Spectrum acquirer RS Access (RSA) cited an engineering study indicating 5G and non-geostationary fixed satellite service (NGSO FSS) deployments in 12 GHz are doable, urging it be made "the next 5G band." Satellite though is steadfast that sharing with mobile terrestrial will play havoc with satellite-delivered broadband. And the wireless industry hasn't come to consensus. That's per docket 20-433 comments posted through Monday. Replies are due June 7.

SpaceX joined wireless interests in opposing a Satellite Industry Association petition for reconsideration of the FCC Part 25 satellite rules order adopted 5-0 last year (see 2011180043), in docket 18-314 comments posted through Friday. Amazon pushed back on SpaceX's recon petition. SpaceX said the FCC's extending time for deployment of earth stations incentivizes spectrum warehousing. It said axing the earth station re-coordination requirement in upper-microwave flexible use spectrum (UMFUS) as SIA seeks "would simply exacerbate that problem by removing the only meaningful check on speculative applications." Verizon said re-coordination is needed or earth station operators could essentially create a protection zone that precludes UMFUS operations unless the UMFUS facility is operational at coordination time. It said the FCC reversing the re-coordination rule would let earth station operators reserve spectrum in an area for several years, although they could ultimately decide not to build the earth station. CTIA said SIA's proposed clarifications would unnecessarily burden UMFUS licensees. It said if the FCC makes any changes, dump the earth station buildout time frame extension. Backing the SIA recon petition, Hughes said the required re-coordination for earth stations in the UMFUS bands "means that a satellite operator does not really have the rights that its authorization appears to confer." Re-coordination "creates an unacceptable choice" between the potential for significant changes to facilities that could cost millions or accepting secondary status, it said. Amazon's Kuiper urged dismissal of SpaceX's recon petition regarding the earth station buildout extension as procedurally deficient. It said SpaceX argued that letting a non-geostationary operator (NGSO) apply for sites years in advance of construction would lead to stockpiling locations, but the FCC "was correctly agnostic" on approaches systems could take. The FCC reversing itself would stop NGSO operators from designing their entire systems including ground infrastructure, "grossly favoring those who sped ahead" with deployments even if the system design isn't complete, it said. Telesat said as long as the FCC focuses on the number of earth stations involved rather than the orbital characteristics of the associated satellites such as whether they're NGSO or geostationary, it doesn't object to SpaceX's suggested limit on the number of unbuilt earth stations covered by the extended construction periods the FCC adopted.

Jessica Rosenworcel's tenure as FCC acting chairwoman has featured bipartisan unanimity. Former commissioners and others don't see her running out of noncontroversial agenda items soon. They told us to expect issues that could be contentious, such as revisiting net neutrality and new orbital debris rules, to be back-burnered until a third Democratic commissioner is appointed, breaking the current 2-2 balance. Current commissioners credit Rosenworcel including them in decision-making and communicating with them.

Cable ISPs and connectivity experts told us not to expect federal stimulus spending for broadband to make a huge dent in adoption gaps due to lack of connectivity, though it could reduce the number of people dropping service in the near term due to pocketbook issues. Some see the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund potentially having longer-term ramifications, and much depends on finalized ECF rules due Monday. Many hope to see a more-permanent version of the emergency broadband benefit program emerge.

The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency needs to beef up its Joint Cyber Planning Office for wider communication routes between government and industry and Congress “needs to put CISA on a path to being a $5 billion agency,” House Homeland Security ranking member John Katko, R-N.Y., told a Cybersecurity Subcommittee ransomware hearing. The past 18 months brought an increased frequency of cyberattacks, as well as growing sophistication of threat actors, and larger amounts being demanded of victims, experts said at a Chamber of Commerce webinar, also Wednesday. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas called ransomware one DHS' "most-significant priorities."

Charter Communications won't expand plant capacity to accommodate symmetrical broadband anytime soon, CEO Tom Rutledge said Friday. Some customers use more than 1 Tb of data a month, but most of that is via IPTV, and its capacity is sufficient for current upstream uses, he said. He said Charter is capable of upgrading its network, if needed as new products develop. Comcast indicated last week that symmetrical broadband is a priority (see 2104290009). Rutledge said Charter added more than 7 million internet customers in the five years since it bought Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, extended its network past 5 million additional homes and businesses, and spent more than $40 billion on infrastructure and technology. He said over the next six years, Charter will spend $5 billion to reach more than a million unserved customer locations, offset by $2 billion in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund money: That could lead to other "white space" areas of potential customers opening up due to federal investing. He said those rural markets are more expensive capital projects, and payback can take 10-plus years, but the cable ISP is confident it can get good penetration. The public money being targeted toward connectivity efforts like E-rate and the emergency broadband benefit program mean "a huge opportunity, [but] our sense is the states don't know how to spend it all," Rutledge said. Revenue in Q1 was $12.5 billion, up $784 million year over year, Charter said Friday. It has 27.4 million residential internet customers, up 1.9 million; 15.5 million residential video subscribers, down 67,000; 9.1 million residential voice customers, down 247,000; and 2.6 million residential mobile lines, up 1.25 million. Chief Financial Officer Chris Winfrey said the mobile business is scaling up to stand-alone profitability. MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote investors that Comcast showed its mobile business can be profitable even without unloading traffic from its mobile virtual network operator. The analyst said Charter's citizens broadband radio service spectrum is "a clear path for traffic offload" that could reduce costs. He said wireless could eventually pass video as Charter's No. 2 revenue stream.

Symmetrical broadband is a "focus" for Comcast "for the next several years," Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson said Thursday as the company detailed progress toward offering multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds while announcing Q1 results. Company CEO Brian Roberts said it's moving toward trials on offloading mobile traffic in dense areas using its spectrum: "That really will prove to be a cost savings if we get it right."

SpaceX's license modification approval, released Tuesday, has conditions including requirements it coordinate with radio astronomy observatories and regularly report close passes in orbit involving, in addition to restrictions on how it uses the 12 GHz band. These was as expected (see 2104260044). Some critics of the license mod saw good news in the terms.

Approval on circulation Monday of SpaceX's pending license modification for relocating more than 2,800 planned satellites to a lower orbit (see 2007140001) has conditions limiting its use of the 12 GHz band and on spectrum sharing, parties involved in the proceeding told us. The license mod got heavy opposition (see 2102120033). Parties told us litigation challenging the approval is a strong possibility.

The FCC text-to-988 Further NPRM adopted unanimously Thursday (see 2104220036) cites somewhat different legal authority to justify the proposed rules, per our side-by-side comparison of the draft and the approved FNPRM released Friday. The draft cited the Communications Act Title III and Section 251(e). The adopted version cites Title III and the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.