The FCC Wireline Bureau reminded recipients of rip and replace funding they have until Oct. 13 to file initial status updates. The final rule was effective Friday, said that day's Federal Register notice. “Updates must inform the Commission about the work of the Recipient to permanently remove, replace, and dispose of the covered communications equipment or services, which for the purposes of the Reimbursement Program means all communications equipment or services produced or provided by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation and obtained on or before June 30, 2020,” the notice said.

DirecTV representatives detailed the company's study of interference risks from 5G use of the 12 GHz band (see 2207180026), in a video call with staffers from the FCC Wireless and International bureaus, Office of Engineering and Technology and Office of Economic Analysis, per a docket 20-443 filing Friday. The record shows that without artificial geographic separation, DirecTV receivers would see "significant and widespread interference" from introduction of such a service, the company said.

GSMA announced Thursday the formation of the GSMA Post-Quantum Telco Network Taskforce, with IBM and Vodafone signing on as the initial members. “Unlike today’s computers that rely on bits for calculation, quantum computers harness the exponential power of quantum bits,” GSMA said: “This can be a complicated, simultaneous mix of 1s and 0s, creating the potential to solve extremely complex problems that challenge even the most powerful supercomputers today.” The task force will “help define requirements, identify dependencies and create the roadmap to implement quantum-safe networking, mitigating the risks associated with future, more-powerful quantum computers,” GSMA said.

T-Mobile unveiled a 5G Advanced Network Solutions suite of products aimed at smart retail, cities and manufacturing. “We are on the precipice of billions of AI-powered devices, all connected by 5G with efficient application processors, all converging to provide intelligent data-driven insights,” said Callie Field, president of T-Mobile Business Group, Wednesday: “Technologies are pushing the limits of most companies’ IT organizations. That’s why we’ve been working closely with many of these organizations to develop specific solutions that address their unique challenges.”

The new iPhone 14 includes technology that would have cost more than $100 million to offer in 1991, American Enterprise Institute fellow Bret Swanson blogged Wednesday, noting the rate of technological advance. “The highest-end model includes one terabyte of digital storage, which is 63 times more than the original iPhone, launched in 2007, and which alone would have cost around $45 million in 1991,” the economist said: “Add in the A16 processor, the 5G modem, including new millimeter wave capabilities of up to 500 megabits per second, an amazing graphics processor, and four cameras totaling 84 megapixels, and you’ve got a device that would have cost at least $101 million to build in 1991.”

A new CTIA-funded study by Accenture said the U.S. wireless industry has access to only 5% of lower mid-band spectrum, while unlicensed spectrum users have access to seven times as much, government users 12 times. The study proposes three bands for licensed use. The 3.1-3.45 GHz band “offers reliable coverage and adequate range of coverage, making it ideal for 5G data traffic,” the study said: “This band is adjacent to the recently auctioned 3.45 GHz band, which would help drive lower costs for device manufacturers when developing products for a wider contiguous band,” the study said. The 4.4-4.94 GHz band “has been allocated to wireless carriers in many other nations, meaning a similar allocation in the U.S. would support international harmonization efforts yielding cost benefits,” Accenture advised: “The 7 to 8.4 GHz range is a significant block of higher frequency contiguous spectrum. The capacity characteristics of this range make it ideal for serving densely populated areas such as urban centers, where traffic requirements are greater.”

New Street’s Blair Levin fired back at former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly for his criticism of the 2010 national broadband plan (see 2209260048). Levin managed creation of the plan. “I’m not surprised that the former Commissioner did not read the Plan, but fortunately others did,” Levin said: “These include Congress (which used the analysis and ideas regarding the incentive auction and FirstNet as the basis for the only communications legislation it has passed since the 1996 Act), the Administration (which used it as the basis for its 2010 and 2013 Spectrum Executive Orders), PCAST [the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology] (which brilliantly built on ideas in the Plan for detailing a new sharing regime), the FCC itself (which not only executed on the Congressional and Administration directives but also built on the Plan’s recommendations for various needed reforms for universal service), as well as industry (with Comcast’s Internet Essentials and Google Fiber being two initiatives that emerged from the planning process),” Levin emailed Tuesday: “I would be the first to acknowledge that 12 years after its publication, some of the analysis of the Plan, like the analysis of some former Commissioners, has become irrelevant.” O'Rielly declined comment.

Incumbent users of the 6 GHz band asked the FCC to work with a new 15,500 Wi-Fi 6E access point network at the University of Michigan to do real world tests of the Wi-Fi standard, which incorporates the 6 GHz band. “The current unlicensed 6 GHz rules relied almost exclusively upon simulations and data provided by CableLabs -- measurements based on devices using the Wi-Fi 5 standard or older standards, as the Wi-Fi 6 standard for high speed and wider bandwidths was not certified until September 2019,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-295: “Unlicensed proponents’ own data demonstrate that since 2018, when those measurements were taken, wireless data rates have increased three-fold and the density of Wi-Fi access points has increased four-fold.” The filing was signed by the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute, the American Public Power Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Enterprise Wireless Alliance.

NextWave, a private network service provider, said Monday it’s launching wide-area 2.5 GHz network services in the New York metro area, which it will offer to companies building private networks. NextWave said it’s the biggest holder of 2.5 GHz licenses other than T-Mobile. The phase I network deployment covers much of Manhattan and the immediately surrounding boroughs, while “Phase II deployments will cover the entire New York metro area of approximately 15 million people by early 2023,” the company said. “While the private networking era is clearly here, industrial and enterprise users still must cope with both limited ecosystems and limited network coverage,” said CEO Frank Cassou: “Unlike other private networking options, the NextWave solution provides both wide-area coverage and the ability to utilize popular smartphones and other widely available mobile broadband devices.” NextWave said it plans launches in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia by early next year. The spectrum would have been well-suited for T-Mobile, LightShed’s Walter Piecyk told investors. “We estimated T-Mobile should pay upwards of $2.5 billion for this asset, but T-Mobile has likely dug in its heels on price negotiations,” he said: “The new wrinkle is that NextWave is now putting this critical wireless asset to use, perhaps putting it out of T-Mobile’s reach for good. … T-Mobile will now have to hope that NextWave’s new network does not gain traction or that another buyer does not emerge.”

CommScope met with acting Chief Ron Repasi and other staff of the FCC Office of Engineering about the company's plan for geolocation of standard power access points in the 6 GHz band, said a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. CommScope said it also discussed automated frequency control testing and certification.