Commission Eyes 5.9 GHz Band for Wi-Fi

FCC Commissioners, Rosenworcel and O’Reilly voiced support for opening the 5850-5925 MHz (5.9 GHz) Band for unlicensed use at a forum held by the Open Technology Institute.  In 1999, the Commission set aside the 5.9 GHz Band for Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) (e.g., navigation assistance, in-vehicles signage, and other non-safety applications) utilized by the automotive industry  The Commissioners proposed to refresh the record of the 2013 rulemaking pertaining to the 5.9 GHz band and testing unlicensed device prototypes for the 5.9 GHz band.  This comes on the heels of the Department of Transportation’s announcement pertaining to a $3.9 billion investment into programs to test, develop, and adopt self-driving automobiles.

Changes to ASR Applications

Last week, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announced that any application for Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) submitted to the Bureau without an Environmental Assessment (EA) that has been pending for more than ten months will be returned to the applicant.  If an applicant fails to resubmit the application within sixty days, the ASR application will be dismissed.  An incomplete application that is resubmitted to the Bureau (i.e., a resubmitted application that does not have an EA) will be dismissed after an additional six months.  Additionally, on a case-by-case basis, a long-pending ASR application may be returned for various other reasons.

FCC Reopens After Heavy Snowfall

Today, the FCC opened under a 3-hour delay after the federal governmnet in the Washington, DC area was closed for several days due to heavy snowfall in the area last week.  With respect to filings in ULS and ECFS, there will likely be backlogs and downtimes.