The rate of 5G deployments will accelerate over the next five years, reaching 2.6 billion subscriptions globally in 2026, contributing significantly to mobile operator revenue of $942 billion that year, projected ABI Research Tuesday. China is the “key contributor” to 5G market momentum, currently generating more than two-thirds of the global 5G subscriptions, it said. The U.S. is second in 5G adoption with more than 50 million subscribers, followed by Japan and South Korea, it said. ABI estimates global 5G subscriptions will reach 507 million by the end of 2021, almost double the rate of 2020 adoption, it said.

The FCC can’t force AT&T to delay the planned Feb. 22 shutdown of its 3G network (see 2109150041), Free State Foundation Director-Policy Studies Seth Cooper blogged Tuesday. “The FCC lacks legal authority to mandate 3G network delivery of private mobile IoT services,” he said: “Those service offerings are individually negotiated with alarm companies, and they are not subject to common carriage rules.” Any attempt to force AT&T to keep the network open “effectively would rewrite existing contracts between AT&T and alarm companies,” he said. The Alarm Industry Communications Committee, meanwhile, fired back at AT&T’s latest filing on the shutdown (see 2110290058). AT&T “fails once again to refute several key points by AICC regarding the detrimental impact on the public regarding their 3G shut down,” a spokesperson emailed: “AICC does not agree that, in the name of competition, the FCC should allow millions of vulnerable customers, including the elderly and disabled, to lose lifesaving monitoring services. AICC is simply requesting a temporary delay due to the pandemic so that we have the time AT&T originally offered us to upgrade our existing 3G customers.”

T-Mobile didn’t lead the wireless industry in postpaid phone net adds in Q3, the carrier said Tuesday, tabulating 673,000 for the quarter, less than the 928,000 by AT&T but more than the 429,000 by Verizon. Year to date, T-Mobile had 2.1 million postpaid adds and an industry leading 1.3 million total postpaid adds in the quarter. CEO Mike Sievert questioned whether the growth reported by “the other guys” was sustainable, on a call with analysts. “As competition heats up you shouldn’t paint us all with the same brush,” he said. “Many of you have raised questions about the promotional environment and also about the source and sustainability of recent industry growth,” he said. “We like healthy competition because we historically win when customers start shopping around. Our competitors are leaning into device offers” and “expensive promotions” and “don’t have compelling pricing or a competitive 5G network.” Sievert said: “They’re trying to temporarily buy down churn while they sell assets and come up with a plan.” AT&T and Verizon didn’t immediately comment. Smaller markets and rural areas generated about one-third of T-Mobile’s new accounts, though the company is just starting to target those markets, he said. Customers are also coming to T-Mobile because of its 5G network, he said. “We’re years ahead on 5G … and we’re positioned to stay ahead,” he said. T-Mobile also added more than 1 million new accounts in the past year, while Verizon had none and AT&T didn’t report that metric, Sievert said. Net income was $691 million, with service revenue of $14.7 billion. Some 90% of Sprint customer traffic is now carried on the T-Mobile network and 53% of Sprint customers have been “fully transitioned” to the combined network, the company said. Some are benefiting from Sprint churn, but “we’re working to make that very short-lived,” Sievert said. AT&T and Verizon didn't comment by our deadline.

Comments are due Dec. 2, replies Jan. 3, as the FCC seeks comment on the use of the 70/80/90 GHz bands for high altitude platform stations or other stratospheric-based platform services, in docket 20-133, says a Federal Register notice for Tuesday. The Wireless Bureau recently sought additional comment. CTIA urged the FCC to act “on the well-developed record of support” for using the spectrum for 5G backhaul. “CTIA and other commenters have urged the Commission to act on the issue of improving the fixed service rules even as it further considers pending issues involving these bands,” the group said in a filing posted Monday in docket 20-133: “Enhancing the fixed service rules has near unanimous record support, and such action can and should be taken expeditiously, even as further engineering analyses and examinations are conducted to consider other potential services in these bands."

