The FCC defended its April decision to allow unlicensed use of the 6 GHz band, in a filing posted Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (in Pacer) in docket 20-1190. “The Commission’s decision was made after careful consideration of the evidence presented by both proponents and opponents of unlicensed operations,” the FCC said: “Over the course of a nearly three-year rulemaking, the agency reviewed a voluminous and highly technical record that included roughly 100 studies and thousands of filings from interested parties.” AT&T, APCO, NAB, electric utilities and others challenged the rules (see 2012180057). The FCC said the rules protect incumbents.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Friday on a proposal by the Virginia Department of State Police to increase the existing limit on its Part 22 transmitter power output for its mobile transmitters from 60 watts to 100 watts, using a maximum effective radiated power of 150 watts. The department “asserts that it has investigated other spectrum and technology options and found no viable alternative for addressing its security and public safety responsibilities,” the bureau said. Comments are due March 15, replies March 30, in docket 20-241.

The Motorola one 5G ace smartphone went on sale Friday at Metro by T-Mobile for $89.99, $19.99 for switchers. With a 6.7-inch display and a 48-megapixel main camera, it has a 5,000 mAh battery that can stay connected for over two days on a charge, said T-Mobile, where it will also be sold soon. Pixelworks predicted OEMs will push this year to embed 5G in inexpensive handsets (see 2102120002).

Motorola Solutions “strongly supports” an FCC proposal to open the 3.45-3.55 GHz band for shared use. Base rules on those in the citizens broadband radio service band, the company urged in a filing posted Friday in docket 19-348: “Such opportunistic use would significantly increase overall spectrum utilization and ensure that this highly valuable spectrum resource is quickly put to use in more areas, while fully maintaining dynamic incumbent and licensee rights."

Dell’Oro Group sees a slightly less rosy outlook for the citizens broadband radio service band, forecasting $2 billion in investments between last year and 2025, said a Friday report. Fixed wireless and network capacity augmentation dominate investments, the report said. “We remain optimistic about the CBRS opportunity, but we have revised the outlook downward over the near-term to reflect the slower than expected CBRS uptake,” said Stefan Pongratz, vice president-analyst: “This downward adjustment does not change the long-term vision -- we continue to believe that there is an opportunity to improve spectrum utilization while at the same time stimulating innovation for both public and private networks across various industry segments.”

Smartphone market “conditions and visibility” began improving in 2020's second half, as consumers and handset OEMs “adjusted to the new COVID environment,” said Pixelworks CEO Todd DeBonis Q4 call Thursday. It was a “down year” for the handset industry, he said. Global smartphone unit shipments fell 8% from 2019. Pixelworks supplies video processing chips and software to makers of mainstream-priced smartphones. Oppo and TCL are its top customers. Handset OEMs “delayed or canceled numerous planned phone launches” in 2020, said DeBonis. Though the rollout of 5G-enabled smartphones began to gain momentum in the second half of the year, “total 5G units shipped proved to be much lower than was forecast entering 2020,” he said. A “notable trend” during 2020 was the introduction of the first mainstream handsets to feature higher frame rate displays, “coupled with a broader shift by OEMs from LCD to OLED displays due to an increased availability and more competitive pricing,” he said. Pixelworks technology was embedded into 16 handset models from seven OEMs in 2020, compared with six smartphone models launched across four OEMs in 2019, he said. The rollout of 5G phones will become “more pervasive” in 2021, said DeBonis. High-quality video and gaming are “the most obvious applications for leveraging the substantially higher bandwidth and low latency of 5G in mobile devices,” he said. Market data suggests “the global consumer appetite for $1,000-plus phones is shrinking,” he said. “We expect mobile OEMs to aggressively push 5G technology down the cost curve to lower price models.”

Southern Co. representatives raised concerns about the lack of interference testing in the 6 GHz band as the band is opened for Wi-Fi (see 2102090067). “Southern described the ongoing problems that it and other incumbents have had in obtaining the cooperation of unlicensed proponents with any form of testing or test program,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295: “Manufacturers and proponents of unlicensed use have consistently ignored or rejected repeated requests to participate in any field testing.”

Lincoln Networks urged the FCC to act on equipment authorization rules proposed by CTA, as long as devices aren't accessible until authorized. A December NPRM was approved 5-0. “The policy behind the current Commission’s rules on pre-approval marketing and importation is sound but the rules need to be updated to current business practices,” Lincoln said. In other comments posted in docket 20-382 before Wednesday's midnight deadline, the R Street Institute and Information Technology Industry Council supported the change. “Technological innovation often moves fast, leaving outdated regulations designed for different environments and markets in the proverbial dust,” R Street said.

CTIA representatives urged quick FCC action approving rules for a 3.5 GHz auction, in a call with an aide to acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “The C-Band auction was powerful evidence of the need for licensed, exclusive-use mid-band spectrum for 5G, and auctioning the 100 megahertz of spectrum at 3.45-3.55 GHz under a substantially similar framework is critical for the development of 5G,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-122.

Most businesses already have wireless local area networks, but AT&T is now seeing “a wave of upgrades driven by new technologies,” said AT&T's Manish Malhotra at the Fierce Wireless Wi-Fi Summit Wednesday. Speakers said many businesses find they need to use a variety of technologies and the line between 5G and Wi-Fi is blurring. Edge computing is increasingly important, said Malhotra, AT&T assistant vice president-intelligent LAN product management. “The basic idea here is to bring computing power close to the IoT device.” Employees are more productive with seamless wireless connections, and routine tasks can be completed “without running back to a central wired terminal,” he said. Wi-Fi 6 and 5G offer high speeds, increased capacity and lower latency, and 5G will also be used for in-building LANs, he said. “The selection of a particular technology will depend on a variety of factors, such as the use case, size of the venue, availability of devices ... and physical layout,” he said. Wi-Fi, 5G and other technologies are converging, agreed Luke Lucas, T-Mobile senior manager-engineering business development. “All technology and all frequencies are good for the consumer” based on the “design and needs of the particular location,” he said. Customers need a “customized solution” but first need to figure out their goals, Lucas said: “We’re synthesizing all of this together.” Some businesses need private LTE, while others can rely on Wi-Fi or 5G, said Tiago Rodrigues, Wireless Broadband Alliance CEO. Integrating 5G with Wi-Fi can lead to faster deployments, he said. Carriers need to find other revenue streams to pay for their investments in 5G, said Tuncay Cil, chief strategy officer at Assia, a broadband solutions vendor. Someone needs to pay for the more than $81 billion bid in the C-band auction, he said. “If the service providers cannot make money, these services will not be delivered,” he said: “It’s not like the service providers are hoarding cash.”