Wireless advocates and Globalstar remain at loggerheads about increased interference in the 5.1 GHz band that Globalstar is blaming on sharing that band with outdoor Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure operations. Numerous wireless advocates in RM-11808 reply comments posted Tuesday repeated their arguments that the company hasn't shown it's suffering harmful interference or proven any such interference is due to U-NII-1 operations (see 1807090003). Globalstar, citing more than 800 noise measurements taken globally since May 2014 that show a sizable increase in the 5.1 GHz noise floor since the FCC allowed outdoor U-NII-1 operations, said opponents haven't shown any data of their own despite knowing about the company's issues since at least November. It said its own consultant considered and dismissed all other possible sources, and no one else has identified a plausible alternate source. Without an FCC investigation and exploration of possible fixes, rising noise levels might hit "extreme levels in the near future" and seriously degrade Globalstar service, it said. Since rules protect Globalstar's licensed operations from unlicensed harmful interference, the company hasn't explained why the U-NII order framework for addressing interference issues in the U-NII-1 band is deficient, CTIA said. It said what Globalstar seeks would put "unnecessary costs and burdens" on Wi-Fi and LTE-U operations and "the mere issuance" of an NOI could chill investment due to regulatory uncertainty. Globalstar is relying on "deeply flawed" measurement data and technical analysis, NCTA said. It said the company's only supporters are its own customers and "opportunistic" satellite companies wanting to use Globalstar's inquiry about U-NII-1 rules as a proxy for their own concerns about terrestrial sharing in other bands. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and Open Technology Institute at New America said the FCC should be "skeptical" of incumbents challenging band sharing and that adopting the Globalstar petition would set "a regrettable precedent" undermining agency and NTIA efforts for more efficient spectrum use. Qualcomm said Globalstar's interference analysis includes signals from outside the U-NII-1 band and alleges interference from nationwide U-NII-1 operations using measurements from a single point over the Midwest, while the claimed 2 dB increase in the noise floor comes from a technique that measures noise levels in 1 dB increments. It said Globalstar claims run contrary to U.S. advocacy at the ITU that the FCC’s U-NII-1 framework be applied worldwide. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Ruckus Networks similarly opposed the petition (see here and here).
Hollywood actors and producers, advocacy organizations and artists wrote federal agencies Wednesday warning of RF dangers. The letter seeks a federal warning on the danger of exposure to Wi-Fi “just like the city of Berkeley’s Right To Know Ordinance for cellphones” and “federal public health fact sheets about ways to reduce exposure to wireless radiation, particularly for children in schools.” Once systems are in place, they can’t be recalled, the letter said: “Wireless technology was not tested for safety before going into the consumer marketplace including schools and nurseries.” The letter was sent to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Don Wright, acting secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Signers included Claudia Black and Camille Cooper; singer Laura Dawn; authors Naomi Wolf and Richard Greene; and the Center for Environmental Health, Environmental Media Association and California Brain Tumor Association. The Wi-Fi Alliance “takes any concern about the alleged health impact of Wi-Fi technology seriously,” a spokesperson said. “A range of scientific research undertaken to-date concludes there is no evidence that low-power wireless networks pose health threats to users or to the general public. Wi-Fi technology meets all national and international safety requirements and emits signals that are typically hundreds to thousands of times below international safety limits.” The FCC and CTIA didn't comment.
General Motors said it's significantly expanding the number of its vehicles with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology, based on dedicated short-range communications in the 5.9 GHz band. GM, with Toyota the main proponent of DSRC, faced criticism for offering it in only one low-volume vehicle, the Cadillac CRS (see 1803140055). That’s changing, GM told the FCC in docket 13-49. GM said it plans to offer V2V in its Cadillac Crossover by 2023 and then extend it to all of its Cadillac line. “Using V2V, compatible vehicles can be notified of hazardous road conditions, traffic light status, changing work zones and more,” GM said. “With a range of nearly 1,000 feet, drivers can be alerted to threats in time to avoid a crash.” The FCC is examining possible changes to its allocation in the band with an eye to sharing with Wi-Fi (see 1805240058).
