Howard Buskirk

A group of companies and associations, including Federated Wireless and Charter Communications, urged the FCC in comments this week to adopt a nonexclusive, nonauctioned shared licensed framework in the lower 37 GHz band. The band is one of five targeted for further study in the administration’s national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048). Comments were due Monday in docket 24-243 and most were posted on Tuesday.

Verizon has focused on AI for more than a decade and sees itself as “very advanced” in the technology, CEO Hans Vestberg said Monday during a Goldman Sachs technology conference. For example, Verizon is experiencing the growth of AI in handling calls from customers, and quickly forwarding them to the best agent to address customer concerns, he said. AI will also mean more personalized service from the carrier, Vestberg added. “Given the amount of data we have on the customer, we can personalize the plans much better.” Generative AI will also help Verizon in its strategy of bringing computing closer to the edge, Vestberg said. The carrier already has agreements with Google, Amazon and Microsoft on mobile-edge compute, he said. Large-language models are still being trained, but “the loads are coming.” In the 1990s, customers changed their phones yearly, and now it's closer to every 40 months, Vestberg said. “People keep the phone because the quality is higher” and “that's partly because … the network is great.” Verizon has two “great” AI phones available today, but so far they’re not driving changes in customer behavior, he said. Cable wireless is making gains, he admitted, though some of the companies use the Verizon network. Cable providers “are an important wholesale partner on the wireless side for us” and “accretive to our bottom line.” We treat them as “important, large enterprise customers. Then we compete with them every day.”

With Congress back for a three-week sprint before Election Day, Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan remains convinced lawmakers will fully fund a program that removes unsecure gear from U.S. networks. In an interview, Donovan also said he expects at least some groups will seek reconsideration of the FCC’s recent order creating a 5G Fund.

AT&T CFO Pascal Desroches wasn’t surprised at Verizon’s proposed buy of Frontier (see 2409050010). “When you look at bandwidth consumption trends in the U.S., they are going in one direction,” Desroches said Thursday during a Bank of America conference. The providers with “networks at scale [in] both wireless and fiber will be the ones who succeed,” he said: “They're going to be more competitive. They will have the best networks, the best cost structure.” He noted AT&T has invested heavily in spectrum and fiber and doesn’t need to acquire companies to compete. AT&T would rather “build and generate the returns through building as opposed to going out and acquiring and paying a premium.” Offering wireless and fiber service in a market means “considerable churn reduction” for both. Compared with 2021 and 2022, the wireless market “has normalized” and is “very healthy.” AT&T’s “play is not necessarily taking share of subscribers -- it is how do you optimize overall revenue and deliver value to the bottom line?”

Hundreds of commenters opposed a proposal from NextNav that would reconfigure the 902-928 MHz band and "enable a high-quality, terrestrial complement” to GPS for positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) services (see 2404160043). Amateur radio operators weighed in early and often (see 2408120024). Joining them were many other groups whose members use the band. Comments were due Thursday in docket 24-240. NextNav on Friday defended its petition seeking a rulemaking.

CTA warned that one of the proposals in the FCC's “bad lab” NPRM could hamper the commission's authorization of some wireless devices. Other groups also raised concerns. Approved by commissioners 5-0 in May, the NPRM proposes barring test labs of entities on the agency’s “covered list” of unsecure companies from participating in the equipment authorization process and other changes in gear authorization rules (see 2405230033). Comments were due this week in docket 24-136.

Under a draft FCC order tackling robocalls and robotexts, related issues will need addressing before consumers will trust telecom networks again. The FCC released the draft Thursday, along with an order on using 17 GHz spectrum for satellite broadband and an order and a Further NPRM on accessibility in videoconferencing. Commissioners are set to consider the items at their Sept. 26 open meeting.

Panelists clashed during a Federalist Society webinar Thursday over the future of the lower 3 GHz band, a top target of carriers for 5G and 6G. They also disagreed on some details of how federal bands should be studied for sharing or licensed use.

China is ahead of the U.S. on many fronts in its plans to emerge as the world leader in 5G, and eventually 6G, experts warned Wednesday during a webcast by the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub. The group released a paper urging that the U.S. reassert leadership in wireless technology.

Wireless carriers stressed the importance of spectrum to 6G in response to a May request for comment on the state of 6G development (see 2405230010). Comments were due Aug. 21. NTIA posted them this week. Some groups released their comments when they filed them (see 2408220043).