Howard Buskirk

The FCC urged that the 5th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court reject Maurine and Matthew Molak's challenge of the commission’s October declaratory ruling clarifying that the use of Wi-Fi on school buses is an educational purpose and eligible for E-rate funding (see 2408300027). In a brief Wednesday, the agency argued the Molaks lack standing to bring the challenge and the agency acted within the law when it addressed school bus Wi-Fi.

T-Mobile anticipates having 12 million home internet customers by 2028, CEO Mike Sievert said Wednesday during the company’s Capital Markets Day. The company added 406,000 fixed wireless subscribers in Q2 (see 2407310040) and plans to cover as many as 15 million homes with fiber, based on its current agreements with other companies. It will cover more homes if it makes additional investments, he said. Sievert noted this was the company’s first such event since March 2021, when it was virtual because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, when T-Mobile announced its buy of Sprint, it was “dead last in the 4G LTE era without a lot of runway for growth,” he said. But T-Mobile was the first of the major carriers to recognize the importance of mid-band spectrum for 5G. T-Mobile has the most and highest-quality spectrum of any U.S. carrier “and will have for years to come,” he said. Sievert noted that T-Mobile also has the densest network as a benefit of the Sprint buy and an after-effect of the days when the carrier didn’t have low-band spectrum and needed more towers. “The next three or four years will not only continue but actually extend and accelerate our success,” Sievert said: “This is an entrepreneurial team that acts very quickly.” T-Mobile expects it will generate $80 billion in cash between now and 2027. The first $10 billion will pay for already announced transactions and $50 billion will be returned to shareholders. That leaves $20 billion, some of which could go to further investments. “That’s incredible flexibility.” Among the announcements T-Mobile made Wednesday (see 2409180018), the carrier said it's using its 5G stand-alone network to offer first responders priority access through network slicing under a new T-Priority offering. “The network slice ensures first responders get lower latency and faster 5G speeds more consistently, and it also gives them the highest priority across every single 5G band, even in times of extreme congestion,” said a news release. T-Mobile said its first major customer is New York City.

Scott Jordan, FCC chief technologist when the commission approved the 2015 net neutrality rules, defended the latest version in an amicus brief filed Tuesday at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in docket 24-7000. Petitioners “consistently conflate” three different kinds of internet access service -- dial-up, cable modem and broadband, Jordan said: “Petitioners use this conflation as the basis for their assertions that all forms of Internet access service were classified as information services prior to 2015. These assertions are incorrect as a matter of fact.” Now a computer science professor at the University of California, Irvine, Jordan was an advocate of the 2023 rules (see 2404160055). Capabilities listed in the definition of information service aren't offered by broadband internet access service, Jordan said. “They are offered by applications (information services) that utilize broadband Internet access service to transmit and receive data.” Jordan drew a comparison with the era when Netflix offered movies on DVD, sent through the mail. “Petitioners’ analogies would have the Court believe that not only was Netflix an information service, but that the US Postal Service was also an information service, and that the US Postal Service offered movies ‘in conjunction with’ Netflix.”

The successful deployment of open radio access networks will require international cooperation, speakers said Wednesday during NTIA’s first International ORAN Symposium in Golden, Colorado. On day one, conference attendees heard U.S. officials highlight the Biden administration’s commitment to open networks (see 2409170061).

The industry still lacks an agreed-upon “common definition” for cloud native, Beth Cohen, Verizon advanced networking and security product strategist, said during a TelecomTV webinar Tuesday. The definition that “makes the most sense” is applications designed and optimized to work in the cloud, Cohen argued. “That can be containerized applications; it can also be virtual, machine applications.” The application should be “built and designed, from the ground up, to work in a virtual environment, whatever that virtual environment may be,” she said. “There are a number of definitions, and they’re all right.” Containerization uses software that bundles an application's code with all the files and libraries it needs to run on any infrastructure. Michele D’Agostino, director-product management at software company Wind River, said cloud native must be built on “microservices and container orchestration.” In addition, “It needs to support dynamic scaling based on demand” and “needs to have automation and resiliency in case there are failures.” Cloud native, D'Agostino said, also must include analytical tools based on AI and machine learning. Automated software updates and zero-touch deployment are “critical to scale the types of networks we have within telecom.” For Joan Triay, manager and network architect, Docomo Communications Lab, cloud native isn’t a specific technology or solution. “It’s not even about containers,” Triay said: “It’s very difficult to define” cloud native “precisely, and I doubt that we will ever achieve that.” Part of the confusion comes from using the term liberally as a marketing tool. The telecom industry shouldn’t let cloud service providers “hijack the definition” of cloud native, Cohen said. “Telco cloud is different, and we need to keep that in mind.” The top benefit of cloud native is lowering the cost of running a network, said Sidd Chenumolu, head-product management at VMware by Broadcom. “The ability for a service provider to do life-cycle management in an automated manner … is definitely a huge cost savings,” he said. With cloud native, “you can adopt the best tool sets out there.”

