Samsung’s statement Friday that it halted sales of Galaxy Note7 smartphones a month into their introduction (see 1608020036) and will replace phones already purchased “over the coming weeks” made no specific mention of the widely reported fire hazard that prompted the recall. Samsung “is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously,” the statement said. “In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue.” Samsung is aware of 35 “cases” globally through Thursday and is “conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market,” it said. “We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. We are working closely with our partners to ensure the replacement experience is as convenient and efficient as possible.”

Smartphone malware infections rose 96 percent in 2016's first half, from the same 2015 period, reaching an all-time high in April, Nokia said in a Thursday report. Android devices “were the most targeted mobile platform by far,” with 74 percent of all mobile malware infections, it said. "Attackers are targeting a broader range of applications and platforms, including popular mobile games and new IoT devices, and developing more sophisticated and destructive forms of malware." On the new sophistication in malware, new variations of threats “attempt to root the phone in order to provide complete control and establish a permanent presence on the device,” Nokia said.

IDC sees global smartphone shipments growing at a relatively flat 1.6 percent rate this year, reaching 1.46 billion units, the research firm said in a Thursday report. Though growth “remains positive, it is down significantly” from the 10.4 percent growth rate in 2015 compared with 2014, IDC said. “Much of the slowdown is attributed to the decline expected in developed regions in 2016, while emerging markets continue with positive growth.” Consumer preference for larger screens is expected to continue and the growing interest in virtual and augmented reality “will only drive that forward” as models with screens 5.5 inches and larger go from roughly a quarter of the smartphone market to a third by 2020, IDC said. As larger-screen models gain in share and popularity, “we expect to see a myriad of vendors further expanding their portfolio of large-screened devices but at more affordable price points compared to market leaders Samsung and Apple," it said. IDC fixes Android’s 2016 share at 85.3 percent vs. Apple’s 13.9 percent, it said. By 2020, it pegs Android’s share at 85.7 percent to Apple’s 14.2 percent, with other platforms like Windows Phone approaching extinction.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) board agreed to draft a statement in general support of FirstNet, said Mike Worrell, FirstNet senior fire services adviser, in a blog post. FirstNet Chairwoman Sue Swenson and Vice Chairman Jeff Johnson were at the recent IAFC Fire-Rescue International (FRI) in San Antonio to meet with the IAFC board, Worrell wrote. “FRI 2016 was a great opportunity for us to debut our new exhibit booth. As an extension of our outreach efforts with public safety, more than 300 conference attendees visited the booth, and FirstNet staff fielded questions from many eager to learn about the future of public safety communications.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology dismissed “without prejudice” a request by Ricoh for a waiver allowing it to sell an advanced binocular in the U.S. The devices exceed emission limits for the operation of a Class B digital devices, requiring a waiver, OET said. “Ricoh states that the Enhanced Binocular Kit NV-10A (NV-10A), which consists of a binocular and battery charger for its lithium-ion battery, uses image stabilization to enable the user to accurately view distant targets under dangerous conditions such as dense fog, rain, snow, smoke, dust storms and nearly pure darkness,” the order said. “Ricoh has failed to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that requiring strict compliance with the rule is inconsistent with the public interest in this case.”

Communications Sales and Leasing completed its Tower Cloud takeover, CS&L said in a news release Wednesday. A $230 million cash-and-stock deal, expanding CS&L’s backhaul network and entry into small-cell and dark-fiber businesses, was announced in June (see 1606200052). Uniti Fiber will be the brand name of the combined fiber infrastructure group that also includes PEG Bandwidth, and it will be led by Tower Cloud founder Ron Mudry, said CS&L CEO Kenny Gunderman.

Much work remains as industry deals with a possible earthquake early warning system (EEWS), the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions said in a letter responding to questions from the FCC Public Safety Bureau. For example, the bureau asked if earthquake warnings could be given special priority. “ATIS believes any discussion on prioritization in the EEWS is premature until the architecture is defined,” the letter said. “The industry continues to work with stakeholders, including state agencies, the U.S. Geological Survey, and academic institutions, to identify and define the architecture that can satisfy EEWS-specific requirements.” The wireless industry in general argued when the FCC sought comment (see 1605100054) that wireless emergency alerts aren’t suitable for earthquake warnings. The ATIS letter was posted in docket 16-32.

Regional carrier Bluegrass Cellular told the FCC it will be able to comply with any changes in rules for wireless emergency alerts (WEAs), but will need time to adjust. Bluegrass representatives met with officials from the Public Safety Bureau, said a filing in docket 15-91. “Expanding the scope of embedded references, adding Alert Classifications, and adding characters to Alert Messages presumes that Bluegrass Cellular's Alert Gateway provider delivers such capabilities,” the carrier said. “Geo-targeting Alert Messages is feasible if a solution is embedded within the handset produced by manufacturers.” The FCC proposed in November allowing longer WEA messages, inclusion of hyperlinks and narrower distribution of alerts (see 1511190053).

Sprint and Nokia demo'd three-channel carrier aggregation in Kansas City, Missouri, Wednesday before a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. The test saw speeds as high as 230 Mbps inside the stadium using the Samsung Note7, Galaxy S7, S7 edge, HTC 10 and LG G5, Sprint said in a news release. Sprint launched two-channel aggregation in 2015. “Sprint uses two-channel carrier aggregation to deliver peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps in 237 LTE Plus markets across the country using 40 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum on the company’s LTE Plus cell sites,” the carrier said. “With three-channel carrier aggregation Sprint will utilize 60 MHz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band to provide peak download speeds of more than 200 Mbps on compatible devices.” Sprint said 100 of its cell sites in Kansas City are slated to be ready for three-channel carrier aggregation by month's end. Sprint said it has more than 160 MHz of 2.5 GHz spectrum in the top 100 U.S. markets.

Netgear’s Orbi tri-band Wi-Fi router system incorporates Qualcomm’s tri-radio 802.11ac chipsets and Wi-Fi self-organizing network (SON) technologies, for improved Wi-Fi reliability large homes or challenging infrastructure, they said in a Wednesday news release. Qualcomm’s tri-band Wi-Fi chipset uses three Wi-Fi radios to create a dedicated wireless backhaul connection between the Orbi router and Orbi satellites, while SON software simplifies the Wi-Fi setup process and optimizes the network to eliminate congestion and dead zones, they said.