On November 13, 2024, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially published the regulation numbered 257122 on the Federal Register website, with an effective date of December 13, 2024. The regulations specify the following requirements for 100% HAC compliance:

• By December 14, 2026, from the perspective of standard, newly certified and modified products must comply with existing HAC2019 standards. The HAC ratio requirement is still 85%;
• After December 14, 2026, the product shall:
  • should meet the volume control requirements;
  • Should comply with acoustic coupling requirements (RF emission);
  • It shall meet the T-Coil coupling requirements or Bluetooth coupling requirements, of which the T-Coil coupling requirements shall not be less than 85%, and the rest shall meet the Bluetooth coupling requirements;
• From December 14, 2026 to December 12, 2028, Bluetooth coupling can be a proprietary or universal Bluetooth protocol; After December 12, 2028, only low-power-based universal Bluetooth protocols can be used.

The regulations have indefinitely postponed the requirements for new QR code labels and the filling requirements for FORM855.

Click this link to view the original text of the regulations on 100% HAC on the federal release website.

On October 18, 2024, the FCC issued a report and order numbered FCC 24-112, following the release of FCC 23-106 by the FCC on January 26, 2024, regarding the 100% compliance of handsets with HAC requirements. The regulation requires all mobile phones to be compatible with hearing aids, requiring 100% of mobile phones to support acoustic coupling; 100% of mobile phones are required to support inductive coupling or Bluetooth coupling, of which the inductive coupling ratio is not less than 85%, and the Bluetooth coupling ratio is not less than 15%. The regulations put forward specific requirements for manufacturers/service providers to maintain mobile phone HAC certification information (including FCC ID, corresponding ANSI standards, etc.) on their websites. The regulations also update the content of the FORM855.

The regulation is not currently available on the Federal Register website and will normally go into effect 30 days after publication on Federal Register.

Click this link to view document FCC 24-112.

On August 29, 2024, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a report and order allowing drones to operate in the 5030-5091 MHz band. These new regulations will ensure the safe control of unmanned aerial vehicle systems (UAS) flights.

Click on this link to view the original text.

On October 4, 2024, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a press release with new rulemaking recommendations to expand the operating frequency bands for 6 GHz ultra-low-power devices (VLP devices). The proposed reports and orders will allow VLP devices to operate in the U-NII-6 (6.425-6.525 GHz) and U-NII-6 (6.875-7.125 GHz) bands in the 6 GHz band, opening up more possibilities for innovation in these technologies. VLP is allowed to operate in the U–NII–5 (5925–6425 MHz) and U–NII–7 (6525–6875 MHz) bands in the final regulation for FCC 23-86 published January,8th 2024. Therefore the fcc's proposal will open up full Wi-Fi 6e band to VLP devices.

Click this link to view the original FCC press release.

On September 6, 2024, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a Proposed Rule Making Notice (NPRM) on the Federal Release website to facilitate investments in the 3550-3700 MHz band. The NPRM contains an overview of the federal protection regime implemented by the United States National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the FCC, and seeks comments on updates to technology and services rules. The NPRM updates the original definition of exclusion zone, giving the definition of dynamic protected areas (DPAs) and adjacent areas of dynamic protected areas, and clearly requiring that the spectrum management system (SAS) cannot authorize CBSDs to work in exclusion zones, dynamic protected areas and adjacent areas of dynamic protected areas.

Click this link to view the original announcement. Comments are open until 7 October 2024.

On July 5, 2024, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to promote the integrity and security of certification programs for telecommunications certification bodies, measurement facilities, and equipment authorization. The proposed rule is essentially the same as FCC 24-58 document issued by the FCC on May 24.

Click this link to view the original proposed rule, the comment period is valid until 3 September 2024.

On May 2, 2024, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft proposal numbered DOC-402325A1, which was sent to nine partners in the FCC for comments. The draft would prohibit any testing laboratory or certification body (TCB) directly or indirectly owned or controlled by an entity on the Covered List from participating in any work related to the certification of equipment. The proposed rules in the draft would ensure that wireless device authorizations are not affected by any entity that is considered a national security issue. The FCC will discuss this at its May 23 meeting, and if it is approved, it will be posted to the federalregister website for further public comment.

Click this link to view the original draft proposal DOC-402325A1.

On April 30, 2024, the FCC officially published on the Federal Register website the final rule of Supplemental Space Coverage (SCS) regulations numbered 2024-06669, which allows satellite operators to use terrestrial mobile communications spectrum to operate satellites to facilitate the convergence of satellites and terrestrial networks. The new regulations will come into force on May 30, 2024. The new regulations will allow satellite operators to use spectrum such as:

• 600 MHz: 614-652 MHz and 663-698 MHz;
• 700 MHz: 698-769 MHz, 775 MHz-799 MHz, and 805-806 MHz;
• 800 MHz: 824-849 MHz and 869-894 MHz;
• Wideband PCS: 1850-1915 MHz and 1930-1995 MHz;
• AWS-H spectrum block: 1915-1920 MHz and 1995-2000 MHz.

The spectrum allocation above and has some essential changes compared with the draft regulation published in April 2023.

The regulatory announcement also mentions that 911 services will be enhanced through SCS. The FCC simultaneously posted a separate public consultation on April 30 for the way SCS facilitates 911 services, click this link to check the original public consultation.

Click this link to check the original final rule 2024-06669.

On April 4, 2024, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released draft KDB update for U-NII 6 GHz devices for VLP devices that are already permitted. This update involves the following KDBs:

• KDB 987594 D01: "987594 D01 U-NII 6 GHz General Requirement v03" replaces the previous v02r02;
• KDB 987594 D02: "987594 D02 U-NII 6 GHz EMC Survey v03" replaces the previous v02r01;
• KDB 987594 D03: "987594 D03 U-NII 6 GHz QA v03" replaces the previous v02;
• KDB 987594 D04: "987594 D04 UN6GHz PAG Inventory v03" replaces previous v02.

Click on this link to view the original KDB update.

This follows the announcement of the start of testing of the 6 GHz band Automatic Frequency Coordination System on August 24, 2023. A number of applicants conducted laboratory tests and live network trial tests in accordance with the requirements set by the Wi-Fi Alliance. On February 23, 2024, the FCC announced that the applications of Qualcomm, Federated Wireless, Sony, Comsearch, Wi-Fi Alliance, Wireless Broadband Alliance, and Broadcom have been approved for official use in spectrum management at 6 GHz. The commercial use of these systems will facilitate the use of 6GHz standard power devices and fixed terminal equipment.

Click this link to view the original FCC announcement.