Howard Buskirk

The FCC’s notice of inquiry asking how AI can fight robocalls, as well as potential risks from the technology, saw a few changes over the draft (see 2311150042). The FCC approved the NOI 5-0 Wednesday and released the final version Thursday. Comments are due Dec. 18, replies Jan. 16. Among the changes, the NOI now mentions the administration’s AI executive order (see 2310300056), released after the draft circulated. The FCC added a series of questions in a new paragraph. “What other steps can we take to identify the root causes of AI-driven robocall or robotext scams?” the NOI now asks: “Should we solicit information from industry regarding the type of AI technologies used in particular scams, either on a regular basis or in connection with investigations? Should we inquire as to whether the AI technology used was developed for general legal uses, and misused, or whether it was purpose-built for unlawful applications? If the AI technology was developed for general use, were there safeguards in place to ensure it was not misused? If so, how were they disabled?” The NOI also now asks, “How best can we share the information that we gather about fraudulent uses of AI within our purview with our sister agencies, who are charged with addressing malicious uses of AI in other contexts?” Commissioner Geoffrey Starks indicated Wednesday he asked for those changes. The NOI includes statements from Starks and Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

The FCC’s August public notice on spectrum access in tribal and native Hawaiian areas is part of the agency’s broader focus on closing the digital divide, Wireless Bureau Deputy Chief Susan Mort said during an FCC webinar Thursday. Mort said she realized timing was tight on responding to the notice, with comments due Nov. 30 (see 2308040039). “To assess current and future policy efforts in furtherance of this goal, we kind of need to know what the current lay of the land is,” she said. The FCC collects some information through its licensing forms but wants to improve its understanding of how tribes may be accessing spectrum, including through leasing or by using unlicensed or lightly licensed bands, she said. “We do not currently have specific, granular answers that help us … to better identify and/or track tribal or native applications,” she said. Once the FCC decides what categories it might be able to add to licensing forms, “then there are both legal and technical steps that we must undertake,” Mort said. Clearance is faster if the FCC adds to existing questions rather than posing completely new questions, she said. “We do have to run those traps,” she said: “We’d like to move … forward as quickly as we can." No comments were filed so far in the docket on the inquiry, 23-265. “We want to be as comprehensive as we can be without being confusing,” Mort said.

Carriers are upgrading networks to virtual and open radio access networks, reflecting a gradual evolution, speakers said Thursday during an Informa Tech webinar. But Dell’Oro Group warned that North American investments in the RAN remain on a downward trend, with no uptick in sight.

FCC commissioners approved an open-ended notice of inquiry Wednesday that asked how AI can fight robocalls, as well as potential risks from the technology. Commissioners also approved an order providing survivors of domestic violence with safe and affordable access to communications and an order and Further NPRM protecting consumers from SIM swapping and port-out fraud. None of the items was controversial and all were approved 5-0.

Verizon is satisfied with its progress on fixed wireless access after adding 384,000 FWA customers in Q3, Chief Financial Officer Tony Skiadas said at a Morgan Stanley financial conference Wednesday. “It's very simple -- you plug it in and go,” he said: “There's no install. … It resonates with customers and it's very simple to use, and that's been the goal with this.” Skiadas said Verizon is now able to deploy all the licenses it purchased in the C-band auction, providing some 160 MHz of spectrum across the U.S. “Our C-band is rolled out to ... a little more than half of our cellsites,” he said. “We're very pleased with the progress thus far of the build, but we still have more to do.”

The U.S. is handicapped headed into the World Radiocommunication Conference next week since it proposes only two bands for future studies, 3.1-3.3 and 13 GHz, while China has positions on all five bands proposed for study for international mobile telecommunications, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and other speakers said during an Atlantic Council webinar Wednesday. The WRC starts Monday in Dubai. Among the bands targeted by China for IMT is 6 GHz, where the U.S. is promoting an agreement supporting unlicensed use of the band (see 2310270047).

