AT&T, Verizon Propose to Limit Power on C-Band to Assuage FAA Concerns

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief AT&T and Verizon have offered to transmit at lower power around airports for six months on their new C-band spectrum. That’s to give the FAA more time to figure out a fix for potential interference from 5G operations on 3.7 GHz to the 4.2-4.4 GHz band, where aircraft radio altimeters operate. Altimeters measure the distance from the ground to the aircraft, and the FAA and aviation and aerospace industries fear there could be harmful interference to those operations from 5G.

In a letter to the FCC on Friday, both carriers reminded the agencies that combined, they paid over $80 billion for the licenses and will hand over another $15 billion to satellite users who cleared the spectrum early. The carriers also re-iterated the FCC concluded, “after 17 years of global study and interagency dialogue across all relevant federal agencies—'the technical rules on power and emission limits we set for the 3.7 GHz Service and the spectral separation of 220 megahertz should offer all due protection to [radio altimeter] services in the 4.2-4.4 GHz band.’” Continue Reading

FCC IG Warns of Fraud in EBB Program

By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief Enrollment data for the FCC’s broadband affordability program shows that some broadband providers and their sales agents are engaging in fraudulent behavior, according to a warning from the agency’s inspector general. The IG says fraudsters claim their customers have children who attend high-poverty schools in order to qualify them for the FCC Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program.

The timing is key because the agency is preparing to transition the program from a pandemic relief subsidy to a permanent program under the new infrastructure law. The law slated $14 billion for a subsequent version of the pandemic subsidy, retitled the Affordable Connectivity Program. The monthly benefit will drop from $50 to $30.

One way to qualify for the subsidy is to have a child who is eligible for free or reduced-price school food under the USDA National School Lunch Program’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). These meals are available to any child who attends certain high-poverty schools and school districts, regardless of their family’s income. Under the subsidy program’s eligibility rules, if a household has a child who attends a qualifying CEP school, it can enroll for the FCC’s aid. Continue Reading

T-Mobile to Pay $19.5 Million to Settle 911 Probe

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau and T-Mobile reached a settlement to end an investigation into whether the carrier violated the agency’s 911 rules. Wireless carriers must reasonably design and operate their networks to ensure reliable transmission of all 911 calls, including providing 911 call back information and 911 location information, to public safety answering points (PSAPs), and to timely notify potentially affected PSAPs of reportable 911 outages. 

Under the terms of the Consent Decree, T-Mobile will pay a $19.5 million settlement payment and implement a compliance plan. T-Mobile made new commitments to improve the 911 outage notices given to PSAPs, including providing them with more information about outages and providing follow-up notices within two hours of the initial outage notifications, according to the bureau.  

The investigation stemmed from a June 15, 2020 outage that lasted more than 12 hours. It led to congestion of T-Mobile’s 4G, 3G and 2G networks, and caused the failure of more than 23,000 911 calls without location information and more than 20,000 calls to 911 call centers without call back information. Continue Reading

Telecom Groups Urge White House Not to Further Delay 5G C-Band Use

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief The White House is involved in discussions between the FAA and FCC over wireless use of C-band. Last week, Inside Towers reported that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel told reporters and lawmakers at her Senate nomination hearing she’s confident in the ability of the agency’s engineers, and that the issue will be resolved with mitigations.

Now, eleven trade associations, including the Wireless Infrastructure Association; NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association; CTIA; the Competitive Carriers Association, the Consumer Technology Association, the Telecommunications Industry Association; 5G Americas, USTelecom and more, urged the administration not to delay the wireless use of C-band more than has already been agreed to. Continue Reading

5G FWA Could Serve Half of U.S. Rural Households, New Study Finds

 By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor The push to provide broadband to rural areas may have inadvertently turned into a competition between fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fixed wireless access (FWA). The wireless industry, determined to get its share of the broadband funding in the trillion-dollar Biden infrastructure legislation, made sure that data speeds in the measure would accommodate wireless, as well as wireline, technologies.

Although the legislation is now passed and signed into law, the wireless industry continues to stoke the influence machine with the publishing of a report titled “5G Fixed Wireless Broadband: Helping Close the Digital Divide in Rural America.” Carriers could serve 8.4 million rural households with high-speed FWA or about half of the market, according to a study by Accenture. The study was commissioned by CTIA, the wireless industry association. Continue Reading

OSHA Suspends Biden’s COVID Mandate For Employers

 UPDATE The Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on Thursday suspended enforcement of the Biden administration's new rules ordering larger employers to either require that their workers get vaccinated against COVID or undergo weekly testing, reports CBS. OSHA posted the announcement on its website, on Thursday. It added it "remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies."
 
It appears smaller tower contractors would be exempt, because the rule was to have affected companies with more than 100 workers. NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, recently surveyed members on the issue. The association said several member companies feared losing employees over such a mandate, Inside Towers reported. Continue Reading

Rosenworcel Updates Senators on Efforts to Update Broadband Maps

During a wide-ranging nominations hearing on Wednesday, members of the Senate Commerce Committee mostly questioned FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about the agency’s efforts to improve broadband maps and close the digital divide. Now that President Joe Biden has signed the infrastructure legislation into law that contains $65 billion in broadband deployment dollars, senators on both sides of the aisle stressed they want those subsidies to go to areas that need internet connectivity.

Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) called the broadband funding “a good start, but obviously we need the updated mapping.” Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) too, stressed the need to avoid wasting tax dollars by overbuilding. Continue Reading

Biden Signs Infrastructure Bill, Names Task Force

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief With references to construction of the transcontinental railroad during the Civil War and building the interstate highway system during the Cold War, President Joe Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law on Monday just after 4:20 p.m. Eastern. “As we learned during the pandemic, access to high-speed internet is essential,” said Biden of the measure, which includes $65 billion in government funds for broadband internet deployment.

“This law is going to make high-speed internet available everywhere,” he said during the signing ceremony at the White House, referencing rural and other parts of the country. “No parent should have to sit in a parking lot of a fast-food restaurant ever again so their child can use the internet to do homework,” Biden said. “That’s over, folks.”  Continue Reading

Digital Iron Curtain Begins to Separate U.S.-China Chip Supply Chains

 By J. Sharpe Smith Inside Towers Technology Editor In light of the integrated circuit board (known as a chip) shortage, the chip industry is busy trying to fix its supply chain issues, but the technology struggle has undertones of the greater geopolitical situation, according to IEEE Spectrum. U.S. companies dominate the design of the chips, while the chip-making supply chain is controlled by companies in Asia, namely Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). The United States is now going back into manufacturing and China is getting into design, so “fixing the supply chain” looks a lot more like the latest battleground between the East and the West.

The U.S. government is committing billions of dollars to bringing chip manufacturing back to this country, including $52 billion in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. “The United States, alarmed at China's campaign to bring Taiwan under its control, has also begun an ambitious program to 'reshore' its semiconductor manufacturing after allowing much of it to migrate to Taiwan,” IEEE Spectrum said. Continue Reading

Aviation, Aerospace Industries Want Longer C-Band Delay

 By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief More voices are now calling for a longer delay of 5G use on C-band. The Aerospace Industries Association is leading a coalition of organizations representing aerospace manufacturers, airlines, pilots, and operators in urging the FCC and FAA to form a joint industry working group to bring the aviation and telecom industries together to find a long-term solution that it says will protect the flying public by ensuring radio altimeters will operate accurately while allowing 5G to roll out.

In a letter to the National Economic Council, the coalition wants the NEC to work with the FCC and FAA. “The goal of this working group would be to reach acceptable mitigations,” they write. “Aviation will not be able to maintain the current level of public safety and economic activity without support from the Biden-Harris administration and the implementation of mitigations by the cellular industry.”
 
The letter comes on the heels of the FAA issuing a bulletin alerting manufacturers, operators, and pilots that action may be needed to address potential interference with radio altimeters caused by 5G systems. Radio altimeters are crucial systems used by every commercial aircraft and helicopter and many general aviation aircraft, notes the coalition. Continue Reading

The Big Apple Issues an RFP For Broadband Services

 New York City (NYC) Mayor Bill de Blasio has committed $157 million in capital investment to move the next phase of the Internet Masterplan for universal broadband forward. Open Gov reported that NYC launched a request for proposal (RFP), representing “a first in the nation” approach to closing the digital divide. 

“Broadband is not a luxury, it is a necessity. We are closing the digital divide and bringing our city into the 21st century by reaching communities most in need,” said Mayor de Blasio.

Nearly one-third of NYC households lack fixed broadband, and 18 percent (1.5 million people) don’t have a residential or mobile connection. The city is working to bring affordable connectivity to most of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments with plans to expand to all neighborhoods citywide. Continue Reading

SBA Communications Raises Its FY2021 Outlook

By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor

SBA Communications (NASDAQ: SBAC), like its towerco brethren, is benefiting from heightened cell site deployment activity among its biggest mobile network operator customers.     On the strength of site amendments and upgrades, and new leasing activity, SBAC’s site leasing revenues for 3Q21 grew to $417 million, up 9 percent on a year-over-year basis while international site leasing revenues grew nearly 14 percent to $109 million. Site development services were up almost 40 percent to $54 million due to demand for site preparation work that SBAC provides to its tenants. Adjusted EBITDA reached $407 million, a 9 percent increase over $373 million in 3Q20 while AFFO grew 12 percent YOY to $303 million. Continue Reading

FAA Sounds Louder C-Band Safety Alarm

 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is ratcheting up its concern about airline safety when 5G deployments begin on C-band, a fear it’s been sounding an alarm about for a year, Inside Towers reported. Now that network carriers are expected to begin using the spectrum starting December 5, starting in 46 markets, the FAA plans to issue a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin and an airworthiness directive about the issue, two officials told Reuters, confirming a Wall Street Journal report.

FAA Deputy Administrator Bradley Mims wrote in a previously unreported October 6 letter the agency shares, "the deep concern about the potential impact to aviation safety resulting from interference to radar altimeter performance from 5G network operations in the C-band." An FAA spokeswoman told Reuters on Friday it "continues to engage with other agencies so that aviation and the newest generation of 5G cellular technology can safely coexist." Continue Reading

Secure Equipment Act on Its Way to the President

 The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to take steps to further crack down on the use of telecom products from companies deemed to be a national security threat. The bill was previously approved by the House by a vote of 420-4, and now heads to the President’s desk for signature.  
 
In 2020, the FCC adopted rules to require U.S. carriers to rip out and replace equipment provided by “covered” companies. Companies on this list include China-based Huawei and ZTE, which both Congress and the administration took steps to block from the U.S. due to national security and espionage concerns. The FCC last year formally designated both Huawei and ZTE as national security threats.   
 
While that was an important step, those rules only apply to equipment purchased with federal funding, according to lawmakers. The same equipment can still be used if purchased with private or non-federal government dollars. The Secure Equipment Act closes that loophole, the sponsors note. Continue Reading