NTIA will hold a virtual industry listening session Dec. 3 about open radio access network certification principles, on behalf of the Global Coalition on Telecommunications (GCOT), said a notice for Thursday’s Federal Register. The session runs 9-11 a.m. EST on Dec. 3. GCOT is a collaboration among the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Canada and Japan. “GCOT intends to explore engagements that will enhance information sharing, support joint research and development, ensure alignment of funding priorities, support vision setting and standards development, and enhance coordination on international outreach and collaboration,” the notice said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau on Wednesday approved a waiver of the commission’s Part 97 rules allowing amateur radio licensees to communicate with military stations as part of Pearl Harbor Day commemorations Dec. 7 and 8. The American Radio Relay League sought the waiver in October (see 2410080019). “We find grant of the waiver meets the waiver standard because this event presents a unique opportunity for amateur operators to practice communications skills under the guidance of military officials, which may be useful in the future and serves the public interest,” the bureau said. The Wireless Bureau approved a similar waiver last year (see 2311270044).

Anterix representatives spoke with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, seeking action on a rulemaking authorizing 5/5 MHz broadband deployments in the 900 MHz band (see 2405210041). “The FCC decision to create a 900 MHz broadband segment has already enabled utilities across the nation, including rural areas, to design, deploy, and operate private broadband networks tailored to their highly demanding specifications,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 24-99. “900 MHz broadband spectrum will play an increasingly important role in enabling the grid to withstand escalating external and weather-related threats, as well as growing internal demands for power during the transition to renewable energy,” Anterix said.

The FCC Technological Advisory Council will hold its final meeting of 2024 Dec. 19 at FCC headquarters, the agency said Wednesday. Start time is 10 a.m. EST. The TAC is focused on 5G and other spectrum issues. It last met in August (see 2408290036).

The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Service Sector asked the FCC to refer to it T-Mobile’s proposed buy of wireless assets from UScellular (see 2405280047) for further examination. DOJ asked for the referral “to determine whether these applications pose a risk to the national security or law enforcement interests” of the U.S., said a filing this week in docket 24-286. The committee -- informally known by its former name, Team Telecom -- is an interagency review body composed of DOJ, DOD and the Department of Homeland Security. DOJ “believes that such risk may be raised by the foreign participation (including the foreign relationships and ownership) associated with the applications, and a review by the Committee is necessary to assess and make an appropriate recommendation as to how the Commission should adjudicate these applications,” the filing said. It cites executive order 13913 issued in 2020 by then-President Donald Trump. Meanwhile, petitions to deny the transfer of UScellular authorizations and spectrum licenses to T-Mobile are due Dec. 9 (see 2410300051), but the National Wireless Independent Dealer Association (NWIDA) made its opposition known on Wednesday. NWIDA cited “T-Mobile's documented history of post-merger conduct that has proven detrimental to independent dealers and the communities they serve.” T-Mobile’s conduct, “particularly following the Sprint acquisition, demonstrates a concerning trend of eliminating independent dealers despite pre-merger assurances,” the group said: “Currently, T-Mobile faces multiple lawsuits from independent dealers, and their Chief Operating Officer has publicly expressed a preference for corporate-owned stores over independent dealers.”

Wi-Fi has been a huge win, offering broadband access in many locations, with more than 18 billion Wi-Fi devices in use and its success based on a “foundation in permissionless innovation,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute said in a report Tuesday. The U.S. approach contrasts with China's, where Wi-Fi is seen as a “threat,” CEI said. “Wi-Fi shows that when America embraces permissionless innovation it creates competitive advantages.” The report quotes inventor Nikola Tesla saying “when wireless is fully applied, the Earth will be converted into a huge brain, capable of response in every one of its parts.” CEI noted that people consume up to 80% of data indoors and Wi-Fi is largely used for indoor broadband. “Permissionless innovation is optimistic,” the report said: “It embraces human innovation and ingenuity as overall good things. It allows that harms from innovation can be addressed as they occur. Government need not attempt to anticipate or attempt to prevent potential harms, in large part because it is rarely possible to accurately predict what will go wrong and head that off at the pass.”

Comments are due Dec. 20 about a proposed requirement that covered text providers, including wireless providers, support georouting text messages made to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to the appropriate local crisis center, said a notice for Wednesday's Federal Register. Replies are due Jan. 9. Comments are to be filed in docket 18-336. The 988 call georouting order approved unanimously at the FCC's October meeting included an NPRM about text georouting (see 2410170026).

EchoStar urged the FCC to move forward on handset unlocking rules for prepaid and postpaid devices. As the FCC recognized in its unlocking NPRM, “such rules are a means to improve consumer choice and flexibility and to enhance competition across the mobile wireless marketplace," the company said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-186: “EchoStar agrees, as do the majority of commenting parties: the benefits of a standard unlocking policy are widely cited in the record. Indeed, industry-wide unlocking requirements have support from parties ranging from the public interest community to Verizon and Comcast.” Commissioners approved an NPRM 5-0 in July (see 2407180037).

The FCC’s controversial 4.9 GHz order, allowing FirstNet to use unutilized parts of the band, takes effect Dec. 20, said a notice for Wednesday’s Federal Register. Commissioners approved the order 5-0 in October (see 2410220027). Opponents are threatening litigation (see 2411130027).

Using the correct antennas is a key part of helping providers cut their energy use, Andrzej Mikolajczuk, sustainability program director at Ericsson, blogged Tuesday. “Passive antennas are like tires on a car,” Mikolajczuk wrote: “You can have an impressive car with a massive engine, but if the car has bad tires, a lot of energy gets wasted. The same applies to antennas. If more of the propagation of the electromagnetic field is going in the desired direction, then the radio power can be reduced by up to 29%.” With improved antennas, handsets on the network also use less energy, he said. Updated antennas themselves are also more energy efficient, with a lighter structure and 100% recyclable radome, the weatherproof enclosure that protects an antenna, he said. “With the significant rise in connectivity demand, responsible resource management and environmental action are more urgent than ever,” he said. “Mobile network operators are key to keeping the world connected, but their operations often come with high energy costs and a sizable environmental footprint.”