Wireless investors have big concerns, starting with risk of “more spectrum coming to the market too soon,” New Street’s Blair Levin wrote investors. “The wireless industry will, within a short time, have spent well over $100 billion" in two auctions to buy licenses, he said this weekend: “They now must spend tens of billions more to deploy networks to take advantage of that spectrum. As a practical political matter, they always argue that they need more spectrum. As a practical economic matter, they don’t want any new big auctions for several years, at the earliest.” Another concern is DOD “controlling the spectrum process and keeping spectrum from coming to market for too long (and when it arrives, having the spectrum come through a shared, rather than exclusive, framework)," he said: Investors fear that concerns over C-band interference with altimeters, an issue being raised by the FAA (see 2110290065), “may delay 5G services.”

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council urged the FCC to move beyond a notice of inquiry (see 2110010046) on future spectrum needs of the IoT to look at the specific needs of public safety agencies. More work is needed “to characterize which public safety IoT uses require dedicated spectrum and which might be accommodated sufficiently on commercial wireless networks, ” the group said in comments posted Monday in docket 21-353: “Then, spectrum estimates will be needed for both categories.” The Institute for the Wireless IoT at Northeastern University said “recent FCC moves in opening new bands for unlicensed use of spectrum should provide sufficient spectrum for the unlicensed IoT devices for the foreseeable future.” The institute noted questions about some of the bands and said its Colosseum network emulator can help (see 2108030052): “A large-scale RF emulation platform that is capable of implementing diverse wireless communication technologies all in one place, and assessing their coexistence performance with repeatable tests, is of undeniable importance for more efficient evaluation of the performance of licensed and unlicensed radios.” The Ultra Wide Band Alliance said the FCC should take note of new impulse radio UWB technology. “It can allow many devices with diverse uses to coexist within a shared bandwidth,” the alliance said: “Its area of influence (potential interference to others) is small due to the exceptionally low transmit power per MHz. Even a slight increase in power of 10 dBm/MHz would still place it at thousands of times less power than most other technologies. This makes it an attractive option for spectrum sharing and noninterfering coexistence with other users.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved 20 more licenses for the 2.5 GHz band to serve Alaskan native communities. That brings to 99 the number granted in Alaska, the FCC said Friday. “Too many lack the connectivity needed” for modern activities, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “Today’s announcement continues our progress in leveraging 2.5 GHz band spectrum” for tribes.

The filing window for the FCC’s secure and trusted communications networks reimbursement program opened Friday, aimed at removing (or ripping and replacing) Huawei and ZTE gear from small carrier wireless networks. “Trust in our communications systems is fundamental, and to preserve that trust we need to identify threats and mitigate risk,” said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Removing insecure equipment from existing networks after installation is challenging. This program is here to help.” It closes Jan. 14. Carriers should “have the opportunity to use promising and innovative alternatives, like interoperable open radio access network solutions, as we build tomorrow’s networks,” she said.

AT&T criticized the latest comments from the Alarm Industry Communications Committee asking the FCC to reject the carrier's plan to shutter its 3G network starting Feb. 22 (see 2109150041). Granting the petition would “throw a monkey wrench into AT&T’s carefully planned 5G transition,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-304. “The Commission lacks statutory authority to delay AT&T’s 3G sunset,” the carrier said: “AICC’s rationales for delaying that sunset remain irreconcilable with the presumptively truthful assurances that its member companies have given investors about the business effects of COVID and the global microchip shortage.” Delay “would threaten AT&T’s network performance,” it said. AICC didn't comment.

Sennheiser said the FCC should act on its petition seeking a vacant channel for mics in every market (see 2101080050), and that an analysis it will soon file shows a channel is available in the 50 largest U.S. markets. “A vacant channel is critically important to wireless microphones and the content creation industry,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 15-146: “Otherwise, wireless microphone users may be less likely to create or adopt new technologies if the specter of a third round of obsolescence continues to loom.” Company representatives spoke with staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology and Media and Wireless bureaus. NAB wants to ensure some vacant channels remain available (see 2107280036). “Sennheiser continues its desperate efforts to concoct a plausible justification for overturning the Commission’s unanimous order closing the long-dormant vacant channel proceeding," an NAB spokesperson emailed: "Sennheiser recycles arguments that have already been soundly rejected while promising new ‘analysis’ that could have been previously presented to the commission and thus has no basis for reconsideration.”