Matthew Pearl, National Security Council director-emerging technologies and special adviser, announced he has left that job. “Having the opportunity to serve at the White House and advance our nation’s interests in tech and telecom policy was the honor of a lifetime,” Pearl said on LinkedIn. Pearl highlighted his work on such items as the national spectrum strategy and the cyber trust mark.

More than 100 amateur radio operators have now filed objections to a NextNav proposal asking that the FCC seek comment on revised rules for the 902-928 MHz band (see 2408120024). Comments are due Sept. 5, replies Sept. 20, on a public notice from the FCC in docket 24-240.

CTIA asked for FCC clarity on the agency’s latest broadband data collection order, released July 12. The item created “a pathway” for restoring fixed locations previously removed from the BDC maps, CTIA said. “While the best reading of the text is that use of the restoration process established in the Declaratory Ruling is optional, there is some uncertainty,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-195 said: “CTIA encourages the Commission to promptly clarify that the restoration process -- in particular, the use of infrastructure information outlined in the Data Specifications to restore locations or areas -- is not mandatory.”

C3Spectra, which hopes to join the list of companies operating an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system that manages access to the 6 GHz band, notified the FCC that its system will be available for public trial beginning Aug. 20. The test portal will close Oct. 4, the company said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-352.

CTIA representatives told staff from the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau that new rules for robotexting aren't needed. Developed in an ongoing proceeding, the record “shows that the wireless ecosystem’s efforts to combat spam and scam text messages are working, as evidenced by the significant drop in consumer complaints reported over the last few years,” a filing made Monday in docket 21-402 said. “While some advocates for non-consumer message senders recognize the importance of strong blocking and other policies that protect consumers from receiving messaging content they do not want, their requests for the FCC to restrict current spam-prevention efforts are factually inaccurate and legally insufficient,” CTIA said.

AT&T opted to file in opposition to North East Offshore’s request for an FCC waiver of the freeze on nonfederal applications for new or expanded Part 90 operations in the lower 3 GHz band even though the wind farm company has dropped the request (see 2408010039). North East’s request “touches on broader issues that merit addressing on the record,” a filing posted Tuesday in docket 24-212 said. The lower 3 GHz band is “an incredibly important piece of the National Spectrum Strategy and the Commission should not be issuing new authorizations that would complicate the reallocation of that band for future mobile broadband services,” AT&T said. The waiver request also raises “complex questions about the Commission’s licensing jurisdiction and potential offshore uses of spectrum that are most appropriately addressed in the Commission’s broader inquiry on the subject,” AT&T said. The FCC sought comment in 2022 on the offshore use of spectrum (see 2209020052).

Oppositions are due Aug. 27, replies Sept. 6, at the FCC on a petition for reconsideration of last month’s 3-2 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services (see 2407180024), said a notice in Monday’s Federal Register. The petitioners were Maurine and Matthew Molak, who previously sued the FCC over its decision authorizing funding of Wi-Fi on school buses (see 2406260006). Filings are due in docket 21–31.

Elkhart, Indiana, and the Dorchester County, Maryland, 911 Communications Division on Monday became the latest local government units objecting to the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance’s (PSSA) proposal to assign the 4.9 GHz band to FirstNet. The proposal has been highly divisive (see 2408050009). “Many local and regional authorities currently operate point-to-point communications on the 4.9 GHz band, during natural disasters, natural disaster recovery, and other life-threatening emergencies,” said Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson (D). “The local nature of the 4.9 GHz band is crucial for future preparedness and providing network resiliency to first responders,” the Maryland county said.

The FCC sought comment Friday on the future of the 37 GHz band, as expected (see 2407240039). Comments are due Sept. 9 in docket 24-243, per a public notice by the Wireless Bureau. The band is one of five teed up for further investigation in the administration’s national spectrum strategy, though unlike the lower 3 GHz and 7/8 GHz bands, carriers are not targeting it for licensed, exclusive use. The strategy identifies 37 GHz “as a band for further study ‘to implement a co-equal, shared-use framework allowing federal and non-federal users to deploy operations in the band,’” the public notice says. “We find that additional information on potential uses of the Lower 37 GHz band would be helpful in the preparation of the Lower 37 GHz Report,” it adds, noting that the current record is limited. While commenters predicted uses including fixed wireless, point-to-point links, IoT networks, device-to-device operations, augmented reality, smart cities, smart grids and private networks, “they have not provided much detail about implementation of these services in the band,” the FCC says. The notice requests “specific and updated information on the contemplated uses of the band, to include interdependencies of pairing spectrum bands with the Lower 37 GHz band.” The PN also asks about the “feasibility” of aeronautical mobile service operations in the band. “We anticipate that operations offered in the band initially will be point-to-point and point-to-multipoint operations, although other types of operations -- including mobile operations -- may develop later.” The PN asks about the design of a coordination mechanism. It notes that discussions among the FCC, NTIA and DOD are aimed at a two-step mechanism. “In the first phase, an interference contour would be drawn around each existing and potential site based on its technical parameters, including transmitter details such as location (latitude and longitude), equivalent isotropic radiated power, antenna height, and antenna azimuth angle,” the notice says: If the site’s contour doesn’t overlap with any existing registration, “coordination is successful, and registration of the new site may proceed. If there is overlap, there would be a second phase.”

Representatives of EchoStar, Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute at New America asked the FCC to move forward on handset unlocking rules, approve the use of the lower 12 GHz band for fixed wireless and address a revised spectrum screen. The representatives met with aides to Commissioners Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks, said a filing posted Friday in 24-186 and other dockets. “Consumer advocates have long argued that mobile phones should come unlocked by default, allowing users to more easily make choices about the device and service they purchase, as they can for most products,” the filing said: “While the practice of locking users into contracts by handset locking remains common in the U.S., countries including Canada and the United Kingdom have banned the practice entirely.” Most spectrum “is controlled by three nationwide incumbents, leaving new competitors and regional carriers constrained in their ability to provide wireless services,” the groups said of a proposed revised screen. The level of concentration “hampers innovation, raises prices, raises costs for non-incumbent competitors, and harms consumers.”