The FCC upheld a January Wireless Bureau order on Dish Network designated entities Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless and their AWS-3 auction bidding credits. The bureau gave the DEs 90 days to renegotiate business arrangements with Dish and show how they qualify for their AWS-3 auction bidding credits (see 1801240053). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in August upheld FCC denial of those bidding credits, but gave the DEs a chance to negotiate a solution to Dish's de facto control (see 1708290012). “The process established in the Order on Remand to be responsive to the Court’s mandate and we affirm the Order on Remand,” the FCC said in Friday's Daily Digest. “The mandate does not require the Commission to hold 'responsive, back-and-forth discussions' with the Applicants. Nothing in Section 402(h) of the Act or the Court’s mandate limits the FCC’s discretion under Section 4(j) of the Act so as to require the FCC to ‘negotiate iteratively’ with Northstar and SNR Wireless in the fashion they now contemplate.” The companies didn't comment.
The Broadband Access Coalition plan for the 3.7-4.2 GHz C-band doesn’t qualify for the expedited review reserved for “innovative” new technologies and services under Section 7 of the Communications Act, the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology wrote BAC. We “do not believe that its proposal for use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band-i.e. authorizing point-to-multipoint services to share use of the band with fixed services (fixed satellite service and fixed service) through the Commission's Part 101 frequency coordination procedures -- qualifies as a ‘new’ technology or service," the letter said. “Point-to-multipoint services, which are deployed in numerous spectrum bands, are not new, and the Part 101 coordination procedures are frequently used when sharing of spectrum among fixed services.” But, the FCC said, the proposal is being considered as part of a broader look at mid-band spectrum. Commissioners are expected to vote on a C-band NPRM July 12 (see 1806260027). Consistent with Section 7, “we plan to take action in the near-term to promote more flexible use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band that would serve the public interest,” the FCC said. OET Chief Julius Knapp signed the letter. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai pledged the agency will follow Section 7. The agency sought comment in February on formal rules (see 1802220045). BAC filed its plan last summer (see 1708100037).
Revised FCC service rules on narrowband operations in 769-775/799-805 MHz are to take effect July 26, after expected publication Tuesday of a notice in the Federal Register. In 2016, commissioners gave the Telecommunications Industry Association partial relief from an October 2014 700 MHz narrowband transition order (see 1608220066). In January 2015, TIA sought revisions, saying it may not be feasible for a manufacturer to complete all the requirements for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program certification at the time it submits a device to the FCC for approval (see 1501060055). “We agree and modify our rules to allow CAP compliance or the equivalent to be completed after equipment certification but prior to the marketing or sale of that equipment,” said the 2016 order in docket 13-87.
Amazon joined the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance as a charter member, the alliance said Monday. Other members include Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Nominet and Adaptrum. “Our products and services are smarter, faster and more convenient because we have access to unlicensed wireless spectrum,” said Brian Huseman, Amazon vice-president public policy.
The Michigan Department of Transportation urged the FCC to preserve the 5.9 GHz band for dedicated short-range communications. MDOT’s “most important goal is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities on our highways to zero,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 13-49. MDOT is actively deploying DSRC infrastructure throughout Michigan, “including deploying the technology to increase safety at signaled intersections, and during traffic congestion and inclement weather,” the department said. Some automakers, including General Motors and Toyota, remain committed to DSRC, MDOT said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau said it's accepting applications to modify existing licenses in the 39 GHz band. “The Bureau is accepting these modification applications to facilitate the efficient use by existing 39 GHz licensees of the millimeter wave spectrum” for 5G, the IoT and “other advanced spectrum-based services” before an auction of new licenses for flexible use in the band, said a Thursday public notice in docket 18-619. Nothing the bureau is doing “prejudges the proposals pending before the Commission regarding the assignment of licenses for, or access to, the 39 GHz band,” staff said. The FCC hasn't set a date for a 39 GHz auction. "We emphasize that -- for purposes of streamlined processing -- licensees may only request modifications that reflect the amount of their existing holdings, i.e., they cannot apply for modifications to their licenses that cover more MHz-Pops within each [market] than what they currently hold in the 39 GHz band," the bureau said.
Globalstar is taking its request for a notice of inquiry on 5.1 GHz band sharing between mobile satellite service and outdoor Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) operations to the FCC's eighth floor. A RM-11808 filing Wednesday recapped meetings with aides to Commissioners Mike O'Rielly, Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel about its petition for an NOI (see 1805220006). The company said severe harmful interference will result if no changes are made to the U-NII-1 sharing regime.