Dish Network “is a factor now” in the competitive wireless space “with millions of customers,” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert told a UBS investors conference Monday. Dish has a “fantastic” arrangement with mobile virtual network operators, he said. “At some point, they'll start releasing their own network” for 5G, said Sievert, “and we take them at face value on that. We've always assumed that in our forecast.” Dish didn’t comment Tuesday. Chairman Charlie Ergen said last month that “we’ll get our fair share” as the “fourth player” in the wireless market (see 2111040048). The T-Mobile CEO thinks “it's really neat to see how people are responding” to 5G, he said. About 30% of T-Mobile customers own 5G smartphones, he said. Those who subscribe to T-Mobile’s Magenta Max premium unlimited 5G data plan are doing “8X more gaming than people on LTE,” plus “many more times of video consumption,” he said.

Opening the E band to high altitude platform systems (HAPS) generated clashing viewpoints in docket 20-133 comments Friday. HAPS, point-to-point links in motion and fixed satellite service gateway access to the 70/80/90 GHz bands help in the broader goal of allowing more innovative wireless internet services, Public Knowledge and Open Technology Institute at New America said. They said existing database coordination in the band means the benefits of accommodating the services outweigh any downsides, and database-coordinated sharing is feasible. HAPS startup Sceye said it needs E-band backhaul connectivity to a limited number of ground stations, with that small number meaning the odds of interference with other terrestrial E-band operators are quite low. HAPS and similar services have "little documented interest ... and, unlike 5G, no deployment," T-Mobile said, arguing there's no reason to change FCC rules to accommodate HAPS. Given the importance of the 70/80/90 GHz bands to wireless backhaul and site connectivity, the FCC's chief priority should be to modify its technical rules governing them to better support wireless backhaul, T-Mobile said. Nokia said the band's fixed service rules need "modest changes" to allow deployment of smaller backhaul antennas for 5G deployments in areas without fiber to potential base stations. Such an update could be done separately from HAPS-related decisions, it said. Microwave communications company Geneva Communications said an update of E-band rules such as a required filing of a construction certification with the millimeter wave database manager when a link is placed in operation is a higher priority than opening the band to new potential uses like HAPS. That registration requirement, along with a penalty, would deter false certifications, Geneva said. SpaceX urged a single licensing and link registration process for fixed links, ground-to-air links, fixed satellite service gateways and other directional "pencil beam" antennas in the 70/80 GHz bands. Qualcomm said there also should be E-band access for 5G-based private networks, industrial IoT and smart manufacturing applications indoors, and 5G backhaul and mobile services outdoors. All those uses could operate on a co-primary licensed basis without causing harmful interference, it said. If the FCC doesn't authorize outdoor terrestrial mobile operations in the band in its upcoming order, it should put out a Further NPRM proposing flexible use operations with a concurrent order allowing better backhaul operations, indoor operations licensed-by-rule and air-to-ground operations in the band.

Wi-Fi 6 orders went “through the roof” in Q3, but supply constraints hampered wireless LAN sales in the quarter, reported the Dell'Oro Group Thursday. “The appetite for the shiny new technology clearly has shifted en masse to Wi-Fi 6,” said the company. It estimates supply chain woes impeded the ability of U.S.-based manufacturers to ship product for three to six months.

PSSI Global Services' July docket 20-205 request for a change to the C-band clearing relocation cost catalog came nearly 10 months after the proper deadline, the FCC Wireless Bureau said Wednesday, ordering the petition for reconsideration dismissed as untimely. It noted the processes by which PSSI can still submit a claim for equipment it believes is reasonable and necessary for the transition. PSSI didn't comment.

Fourteen companies or organizations are seeking FCC certification to be an automated frequency coordination (AFC) system operator in the 6 GHz band, per docket 21-352 filings this week. Applications were due Tuesday (see 2109290040). Some applicants touted what they said was pertinent experience. Key Bridge Wireless said it has provided flexible dynamic spectrum access services in the VHF and UHF television bands and worked as a TV band white space administrator. Amdocs cited its 3.5 GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum access system, and Plume Design referenced its software-as-a-service experience platform for communications service providers. Citing its work as a spectrum access system administrator for the 3.5 Ghz band, Sony said it has "a comprehensive understanding of the technical and operational requirements for managing wireless spectrum access" and it has sufficient funds and access to capital to develop and operate the proposed AFC system for the anticipated five years. Federated Wireless said its work since 2018 in developing an AFC system to allow Wi-Fi and 5G New Radio Unlicensed deployments in the 6 Ghz band means becoming an AFC system operator would be "a natural extension." Other applicants are Nokia, Qualcomm, the Wi-FI Alliance, CableLabs subsidiary Kyrio, the Wireless Broadband Alliance, Red Technologies, Google, Comsearch and Broadcom.

Energous’ 10W WattUp PowerHub received FCC Part 18 equipment authorization for 10W of conducted wireless power transfer, said the wireless charging company Wednesday. The approval nearly doubles the amount of power that can be transmitted wirelessly in the U.S. and “opens potential new opportunities for the wireless charging of billions of IoT devices across emerging consumer, retail and industrial markets,” said acting CEO Cesar Johnston.

Revenue generated from 5G services will reach $600 billion globally by 2026, representing 77% of global operator-billed volume, says a Juniper Research report being released Tuesday. Adoption of 5G services in consumer and IoT sectors is being driven by a strong uptake of 5G-capable devices, “coupled with attractive 5G subscription pricing models, despite the semiconductor crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” it says. Multi-device subscriptions will be key to maximizing 5G revenue growth the next five years, says Juniper: “As geographical 5G coverage expands, operators will capitalise on revenue streams beyond smartphones.” There will emerge an opportunity for “bundling multiple device subscriptions under a single recurring payment to enable operators to benefit from connectivity revenue from other consumer devices,” says the report.

Dish Network wants join the ranks of eligible telecommunications carriers in the 10 states and the District of Columbia that have disclaimed jurisdiction over ETC designations for commercial mobile radio service providers. In an FCC docket 09-197 petition Monday, Dish said it qualifies as a provider of common carrier service that will provide service throughout its designated service area and will remain functional during emergencies. It said being an ETC would let its current emergency broadband benefit subscribers access funds under Lifeline and the EBB successor affordable connectivity program and help Dish in pursuing broadband infrastructure funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Wi-Fi 6 will reach more than 1.5 billion chipset shipments in 2022, said ABI Research, with Wi-Fi 6E component shipments to nearly triple shipments from this year. Ultra-wideband devices are expected to reach nearly 500,000 units as adoption rises in smartphones, wearables, speakers and personal trackers, said the research firm. Wi-Fi 6 grew in 2021 on adoption in smartphones from Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, while growing availability of mobile Wi-Fi 6E chipsets and platforms from chipset vendors Qualcomm, Broadcom and MediaTek will accelerate the transition to 6-GHz capable devices, it said. Tablets and PCs are also transitioning to Wi-Fi 6 and 6E technology, it said.

Global revenue from SMS firewalls is projected to reach $4.1 billion in 2026, rising from $911 million in 2021 and representing “absolute growth” of roughly 350%, reported Juniper Research. It defines this as third-party solutions that reside within wireless networks, enabling real-time monitoring of network traffic to enhance capabilities of blocking fraud. Failure to adopt SMS firewalls can leave service operators vulnerable to diminished revenue from business messaging, “as fraudsters mask business messaging traffic to avoid termination fees,” it said Tuesday. Juniper projects that the volume of business messaging traffic monitored by SMS firewalls will increase from 3.1 trillion transactions in 2021 to 4.4 trillion in 2026.