The Flexible Media Access Control Architecture library of specifications, FMA MAC manager Interface and the FMA packet cable aggregator Interface specs released Wednesday put the cable industry closer to providing 10G services, CableLabs Wired Technologies Lead Architect Jon Schnoor blogged Wednesday. He said the next step is developing products for 10G service provision.
Hughes joined Viasat in questioning SpaceX latency (see 2009180013). In a coming FCC International Bureau filing, Hughes said the claimed ping times of 18 and 19 milliseconds were based on a very lightly loaded network and it's "unlikely that SpaceX can meet its alleged 100/20 Mbps speeds at a mass market capability." It said the FCC should look at SpaceX claims as part of the company's pending application to operate at lower orbit (see 2004200003). SpaceX, in a meeting with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai recapped in an ex parte filing Monday, said its lower orbit application "is a crucial component" to tackling the digital divide and providing polar region coverage. It also argued against a 12.2-12.7 GHz rulemaking, and said MVDDS purchasers of the spectrum knew they had to protect low earth orbit satellite operations in the band.
Given the high failure rate of SpaceX's Starlink satellites, the FCC can either demand the company explain how issues are being resolved or do nothing and signal that satellite operators don't have to ensure their constellations meet commitments in their applications, Viasat representatives told aides to Chairman Ajit Pai, per an International Bureau posting Thursday. The company said the FCC should demand answers and validate them before allowing SpaceX to launch any more satellites and before approving SpaceX's request to operate at a lower orbit (see 2004200003). Separately, Amazon's Kuiper said the lower orbit must be denied for safety reasons, unless SpaceX can guarantee orbital tolerances that limit overlap with Kuiper. SpaceX didn't comment Friday.
Mediacom will do the first field trial of the cable industry's 10G high-speed broadband Thursday at a house in Ames, Iowa, it said Monday. It said the work is being done with CableLabs and NCTA, and the home will have an 8K TV and a 3D holographic display. The first 10G field tests were expected this year (see 2001220003).
Facebook's PointView Tech low earth orbit broadband test satellite is "uncontrollably spinning," Universal Space Network (USN) said in an FCC International Bureau application Friday as it petitioned for a waiver of frequency coordination so it can provide emergency telemetry and telecommand support to the satellite launched Sept. 2. PointView received an Office of Engineering and Technology experimental license grant in 2019 for its E-band Athena satellite. USN said Athena has an orientation issue causing the spin, and without remediation, "the spacecraft will be lost." Facebook didn't comment Monday.
SES/O3b in calls with aides to FCC members other than Commissioner Brendan Carr and with International Bureau Chief Tom Sullivan repeated its arguments against SpaceX's ask to move 2,824 broadband satellites to a lower orbit (for example, see 2008100002), said an International Bureau ex parte posting Thursday. SES/O3b said SpaceX in discussing interference protection limits was potentially trying to mislead the agency by wrongly claiming criticisms used incorrect data. SpaceX didn't comment Friday.
The move to smart cities is global, said Bill McShane, Signify general manager-connected city experience, during a Utilities Technology Council virtual conference. Tuesday's speakers called fiber key. “Cities recognize that they must grow,” he said: “Their infrastructure is not where it should be. The population is demanding broadband services. The cities want to bring Wi-Fi sensors and cameras … to transform themselves.” Nodes are increasing and localities want to bring services to their constituents “but they’re looking for a better way,” McShane said. “They also have to bring fiber.” Communities are mostly deploying in mid- to high-band spectrum, McShane said in response to our question. The citizens broadband radio service band is “becoming more and more relevant today and everyone is wanting the full rollout of 5G,” he said. “Eventually, 5G millimeter wave will come along.” Due to the pandemic, telecom providers are “seeing an explosion of bandwidth demand for multiple technologies,” said Jay Borer, Corning director-carrier market development. Making technology available “can drive population growth, or at least sustained population, for many rural communities,” he said. Many households don’t have the bandwidth to deliver flawless video conferencing with apps like Zoom (see report, Sept. 2 issue), he said. Not all fiber deployments are equal, Borer said. “We’re seeing just a range of network architectures.” Some are “deploying really high fiber count cables,” up to 1,728 fibers per cable, he said: Others “are utilizing some very lean fiber-optic networks that allows for much smaller cable to be placed.”
Initial test results from SpaceX's Starlink constellation are disappointingly slow, CCG President Doug Dawson blogged Monday: Downloads were 35-60 Mbps, upload 5-18 Mbps. There's danger the FCC will consider the satellites a solution to the rural broadband gap, he said. SpaceX didn't comment.
The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology asked for comment Thursday on a waiver request from Bosch for its Wallscanner D-Tect 200 frequency-hopped ultra-wideband wall imaging system. Comments are due Sept. 21, replies Oct. 19, in docket 20-268. The device operates between 1.8 and 5.7 GHz, OET said. Bosch describes the D-Tect 200 as a tool “used for detection and inspection of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, electric cables, wooden beams, plastic pipes, and for identification of structural flaws within construction materials,” OET said. It said the company needs waiver of several FCC rules to market the technology.
The next few years will see a big shift from land mobile satcom focusing on narrowband devices such as handheld phones to broadband use cases, blogged Northern Sky Research analyst Alan Crisp Tuesday. Operators will need to look to a wider array of ground terminals to play in that broadband land mobile marketplace, he said. "A business model selling handhelds won’t cut it anymore," and offering flat panel and roof-mounted antennas and "backpackable connectivity must become the norm," he said.