An FCC order dismissing petitions for reconsideration by CTIA and APCO of a July order updating rules for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 (see 2007160055) is effective March 11, said Tuesday's Federal Register.

Qualcomm is sampling the Snapdragon X65 5G modem-RF system, the first 10 Gigabit 5G and the first 3rd Generation Partnership Project release 16 modem-RF system, which the company said will bring consumers “fiber-like browsing speeds and low-latency” over 5G. Tight modem-RF integration and advanced modem-RF technologies will result in faster data speeds, improved coverage and call quality, and support for all-day battery life, said the company Tuesday, saying next-generation applications include cloud- and edge-based computing, highly responsive multiplayer gaming, rich entertainment, immersive 360-degree video and instant apps. It also announced the Snapdragon X62 5G modem-RF System, a modem-to-antenna technology for mainstream adoption of mobile broadband applications. “The 5G transition presents the biggest opportunity for Qualcomm as mobile technology is poised to benefit virtually every industry,” said CEO-elect Cristiano Amon, calling Snapdragon X65 a "significant milestone." Connectivity up to 10 Gbps and support for the latest 5G specifications will help enable new 5G use cases for premium smartphones and open "a new realm of possibilities for 5G expansion across mobile broadband, compute, XR, industrial IoT, private networks and fixed wireless access,” said Amon. Also Tuesday, Qualcomm bowed its second-generation 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) platform, powered by the X65 system, that will allow mobile operators to offer fixed broadband service. With extended-range 5G millimeter-wave, extended-range 5G sub-6 GHz and sub-6 GHz support, Qualcomm sees FWA accelerating delivery of 5G to consumers as a plug-and-play alternative to DSL, cable or fiber. The platform includes a reference design to help manufacturers commercialize 5G fixed wireless access devices quickly and deliver a reliable internet connection with peak speeds of 10 Gbps. The platform will help operators offer a “last mile” broadband option that's widely available across urban, suburban and rural environments using their 5G network infrastructure, Qualcomm said.

T-Mobile opposed petitions seeking reconsideration of the FCC’s October 5G Fund 3-2 order (see 2010270034). The Competitive Carriers Association urged the FCC to revisit portions. T-Mobile specifically opposed petitions filed by the Coalition of Rural Wireless Carriers (CRWC), NTCA and the Rural Wireless Association (see 2012290030). The FCC “adopted a reasonable and balanced framework to expand access to 5G service to all Americans in an efficient manner, one that avoids wasting limited resources on overbuilding and targets funding to truly unserved areas,” T-Mobile said in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-32: “Petitioners repeat arguments that the Commission already addressed and rejected.” CCA seconded concerns raised by CRWC on transitioning from legacy support to 5G Fund support and restricting areas with any unsubsidized 4G LTE service from receiving 5G support. “Legacy high-cost support is vital to preserving and enhancing existing service, particularly in rural America,” the group said: “Wireless networks require ongoing investment and updates, and CCA members who receive legacy support continue to use it today to maintain, build out, and improve their networks.” AT&T supported concerns raised by CTIA: “The Commission wrongly decided the narrow issues of what is the appropriate recovery methodology for noncompliance with the new legacy support obligations and whether to treat a carrier’s decision to relinquish its high cost support as noncompliance.” RWA and NTCA jointly supported the CRWC petition and parts of CTIA’s petition. “Reconsider the counter-productively harsh penalty for noncompliance with usage or buildout requirements and for voluntary relinquishment of future support,” they asked.

Oppositions to petitions for reconsideration of the FCC’s 4.9 GHz order are due Feb. 24, replies 10 days later, says Tuesday's Federal Register. The agency reallocated the band to the states in September (see 2009300050) over dissents by Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks. APCO, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and the Public Safety Spectrum Alliance sought recon.

With the 5G transition in the past year evolving “from hype to reality,” Israeli networking equipment vendor Ceragon Networks is working with operators to push 5G “from initial trials into the field,” said CEO Ira Palti on a Q4 call Monday. “This is what we have been waiting for and are very excited to develop.” Adoption of open radio access networks is “picking up speed,” said Palti. ORAN lets operators “integrate specialist solutions for each network domain from different vendors,” he said. “The market is becoming more democratized, which plays to our favor.” The transition from 4G to 5G “is creating a huge change in the way networks are designed,” he said. "We help operators achieve an evolutionary approach. We provide a wireless-based backhaul network that is supporting 4G networks and that can be upgraded cost effectively to 5G.” Ceragon claims “major tier 1 operators” in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia as “recently acquired” customers, he said.

President Claude Aiken and others from the Wireless ISP Association laid out its positions on spectrum bands in a call with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. In 2.5 GHz, WISPA seeks a “single-round, sealed bid auction.” Move forward with the opening of 5.9 GHz for unlicensed use, WISPA said: “We noted the benefits that consumers are receiving from more than 100 Special Temporary Authority grants to deploy” there. WISPA members are “very interested” in the 4.9 GHz band, said a filing posted Monday in 19-348 and other dockets.

The U.S. lags behind on mid-band spectrum for 5G and needs to have a 3.45-3.55 GHz auction, CTIA officials told an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman 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 in the U.S.,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-122.

Nokia representatives cited the importance of open radio access networks in a call with acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, said a filing Friday in docket 18-89. Reps recommended the government “do more than fund basic research by investing in testbeds” as “testbeds can simulate real-world network deployment scenarios wherein issues like performance and security can be studied across the types of scenarios that will be encountered when O-RAN is introduced into previously deployed, multi-generation networks.” Rosenworcel backs ORAN for 5G security (see 2009140054).

Strong demand including for 5G points to a “solid 2021,” S&P reported Friday. U.S. tech firms in Q4 delivered “strong beats and guides” for future quarters amid a “smart" 5G smartphone cycle, and increasing fifth-generation wireless network deployments will add to the growth, the firm forecast. Enterprise IT spending remains weak, however. Increasing confidence in an economic recovery will likely result in higher spending as the year goes on, said the report. Apple's fifth-gen rollout was a “great success” in Q4 and will support a 2021 upgrade cycle that Samsung will also benefit from, said S&P. The next-gen mobile phone cycle will be “very good for suppliers since 5G phones have higher silicon content.” Network upgrades are accelerating, too, to support wider adoption of 5G phones, with Japan and Korea furthest ahead, followed by China, the U.S. and Europe. Ericsson should pick up market share from Huawei, particularly in Europe, it said.

Reject calls for a pause in equipment certifications for 6 GHz unlicensed low-power indoor (LPI) devices until more testing is done (see 2101270037), CTA wrote Thursday in FCC docket 18-295. “This misguided proposal threatens the important role the Commission’s equipment-certification process plays in advancing U.S. technological innovation, far beyond the context of this 6 GHz proceeding,” CTA said. “CTA members and other equipment manufacturers of all kinds, using bands across the radiofrequency spectrum, depend on a predictable, reliable and timely FCC equipment certification process."