T-Mobile had industry-leading postpaid net phone adds of 1.6 million in Q4, with 5.5 million in all of 2020, said a Thursday release. The carrier projected it will have to spend as much as $3 billion before taxes combining its stores, employees and infrastructure with those of Sprint, which it acquired last year. Integration costs were about $1.9 billion last year. Some 25 percent of Sprint postpaid customer traffic has been moved to the T-Mobile network. Year-over-year income was flat at $750 million on revenue of $20.3 billion. T-Mobile’s Ultra Capacity 5G now covers 106 million people, is projected to cover 200 million people nationwide by year-end. “If we play our cards right, T-Mobile is positioned to stay ahead in the 5G race for years to come,” said CEO Mike Sievert in a call with analysts. Officials said addressing Sprint’s high churn rate will take some time. “T-Mobile has a powerful advantage, and they mean to use it,” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors: “The only challenge we see is that, if AT&T continues to give away free iPhones to retain customers (and Verizon gets more aggressive) they may dampen switching.” T-Mobile stock closed down 4.1% Friday to $125.28.

Fans in Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium with iPhone 12s can take part in Verizon’s 5G interactive experiences in the NFL app, launching at the Super Bowl Sunday, the carrier said. That includes the first 5G stadium in Fortnite's Creative mode, it said. Users can engage with seven different camera angles while in the stadium. Fans watching at home with an iPhone 12 can access five camera angles and project augmented reality overlays of NFL statistics, Verizon said Monday. Verizon said the virtual stadium was designed to highlight the “power of 5G for gaming.” And "reimagining live events is one of the best use cases" for fifth-generation wireless, said Diego Scotti, chief marketing officer at the carrier. It invested over $80 million to support the Super Bowl events.

Though COVID-19 community spread “exposed the vulnerability of dense urban clusters,” those same so-called “microcities” as engines of tech and economic growth “will remain unchallenged,” reported ABI Research Thursday. The estimated 13,000 microcities globally “will remain hotbeds for urban technology innovation,” said analyst Dominique Bonte. Smart cameras, digital signage, private Wi-Fi networks and 5G connectivity typify the “common technologies deployed” across most microcities, she said. “They allow addressing specific challenges related to people flow management, access and security, overall customer experience, and environmental impact while generating cost savings through maximizing operational efficiencies.”

Precision Broadband CEO Charles Simon told an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel that FCC actions on rules for finding the vertical location of wireless callers to 911 have been detrimental to the development of dispatchable location technology. “Without a government mandate, private companies have no incentive to invest” in dispatchable location, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 07-114.

5G deployment will add roughly $1.5 trillion to U.S. GDP and create some 4.5 million jobs over the next decade, said a CTIA filing on a report posted Wednesday in FCC docket 19-348. The report said “5G networks, fueled by billions of capital investment and powered by licensed spectrum, will enable new services and applications and spur new entrepreneurs who will grow and reshape our economy.”

Global smartphone sales to end users will reach 1.5 billion handsets this year, an 11.4% increase from 2020, reported Gartner Wednesday. “The combination of delayed smartphone replacements and the availability of lower end 5G smartphones are poised to increase smartphone sales in 2021,” said Gartner. It expects 2021 smartphone sales to be close to those of 2019, after sales declined 10.5% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, it said. Gartner forecasts sales of 5G smartphones will total 538.53 million units in 2021, for a 35% share of the market, it said. It estimates 213.26 million 5G smartphones were sold in 2020, for a 15.5% market share.

Preserve the 4.9 GHz band for public safety, AT&T representatives said in a call with aides to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “In particular, we recommended that the Commission act favorably on petitions for reconsideration, and seek additional comment on how to promote 5G use of the band for public safety,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-100.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington welcomed a memorandum of agreement among the National Science Foundation, NTIA and the FCC supporting the foundation’s spectrum innovation initiative. The agreement “could not come at a better time,” said the former NTIA staffer Wednesday: “It sets the tone for a new era of close coordination among the agencies responsible for freeing up additional spectrum for 5G and other next-generation wireless technologies.”

Sell 10 MHz license blocks, using smaller licenses, in part of the 3.45-3.55 GHz band, the Wireless ISP Association said in a call with an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “We noted the broad and diverse support in the record for 10-megahertz licenses auctioned by county and opportunistic use, and the very small number of commenters seeking 20-megahertz licenses auctioned by Partial Economic Areas,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-348. WISPA also commented on the January notification by NTIA that it will cost an estimated $13.4 billion to clear the band for 5G (see 2101150071). “The letter does not provide detailed information and analysis about how NTIA arrived at the initial estimate of $13 billion in relocation and sharing costs and does not allocate costs between relocation and sharing,” WISPA said.

AT&T is raising $14.7 billion for “general corporate purposes,” which includes “financing acquisitions of additional spectrum,” said a Friday filing at the SEC. “We assume this is specifically for the C-Band,” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Wednesday. AT&T likely could spend up to $27.3 billion in the auction, he said. AT&T is thought to be one of the top bidders in the midband auction.