but the world needs to go 1,200 megahertz,” he said. “It’s going to enable applications that we can just dream of now.”
Dedicating the lower 45 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band to Wi-Fi would be the “best course” for the spectrum, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told a Broadband India Forum webinar Friday, per prepared remarks. Commissioner Mike O’Rielly predicts summer action (see 2004300032). In response to the pandemic, the FCC approved special temporary authority for more than 150 broadband providers to use the band, Pai said: They report “it has enabled faster speeds, increased coverage, and expanded network bandwidth. Collectively, they show the promise of the 5.9 GHz band for unlicensed use.” Pai highlighted the 6 GHz Further NPRM, which looks at use of very-low-power devices (see 2004230059): “We don’t really know what this would lead to. And that’s kind of the point with unlicensed innovation.”
Sensormatic, a supplier of security solutions for retailers, said the FCC should drop a proposal to adopt International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) in RF rules. The comments respond to a December NPRM (see 1912040036). Adopting the ICNIRP 2010 dose limits for the 3 kHz to 10 MHz frequency range “would be imposing significant and unwarranted regulation and costs,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-226. “Insofar as Sensormatic’s own industry is concerned, the Commission would be imposing undesirable and unnecessary equipment performance degradation -- all without any apparent health or safety benefit.” GuRu Wireless asked the FCC to classify wireless power transfer at a distance equipment as Part 18 devices. “These systems do work rather than transmit communications,” it said: “They also operate in a way comparable to consumer-grade microwave ovens and industrial heating equipment (albeit at much lower power levels), which have long been allowed under Part 18.”
The Ultra Wide Band Alliance asked for a 30-day extension of the June 29 deadline for initial comments on the FCC Further NPRM on 6 GHz rules approved by commissioners 5-0 in April (see 2004230059). Granting the request “will permit the development of a more complete record in this proceeding, which will allow the Commission to have a better basis on which to consider how to proceed with proposing rules that will make critical mid-band spectrum available for terrestrial wireless use,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295.
The citizens broadband radio service auction, scheduled to start July 23, will likely be active, with bids from some that don’t normally play in FCC auctions, Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche told investors. “Cables' interest here will be significant,” she predicted Tuesday: “The more spectrum cable [companies] actually own, the more traffic they can shift AWAY from the MVNO [mobile virtual network operator] network partner they used to carry … non-Wi-Fi traffic.” She noted Comcast and Charter were among potential bidders on the list released by the FCC (see 2006080048).
An order FCC commissioners approved 5-0 in April (see 2004230059), allocating 1,200 MHz for sharing with Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in 6 GHz, takes effect July 27, said Tuesday's Federal Register.
Calix released Wednesday GigaSpire Blast u6.1 and u6.2 for second-generation Wi-Fi 6 systems. “Calix was first to market with carrier-class Wi-Fi 6 in 2018 and has spent 18 months expanding use cases and platform functionality,” the company said. Wi-Fi 6 is the new generation of Wi-Fi.
Valeo North America asked for waiver to market short-range motion sensing devices for 57-64 GHz at higher power levels than specified in FCC rules. "The devices would be used for in-vehicle child safety systems and other in-cabin safety-related monitoring,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 20-121. The sensor warns when a child is left in a vehicle. The company said parameters are the same as approved by the Office of Engineering and Technology last year for Google's Project Soli 3D sensor technology to enable touchless control of device functions (see 1901020007).
APCO asked the FCC to delay allowing unlicensed devices to share 6 GHz, set for a commissioner vote April 23 (see 2004020066). “The Order fails to address several fundamental issues, including basic measures to prevent and promptly eliminate harmful interference,” APCO said: “This likely stems from a pattern of the proponents of expanding unlicensed use … blindly pushing for more spectrum while ignoring the real-world consequences to public safety agencies.” NAB also objected, in calls with aides to the commissioners other than Chairman Ajit Pai, and with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. “In the face of a public health emergency and an evolving economic crisis, it has rarely been more critical to ensure that the nation’s broadcasters have [news] tools they need,” NAB said: “One of the most important of those tools is spectrum necessary to cover news events, including 6 GHz.” Southern Co. said uncontrolled low-power devices would “result in harmful interference to incumbent 6 GHz operations.” The FCC should approve the order as written, Intel CEO Bob Swan said in a call with Pai. Swan said the December C-band auction “will be an important enabler for new 5G deployments.” Filings were posted Friday in docket 18-295.