Work remains before open radio access networks are viable worldwide, Sarah Morris, deputy NTIA administrator, warned Tuesday. Among the gaps are “consistent, repeatable and open RAN testing and speeding the pace of commercial-scale deployments,” Morris said during the opening NTIA’s first International ORAN Symposium, taking place this week in Golden, Colorado.

T-Mobile and UScellular made the case why T-Mobile’s proposed buy of “substantially all” of the smaller carrier’s wireless operations, including some of its spectrum (see 2405280047), makes sense for customers. In a public interest statement on the proposed transaction, they wrote, “The Transaction will increase competition across the UScellular footprint and not result in any competitive harm.” T-Mobile has “a well-established track record of using improvements in network performance and increased capacity to deliver greater value to consumers and enhance competition." The statement was posted Monday in docket 24-286, which the FCC created last week (see 2409110059). “Customers of both companies will experience significant benefits from increased network capacity, higher speeds, and reduced congestion within the UScellular footprint,” the companies said: “UScellular customers will have the choice to switch to a lower-cost T-Mobile plan or remain on their current UScellular rate plan, all while enjoying a world-class 5G network.” The filing said the deal won’t affect T-Mobile pricing, “which is generally lower than prices for comparable UScellular plans.” It emphasizes that about 40% of UScellular subscribers live in rural markets and the buy “will result in an enhanced user experience and faster and better 5G service for the rural customers of both companies.” Nearly all of UScellular’s customer devices are compatible with T-Mobile’s network and “migration of the vast majority of UScellular customers can be accomplished almost immediately after closing via an over-the-air software update,” the filing said. Much of the data was redacted from the public filing, including estimated monthly savings for UScellular customers, the combined capacity of the network that will be available to those subscribers and the number of households expected to gain access to T-Mobile’s Home Internet service. The companies told the FCC they don’t “have an overlapping competitive presence” in 74 of the cellular market areas (CMAs) affected, which is 37% of the markets involved in the transaction. “Both before and after the Transaction, at least three nationwide facilities-based carriers (including T-Mobile) will provide competition in almost all CMAs in the UScellular footprint.” The filing comes ahead of T-Mobile’s Capital Markets Day, scheduled for Wednesday.

Fred Moorefield, who long oversaw spectrum policy at DOD, last week pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to engage in dogfighting and interstate travel in aid of racketeering. He faces up to five years in prison. Moorefield, 63, left DOD 11 months ago after the charges were announced (see 2310030058).

Incompas, Consumer Reports and Public Knowledge urged the FCC to ignore the Competitive Carriers Association’s request for a 15-day delay in the deadline for filing reply comments on proposed handset unlocking rules. The FCC heard little agreement this week in initial comments (see 2409100048). Absent extension, replies are due Sept. 23. “Given the importance of this proceeding” delaying the proceeding would be “harmful to consumers and competitive providers,” the three groups said in a filing posted Friday in docket 24-186: “This proceeding does not have an overwhelming number of comments or technical components to review, which makes the record here manageable to respond to by the current reply comment deadline.” T-Mobile, CCA’s largest member, supported the extension. “The proposed rule would have a significant impact on wireless providers’ business operations and impact important Commission policy objectives concerning digital equity and national security,” T-Mobile said. The “modest” extension that CCA is seeking “would facilitate a more robust round of reply comments that will allow the Commission to make a better-informed decision considering the potential significant impact of its proposed rules,” the carrier said. CCA said the FCC “should ensure all interested parties have sufficient time to meaningfully participate in this proceeding and extend the reply comment deadline to ensure the development of a fulsome and robust record.” If granted, the new deadline would be Oct. 8. Meanwhile, T-Mobile representatives met this week with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to raise legal objections to the proposed rules, the same questions that have permeated many FCC proceedings in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Two years ago, SCOTUS elaborated on a new major questions test for weighing agency decisions in West Virginia v. EPA (see 2206300066). “While well-meaning, the proposed rule would hamper carriers’ ability to offer installment plans -- thereby harming competition and consumer choice, particularly for low-income consumers,” T-Mobile said: “Furthermore, the Commission fails to point to specific statutory authorization for an unlocking mandate," which "would have profound economic consequences, thus raising a ‘major question’ that would require clear statutory authority from Congress.”

Ron Repasi, chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology, is leaving the agency. An email sent to industry on Monday announced a retirement party in the commission meeting room Sept. 26. Repasi took over from longtime OET Chief Julius Knapp, initially in an acting capacity, in late 2019. Knapp had led the OET since 2004. Repasi has been in the middle of most spectrum policy issues at the FCC, from 6 GHz rules to the future of the citizens broadband radio service, lower 12 GHz and other bands, industry officials said. Repasi became chief FCC engineer on a permanent basis 18 months ago. “Please join us for a retirement celebration honoring … Repasi on his many accomplishments during his 32 years of Government service,” said the email on his retirement.