New York University told the FCC it shouldn’t allow use of Winlink Global Radio Email by amateur radio operators unless the emails are decodable over the air. The filing in docket 16-239 was the latest in a continuing dispute (see 1904010034). “By relying on advanced communications modes that effectively encrypt communications traveling through its network, the Winlink system violates Section 97.113(a)(4)” of FCC rules “thus facilitating the violation of other important amateur service rules. Amateur operators and members of the general public are unable to decode Winlink messages over-the-air for true meaning and, in many cases, are unable to determine where the rule violations are occurring.”

North America will jump out in front first as 5G leader, but it will be quickly surpassed by Asia-Pacific, IHS Markit said Wednesday. By 2023, Asia Pacific will have a 5G installed base of 785 million, vs. 294 million in North America, the firm predicted. “Asia Pacific is destined for 5G market domination thanks to the massive deployment of the technology in China and India,” said Elias Aravantinos, principal analyst. “Led by deployment in these countries, 5G will reach its so-called ‘golden year’ in 2023, when 5G will be present in most handsets.”

T-Mobile said it's the first major carrier to provide LTE in the Gulf of Mexico. Wireless connectivity “has long been limited or non-existent in this heavily traveled area of the Gulf," the company said Wednesday: “Now T-Mobile has LTE coverage with this expansion of its nationwide network using 5G-ready equipment.”

Concerns about Chinese-made network equipment are widespread in the U.S., Strand Consult said in a report released Tuesday. Concern isn’t “limited to national governments and the military intelligence operations,” Strand said: “Nor is the concern confined to telecom operators which build and run networks. It is the small, medium, and large enterprises that use networks which fear that their valuable data will be surveilled, sabotaged, or stolen by actors associated with the Chinese government and military. Consequently, it is the clients of telecom operators which push to restrict Chinese-made equipment from networks.”

A plan for the C band, offered by the Competitive Carriers Association, America's Communications Association and Charter Communications (see 1907020061) is emerging as a big challenge to the C-Band Alliance’s proposal, Tech Knowledge Director Fred Campbell said Tuesday. The three offer a “serious proposal grounded firmly in FCC precedent that addresses the CBA’s greatest weakness: the amount of C-Band spectrum (from 3.7-4.2 GHz) the CBA plan would clear (180 MHz) isn’t enough to meet the Trump Administration’s goal for U.S. leadership in 5G,” Campbell wrote in Forbes. The CCA proposal would make at least 370 MHz of spectrum available for 5G, “enough to ensure that each nationwide mobile operator has an opportunity to obtain at least 100 MHz of contiguous mid-band spectrum,” he said. The plan does this by moving delivery of cable and other video programming from satellite systems to terrestrial fiber, he said: The transition also “would support the delivery of 4k and 8k content by cable operators, push more fiber deeper into rural areas, and would avoid the need to launch new C-Band satellites (and the potential for indeterminate delay due to launch or in-orbit failures).” The alliance didn't comment. The Wireless ISP Association and Google, meanwhile, met Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and others to discuss their study by Virginia Tech professor Jeff Reed on a methodology for sharing the band while protecting earth stations. They reported on the meeting Tuesday in docket 18-122.

T-Mobile US said it will release Q2 results Thursday. The results are due at 9 a.m. EDT, with an analyst call to follow at 4:30 p.m. The call has been much anticipated given T-Mobile’s prolonged attempt to buy Sprint and an expected DOJ decision on whether to oppose that deal (see 1907220030). On Wednesday, AT&T will become the first of the major carriers to report.

A group of tech company executives met with aides to all the FCC commissioners on the 6 GHz band, urging the agency to authorize use of the band indoors without automated frequency control (AFC). The issue figured large when the FCC took comment earlier this year (see 1903180047). “We expressed support for the NPRM’s framework, its recognition of the need for additional unlicensed frequencies, and the importance of FCC rules implementing a framework that would support intensive use of the band,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 17-183. “We explained that authorization of low-power, indoor-only devices throughout the band is critical to this goal as AFC control may be incompatible with a number of important use cases and device price points.” The companies also said the FCC should allow very-low-power devices “at power levels 160 times lower than today’s Wi-Fi -- to enable important short-range, portable applications.” Apple, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft and Qualcomm had representatives at the meetings.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved Northern Michigan University’s (NMU) request for a waiver of the filing freeze on new educational broadband service licensees so it can add to its network. FCC commissioners approved revised rules for the 2.5 GHz band at their July meeting, with an emphasis on selling it at auction (see 1907100054). “We conclude that application of the filing freeze would be inequitable and contrary to the public interest under the unique circumstances presented by NMU,” the bureau said in a Monday order: “NMU is unique among EBS licensees -- while most EBS licensees have not built their own facilities and have leased their spectrum to commercial providers, NMU has built and operates its own LTE broadband network that covers a significant portion of the rugged, underserved territory in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The network is used extensively by NMU’s students and faculty, students of partner institutions, and other members of the community.”

The FCC can't legally hold a private sale of C-band spectrum, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, in a meeting with Aaron Goldberger, aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition and diverse industry parties have shown that a private auction or sale would violate Section 309(j) of the Communications Act and willfully ignore Congressional intent and precedent,” said a filing in docket 18-122. “The Commission has no legal authority to authorize, let alone oversee, a private auction. General provisions such as Sections 303(c), 303(r) and 4(i) cannot possibly provide the authority for a public or private auction that is not consistent with the explicit provisions of Section 309(j).” The best course is a traditional FCC auction, Calabrese said. The Free State Foundation called on the FCC to act swiftly on the C band in a filing Monday. “Time is of the essence in making additional spectrum resources available for commercial providers of next-generation mobile broadband services,” FSF said: “Hundreds of megahertz of new spectrum are needed to supply the future data-rich demands of American consumers and enterprises.”

With the World Radiocommunication Conference in Egypt only months away, cooperation is critical, said FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry Monday at CANTO 2018, a meeting of the trade association for telecom operators across the Caribbean region. Berry said regulation should be flexible and global harmonization is critical. The rules should “ensure reasonable protections for incumbent users of the spectrum, so they can continue to operate and have enough certainty to invest in new technologies and expand coverage and deployment.” The conference is “important to all of us in this room who are working to increase connectivity in our countries and deliver the benefits of new technologies to our citizens,” Berry said: “By moving forward together toward international radio spectrum allocation and harmonization, we can help ensure that 5G, next-generation satellite services, and other emerging technologies soon become a reality.” Given the pace of change, the world can’t wait “for another WRC cycle for services to be introduced in our region,” he said: “Even if we’re not all ready to immediately deploy each and every next generation technology, we should all plan for their eventual introduction to our citizens.” Chairman Ajit Pai addressed the conference a year ago, also urging cooperation (see 1807230042).