Mobile wireless providers are at a “crucial moment,” as 5G launches worldwide, said Jakub Zagdanski, senior economist at GSMA Intelligence, during a Thursday Mobile World Live webinar. “We are kind of rooting the 5G networks and there are many key decisions that need to be made before they are fully grown,” he said. GSMA recently surveyed carriers and found their primary goals are to generate new revenue streams and improve customer experience, he said. “It’s about … retaining customers -- providing the best experiences in order to maximize the revenues,” he said. GSMA’s research underscores the importance of high quality service, rather than focusing on savings, he said. The leading demand of customers is a stable, resilient network, Zagdanski said. Most customers are willing to switch providers if they’re not satisfied and 58% of mobile customers in the U.K. switched in the past five years, GSMA found. “Most of the reasons were quite reactive -- what that means is essentially one single bad experience was potentially the reason that many of the customers started seeking another provider,” he said.

AT&T said Thursday it will offer the Franklin A50 5G mobile hot spot starting Friday, which provides connections for up to 20 devices. Customers can buy the hot spot for $209.99, or via installment plan. AT&T also said it’s offering two new DataConnect plans -- 50 GB for $55/month and 100 GB for $90, after discounts.

Federated Wireless representatives spoke with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau on “the successes” of the citizens broadband radio service band’s spectrum sharing model and the implications for 4.9 GHz, the topic of a recent order and Further NPRM (see 2301180062). Federated discussed “the similarities between the proposed 4.9 GHz Band Manager responsibilities and the activities Federated Wireless performs in our role as a CBRS Spectrum Access System administrator,” said a Wednesday filing in docket 07-100. Similarities include “frequency coordination and protection of incumbent operations; design and implementation of private 5G wireless networks for diverse commercial and public sector use cases; and management of a streamlined secondary market for CBRS Priority Access License leases,” Federated said. The CBRS band has “strong momentum” with more than 312,000 base stations deployed nationwide “in only 3 years,” the company said.

Verizon engineers demonstrated the ability to upload files at 1.26 Gbps using the company’s 5G ultra-wideband technology, the company said. Verizon said Tuesday the tests used 20 MHz of LTE spectrum and 400 MHz in the 28 GHz band. The carrier has hit download speeds of up to 4.3 Gbps.

T-Mobile expanded its participation in the FCC’s affordable connectivity program to seven more states, bringing the total number covered to 48, T-Mobile said Wednesday. T-Mobile expanded the program to Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming. Participants get “data, texting, calling and mobile hotspot data on Assurance Wireless’ plans" via T-Mobile's network and a free Android smartphone for new customers, the carrier said.

Comments are due March 9, replies April 10, on an FCC NPRM on the use of the 5030-5091 MHz band by drones, said a Tuesday Federal Register notice. The NPRM, released in January, also asks about other spectrum use by drones (see 2301040046).

Apple representatives urged the FCC to act on rules allowing very-low power (VLP) mobile applications in the 6 GHz band, in a meeting with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Apple said it recently did a Monte Carlo analysis of interference risks to incumbent links in the band in Houston. “The clear conclusion” was “VLP worst-case scenarios are extremely rare and do not pose a significant risk to microwave links.” While the FCC’s 2020 6 GHz order “opened the band for fixed service, Apple views the highly-sought mobility of VLP as essential to meeting consumer demand,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 18-295. Apple noted other nations already permit VLP use “because of the recognition that there is no real-world risk to incumbent microwave links.”

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted a stay Monday on a League of California Cities challenge of the FCC’s June 2020 wireless infrastructure declaratory ruling. The court granted parties’ joint motion (see 2301300035). The court schedule says the FCC’s brief will be due March 1. Intervenors supporting the agency must file by March 8, cities’ reply briefs are due March 31 and petitioner-side intervenors April 7 (case 20-71765).

Improving receiver performance is critical to more efficient use of spectrum, 5G Americas said in a paper released Tuesday. The group said it opposes “heavy-handed” regulation. “Efficient use of spectrum requires radio transmitters and receivers that function properly to cater to ever-growing demand for network capacity,” the group said. The paper responds to an FCC notice of inquiry, approved 4-0 by commissioners last year (see 2204210049). “Regulators should rely upon established industry voluntary standards, particularly where market forces already incentivize the efficient use of spectrum, as in the commercial wireless market,” the paper advises: “Different approaches to improving receiver performance will be based on the particular circumstance of a given band or service. No ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is possible.” The FCC should consider receiver performance in a band and adjacent bands before allocating spectrum, 5G Americas said.

An FCC order approved in November clamping down on the sale of gear from companies on the agency's "Covered List" in the U.S. (see 2211230065) takes effect immediately, said a Monday notice in the Federal Register. The order is intended to “further secure our communications networks and supply chain from equipment that poses an unacceptable risk to national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons,” the notice said.