Forecasting that 5G will “revolutionize” IoT for retail was among “high-level predictions” Nielsen released Tuesday for 2020 “and the decade ahead.” IoT “finally becomes a mainstream reality” with 5G, it said. Other trends include increasingly “frictionless” commerce and “try-before-you-buy will come into consumer homes,” based on shifting to cloud commerce and “enablement” of smartphones for augmented reality.

IEEE filed an updated “Standard for Safety Levels with Respect to Human Exposure to Electric, Magnetic and Electromagnetic Fields, 0 Hz to 300 GHz,” at the FCC. The document, developed over several years by the IEEE International Committee on Electromagnetic Safety, “provides exposure criteria and limits to protect people against established adverse health effects associated with electric, magnetic and electromagnetic field exposure,” IEEE said in docket 13-84, posted Tuesday. The standard is “a substantial improvement over the older 1991 version used by the FCC in 1996 to develop the current US regulations related to safe RF exposure,” IEEE said.

T-Mobile told the FCC it should make at least 300 MHz of spectrum available for 5G in the C-band proceeding. The FCC is expected to schedule a private auction of the band in the first half of 2020 (see 1910100052). “Just making some C-band spectrum available, or some available now and some available later, based on the self-interested discretion of current license holders will imperil the Nation’s ability to win” the race to 5G, T-Mobile filed, posted Tuesday in docket 18-122. “Maximize the amount of spectrum that can be made available by recognizing the opportunity for incumbent users to move their operations to fiber,” it asked said: “End users have expressed an interest in using alternative technologies and encouraging them to do so will not only clear additional spectrum, but promote broadband deployment more broadly.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau will permit carriers to participate in a Dallas Office of Emergency Management wireless emergency alerts test Nov. 2, in areas surrounding Love Field. The WEA test will come as part of FAA-mandated training testing emergency response to a simulated aircraft crash. “The proposed test will help to educate the public about WEA and improve the proficiency of local emergency management officials in sending WEA messages to the public, specifically by providing Dallas with data on how effective a WEA message is in an airport setting,” said Monday's order in docket 15-91. The bureau said the city must keep its commitment to educate the public that this is only a test. The bureau also said it'll permit the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau to do a WEA test Wednesday.

The Wireless Bureau rejected a petition by amateur radio operator Robert Dukish asking the FCC allow a single point of transmission for station identification during emergency communications and drills. The bureau said it sought comment, which was all negative. “They argue that the current rule strikes the appropriate balance between the need to identify the source of transmissions and ease of communication,” the bureau said Monday in RM-11826. "Commenters state that, in their years of experience with amateur emergency communications, the station identification requirement has not proven to be a burden or obstacle, and that the current procedure actually contributes to efficient operations by providing a clear indication that a communication has ended and the channel is available. They also assert that your proposed procedure is unworkable and would cause confusion.”

Verizon is building a graphics processing unit-based system that will mean better use of virtual reality, mixed reality, augmented reality and cinematic reality for 5G, the carrier said Friday. “These capabilities could pave the way for a new class of affordable mobile cloud services, provide a platform for developing ultra low-latency cloud gaming, and enable the development of scalable GPU cloud-based services," Verizon said: “Because of the heavy imaging and graphics that would benefit from this technology, many of these applications will run significantly better on a GPU.”

Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, met an aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to oppose cellular market area (CMA) bidding in June's citizens broadband radio service auction. A notice approved 5-0 in September proposes bidding by CMA, rather than by county, in the top 172 markets. Rosenworcel expressed concerns (see 1909260040). Calabrese asked whether Rosenworcel had received "any explanation concerning the rationale” for CMA bidding, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-244. “The proposed CMA rules appear to be a duplicitous reversal of the hard-fought compromise that the Commission adopted in last year’s Order.” Questions remain about the auction despite rule rejiggering (see 1910170045).

National Tribal Telecommunications Association members want adequate notice to seek 2.5 GHz educational broadband service licenses the FCC's making available. In July, commissioners approved an order rewriting rules for the band, including an eventual auction (see 1907100054). Only tribal entities can seek new EBS licenses. The group asked for a 180-day filing window. Adequate time is “vital in ensuring the best use of this spectrum in Tribal areas for the purpose of addressing, in one of many ways, the digital divide,” NTTA said in docket 18-120, posted Friday.

The Competitive Carriers Association told the FCC most members under waiver are working on real-time text as a substitute for the traditional text telephony (TTY) services used by those with hearing or speech disabilities. Commissioners approved an order on a common standard in 2016 (see 1612150048). “Based on currently available technology and network architecture, CCA’s members continue to work diligently and make significant investments” here, it reported Friday in docket 15-178. “A carrier’s ability to achieve RTT deployment and comply” with the added mandates “is largely dependent on other participants in the wireless ecosystem,” the association said.

Alex Roytblat, Wi-Fi Alliance senior director-regulatory affairs, met FCC officials to urge sharing of the 6 GHz band with Wi-Fi. The group “emphasized that an immediate need for additional spectrum capacity is driven by the ever-greater role Wi-Fi plays in delivering broadband connectivity and that the 6 GHz band remains ideally suited,” said a filing in docket 18-295, posted Thursday: “An overly restrictive regulatory approach of mandating automatic frequency coordination on all 6 GHz uses cases would effectively preclude any unlicensed operations until commercially-viable AFC systems are developed and certified, which may take years.” The band is needed to address “Wi-Fi spectrum congestion” and roll out Wi-Fi 6, the new generation of service, the alliance said. Roytblat met with Chief Julius Knapp and others from the Office of Engineering and Technology, and Aaron Goldberger, aide to Chairman Ajit Pai.