The wireless industry needs to cut its own power consumption but can also help other industries become more energy efficient, speakers said Wednesday at the Brooklyn 6G Virtual Summit. Speakers warned that the rapid growth expected as industry moves to 6G will complicate efforts to reduce energy use.
Howard Buskirk
Howard Buskirk, Executive Senior Editor, joined Warren Communications News in 2004, after covering Capitol Hill for Telecommunications Reports. He has covered Washington since 1993 and was formerly executive editor at Energy Business Watch, editor at Gas Daily and managing editor at Natural Gas Week. Previous to that, he was a staff reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Greenville News. Follow Buskirk on Twitter: @hbuskirk
T-Mobile will finish moving all Sprint customers to the T-Mobile network over the next few months and plans to “decommission substantially all” Sprint sites by year-end, executives said Wednesday as the carrier reported Q1 results. T-Mobile continues its strong growth, with 589,000 postpaid phone net adds and 1.3 million postpaid net customer adds. T-Mobile shares closed 3.9% higher Wednesday at $129.84.
The ITU has switched to mostly in-person meetings for its study groups and working sessions as final preparations are underway for the World Radiocommunications Conference next year, said Mario Maniewicz, director of the ITU-Radiocommunications Bureau, at the Asia-Pacific Spectrum Management Conference Tuesday. The conference itself was hybrid, with some speakers participating live in Bangkok and others, like Maniewicz, participating virtually.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision a year ago in Facebook v. Duguid, Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits continue to be filed, lawyers told us, though at a lower rate than before the court acted. A year ago, a unanimous court sided with Facebook (see 2104010063), favoring a narrow definition of what constitutes an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS). Lawyers also warned that some states, led by Florida, are engaging and that some litigation is shifting to the states.
Verizon’s stock closed Friday at $51.91, down 5.64%, after management lowered guidance slightly for full-year 2022 as the company released Q1 results. CEO Hans Vestberg said the company’s 5G build is going well, as is its deployment using C-band spectrum. Verizon predicted adjusted earnings will be at the low end of prior guidance of 2% to 3% growth, and revenue will grow at the lower end of its 9% to 10% forecast.
Changes from the drafts of a notice of inquiry on receiver performance and a Further NPRM on wireless emergency alerts appear to follow changes highlighted by FCC staff Thursday, based on side-by-side comparisons. Both were approved 4-0 and were listed in Friday’s Daily Digest. The NOI had more changes, focused on promoting innovation (see 2204210049). The final version uses the word innovation 48 times, compared with 38 in the draft. In one change, a question on how the FCC could “assess voluntary approaches in the context of innovation and the marketplace” now includes the words “and which approaches would be most or least effective when it comes to facilitating innovation while promoting improved receiver performance.” The FNPRM now asks how various approaches on receivers “might affect innovation in spectrum utilization.” The FCC asks: “How might these measures affect the development and costs and benefits of innovation associated with new wireless use cases? Compared to the Commission’s approach to receiver performance to date, how might any of the approaches … potentially serve to promote innovation in spectrum use, including not only in receiver but in transmitter design and performance as well?” The final version also raises new public safety and national security concerns. “Would improvements in receiver interference immunity performance (e.g., selectivity to reject unwanted emissions) enhance the ability of receivers to reject jamming and spoofing attempts?” it asks: “How might the Commission best consider the trade-offs concerning potentially affected stakeholders?” The FNPRM also adds a paragraph on the life cycle of devices. “Should receivers that may meet a standard when they are deployed be upgraded or replaced in the future to merit interference protection under the Commission’s rules if new receiver standards are developed that provide increased interference immunity?” it asks: “We note that different systems have different expected lifecycles. We request comment on whether the Commission should consider a specified time frame from the date a receiver was deployed after which it should be expected to meet newer standards.” The biggest change to the FNPRM from the draft addresses questions raised by CTIA on the technical feasibility of new requirements in light of current cell-broadcast technology, as officials indicated Thursday (see 2204210050). “If it is not feasible for Participating CMS [commercial mobile service] Providers to collect this information from WEA networks and devices as currently designed, then what network or device firmware or software changes would be needed for Participating CMS Providers to comply with the proposed reporting requirements?” the FNPRM asks: “How much time would be necessary to complete these steps?” The FNPRM also updates numbers, noting that as of April 7 “639 emergency management agencies across the nation have issued 62,819 WEA alerts,” compared with 619 agencies and 61,764 alerts tabulated earlier.
The FCC approved 4-0 a notice of inquiry asking questions about standards for receivers. As expected (see 2204190053), the main change from what Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated were questions on encouraging innovation for both receivers and transmitters, added at Commissioner Geoffrey Starks' request. Commissioner Nathan Simington has made the issue one of his top focuses since he joined the FCC.
FCC commissioners indicated support for potentially imposing reporting requirements on carriers, as they approved a Further NPRM seeking comment on improving wireless emergency alerts 4-0 Thursday. CTIA has already expressed concerns over mandates in what has been a voluntary program (see 2204140046). The FCC also released a public notice on partnerships with local emergency agencies to gather data on how WEA is performing at the local level.
Two weeks after finalizing the WarnerMedia deal with Discovery, AT&T reported mixed Q1 results Thursday, though executives said they’re still on track in the “back half” of the year to start deploying 5G using the 3.45 GHz and C-band licenses bought in recent auctions (see 2201260055). AT&T is following a different strategy from Verizon, which is several months into its C-band build.
5G deployment is accelerating worldwide, but COVID-19 pandemic challenges still loom, experts said Wednesday during an RCR Wireless webinar. 5G has hit the “scaling to volume phase,” with 2 billion connections expected by 2025, said Sebastien Prieur, group manager-5G transport and RF at Exfo, a testing and analytics company