Despite a slow start, open radio access networks are starting to build momentum, including in the U.S., speakers said Tuesday during an Informa Tech webinar. Getting the timing right will be difficult but “the commitment is there from large operators” to move to open networks, said Gabriel Brown, senior principal analyst-mobile networks & 5G at Heavy Reading. Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and other big European operators are committed to ORAN, he said. In the U.S., ORAN has gone “a little slower than some anticipated” but U.S. carriers are “pioneering” virtual RAN and cloud RAN, he said. Brown also noted Dish Network’s deployment of ORAN technology in its network build. “We’re starting to see it pick up in other regions,” he said. Japan’s Docomo is probably the biggest incumbent so far, he said. Vodafone had its first ORAN deployment in 2019 in the U.K., said Lucia De Miguel Albertos, senior ORAN manager. ORAN requires “continuous work,” she said. “It takes months of efforts, even years … to have a good performance,” she said. Vodafone decided as part of its ORAN program that it had to serve as its own system integrator, Albertos said. In the U.K., Vodafone started its deployment using Samsung as system integrator but plans to take on those responsibilities if all goes as planned, she said. ORAN “is no longer a concept. We have seen it being deployed commercially by many” major carriers “across the globe,” said Prakash Desai, senior director-product management at ORAN company Wind River. The network performance metrics operators are seeing are “at par or better, in some cases, than traditional networks,” he said. Work remains on ORAN standardization, including on the RAN intelligent controller, data operation, automation and accelerating apps, he said. “Interoperability is always complex,” he said. “What is needed now is scale -- more and more tier-one [operators] to jump on the bandwagon and say, ‘Yes, we can do it,’” Desai said. Wind River has worked with Verizon to deploy more than 30,000 virtual nodes carrying network traffic, he said. Verizon’s 5G network covers the New York metro area “and there cannot be a more dense urban network than New York City,” he said: Virtualized nodes have been deployed there and working for more than two years.

CTA offered its updated take on the FCC’s proposed cybersecurity labeling program for smart devices, in reply comments posted Tuesday in docket 23-239. Most replies were posted Monday (see 2311130034). CTA and other groups said last week the program should be voluntary and based on existing National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance (see 2311090033). “The task now falls to the Commission to establish this Program to support efficient procedures for use of the Mark, apply rules consistently and equitably across program participants, and enable the Program to evolve over time,” CTA said. The group called on the FCC to “embrace opportunities to minimize administrative burdens and other participation costs while promoting public trust in the Mark.” The commission “must establish a process for self-attestation, streamline the review and renewal process for devices bearing the Mark, and leverage modern industry practices like e-labeling and other technology solutions,” CTA said. NCTA said most comments agree with its arguments that “the Program’s benefits and ultimate success are more likely to be realized if the technical security criteria for the Cyber Trust Mark are based on existing guidance that NIST has developed through robust engagement with diverse technology and security experts.” Building the program on “NIST’s already-established definition of ‘IoT device’ would maintain a consistent federal approach to IoT security baseline requirements, while also providing a clear vehicle for the Commission to identify and address updates over time,” NCTA said. The Connectivity Standards Alliance noted commenters disagreed on definitions and whether the FCC should certify IoT products or devices. The comments supporting certification of products “for the most part fail to squarely address or recommend a currently available framework for meeting the challenges associated with that approach,” the Alliance said: “The Alliance reiterates its recommendation to launch the Program with an immediately implementable focus on consumer IoT devices, and build from there.”

The FCC’s 2022 order further clamping down on gear from Chinese companies, preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment in the U.S. (see 2211230065), was years in the making and reflected long-term concerns of Congress and the FCC, speakers said Tuesday during an FCBA webinar.

The Biden administration released its long-awaited national spectrum strategy and a presidential memorandum on modernizing U.S. spectrum policy at a White House ceremony Monday. The plan identifies the 3.1-3.45, 5.03-5.091, 7.125-8.4, 18.1-18.6 and 37.0-37.6 GHz bands for further study by NTIA over the next two years for potential repurposing (see 2311130007). But the plan omits other bands thought to be in the federal cross-hairs. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr slammed the strategy.