On May 10, 2024, the Ministry of Communications and Media (MIC) of Vietnam issued a circular numbered 04/2024/TT-BTTTT to adjust the frequency band planning of mobile communication systems. The announcement is about the deployment of the 880-915 MHz and 925-960 MHz frequency bands for IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems in Vietnam, and will take effect on June 24, 2024.

The circular aims to standardize the deployment of IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020 and future standards in Vietnam to ensure the efficient use of wireless frequencies.

Click on this link to view the original text of Circular No. 04/2024/TT-BTTTT.

On May 9, 2024, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) of the Philippines issued a notice of public hearing on the proposed memorandum notice regarding the "Amendment to Section 2 of Memorandum Notice 03-05-2007" to add the frequency band 5925-6425MHz for Wi-Fi 6 networks. The public hearing will be held on May 23, 2024. For the Wi-Fi 6E band, it will be divided into two scenarios: indoor and outdoor, where the allowable power is 250 mW (24 dBm) indoors and 25 mW (14 dBm) outdoors.

Click this link to view the original public consultation.

On 7 May 2024, the European Commission published a Notice of Guidance for the Interpretation of the Common Charger Directive in the Official Journal of the European Union to assist in the interpretation and implementation of Directive (EU) 2022/2380. In the form of a Q&A, the guide answers some of the most frequently asked questions about the Common Charger Directive with a total of 51 questions, such as whether it only applies to rechargeable devices; whether products that only support wireless charging can be exempted; whether products that only support DC charging (without AC/DC adapters) can be exempted; whether products with a maximum power of more than 240W can be exempted; whether the regulations cover USB cables, etc.

Click on this link to view the original Common Charger Directive Interpretation Guide.

On May 5, 2024, GCF released GCF-CC 3.93.0. The changes in the test bands are as follows:

• Deleted frequency bands: None;
• New frequency bands: CA_3A-20A+3A-20A, CA_3A-7A+3A-7A, CA_7A-20A+7A-20A, CA_20A-32A, CA_3A-32A, CA_20A-32A_RX4, CA_3A-32A_RX4, DC_1A_n41A, DC_41A_n77A, DC_21A_n257G, DC_3A_n257G, DC_18A_ n257I、DC_1A_n78C、DC_3A_n78C、DC_5A_n78C、DC_19A_n78(2A)、DC_21A_n78(2A)、DC_13A-66A_n77A、DC_2A-13A_n77A、DC_2A-66A_n77A、DC_13A-66A_n2A、CA_DL_n1A-n28A、CA_DL_n28A-n77A、CA_DL_ n3A-n77A、CA_UL_n28A-n77A、CA_UL_n3A-n77A、CA_UL_n1A-n3A、CA_UL_n3A-n78A、CA_UL_n28A-n78A、CA_DL_n1A-n3A-n28A。

GCF-CC 3.93.0 will be effective from May 5, 2024, will be mandatory since August 13, 2024 (when GCF-CC 3.92.0 will expire at Aug 12, 2024) and valid until November 11, 2024.

The European Commission launched a public consultation on the operation of Regulation (EU) 1025/2012 on 2 May 2024. They are important for identifying deficiencies in existing legislation and for developing the European standardization system in the future. Consulting stakeholders will provide valuable information for the assessment.

Click this link to check the original public consultation,  and the consultation is open until 25 July 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 Ministry of Communications and Media (MIC) of Vietnam issued a circular numbered 03/2024/TT-BTTTT to adjust the frequency band planning of mobile communication systems. The announcement is about Vietnam's deployment plan for IMT public terrestrial mobile communication systems in the frequency bands 1710-1785 MHz and 1805-1880 MHz, which has come into effect on June 10, 2024.

The circular aims to standardize the deployment of IMT-2000, IMT-Advanced, IMT-2020 and future standards in Viet Nam to ensure the efficient use of wireless frequencies.

Click on this link to view the original text of Circular No. 03/2024/TT-BTTTT.

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 29, 2024, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (MSIT) of the Republic of Korea issued Draft Announcement No. 2024-0479 to solicit public comments on the draft amendments to the Circular No. 2016-89 for Exemption from Licensing Equipment.

The proposed amendments relate to Article 7 of Announcement 2016-89, which requires an increase in the occupied bandwidth of certain low-power wireless devices for wireless access systems, including wireless LANs in the 6GHz band. For the frequency bands 5925~6425MHz, 5925~7125MHz, and 5925~6425MHz, it is recommended to increase the occupied bandwidth below 160MHz to below 320MHz.

Click this link to check the original public consultation and the consultation is open until 20 May 2024.

On April 25, 2024, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam issued an announcement and a draft technical regulation QCVN 134:2024/BTTTT to introduce SAR requirements for mobile phones. The draft technical regulations specify limits and methods for measuring the specific absorption rate (SAR) of mobile phones. The regulations will apply to entities engaged in the manufacture, import, trade and operation of mobile phones in Vietnam. Technical regulations ensure that products meet safety requirements and specify SAR test procedures, including fast SAR test methods.

Comments are open until 25 June 2024. In accordance with Article 2 of the announcement, it is expected that the technical regulation will enter into force on July 1, 2025, if subsequent announcements are adopted and officially published. Click on  this link to view the original announcement and draft regulations.