The IoT and 5G will transform healthcare, said Bob Rogers, Google chief data scientist-big data solutions, in a Friday blog post. “As 5G becomes available, a much wider array of devices [will] be able to communicate, and even the smallest devices will be able to do so while at the same time performing powerful computations thanks to a connection to the cloud,” Rogers wrote. Healthcare will benefit, he said. “We can expect a new generation [of] wearables for tracking heart health and fitness, diagnostics for proactive patient care, powerful data analytics and more,” he said. “Just imagine a world where a patient’s condition can be assessed and treatment can be administered via wearable devices.” A patient’s data can be sent to a doctor anywhere, “who can then administer the treatment a patient needs -- and even deliver a medication through the device itself,” Rogers said. “It’s not far off.”

Ford is “working very hard” on autonomous vehicles, CEO Mark Fields said in Q&A on a Thursday earnings call when asked if he thinks self-driving cars are being “overhyped” in the media and by automotive competitors. Whenever “something new and shiny and sexy” emerges like autonomous vehicles, “I think sometimes the media does tend to write about things maybe in flourishing ways,” Fields said. “I mean we're just going to stay very focused on our plan.” Fields agrees “there's a lot of announcements going on right now by a lot of competitors” on autonomous vehicles, “and I just want to be really clear,” he said. “We are not in a race to make announcements. We are in a race to do what's right and best for our customers and best for our business, period.” Following the General Motors $581 million acquisition of Cruise Automation and its $500 million investment in Lyft to test self-driving cars, GM CEO Mary Barra said on GM’s earnings call that commercializing autonomous vehicles is “something I focus on every day” (see 1607220003). Earlier, BMW, Intel and Mobileye announced plans to bring autonomous vehicles to streets by 2021 (see 1607010052).

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a waiver request by Expert Linears America, which wants to import an unmodified version of an amplifier used by amateur radio operators. The company already sells a version of the amplifier that complies with Amateur Radio Services rules, the bureau said in a Friday notice. “Expert seeks a waiver in order to be able to import the unmodified version of the Model 1.3K FA, which is capable of considerably more than 15 dB amplification,” the bureau said. “Expert argues that the public interest would be served by permitting use of a higher-powered amplifier, because it would improve the communications capabilities of amateurs using portable, low-power transmitters by enabling them to approach the maximum legal power output.” Comments are due Aug. 29, replies Sept. 13 in docket 16-243.

Sprint’s proposed spectrum swap with U.S. Cellular (USCC) (see 1607070042) helps Sprint address a requirement of the April order approving the Sprint/Shentel/nTelos transaction, Sprint said in a filing at the FCC. Among the order's requirements was that Sprint sell off 20 MHz of AWS-1 spectrum in various markets in Virginia (see 1604150046). “In anticipation of this voluntary commitment, Sprint negotiated with USCC for a mutually beneficial spectrum exchange so that USCC would obtain the 20 MHz of AWS-1 spectrum in markets it desired in exchange for Sprint receiving mid-band spectrum in other markets. The parties sought to exchange sufficient spectrum of comparable value such that no additional cash consideration from either Applicant would be necessary.” Sprint said the trade will give it PCS spectrum in Michigan, Kansas and Illinois comparable to what it's giving up in Virginia. That new spectrum will help it deploy 4G LTE service in the markets covered and “rationalize/eliminate … less usable spectrum ‘fragments’ or ‘stranded’ channels,” Sprint said in the filing in docket 16-179.

Towerstream agreed to pay $25,000 to end of an investigation of whether it violated FCC rules by operating radio transmitters without a license, causing harmful interference to FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radar (TDWR) systems. Towerstream offers advanced, high-speed internet access to businesses in multiple major markets using rooftop tower facilities, operating in U-NII spectrum in the 5 GHz band, the bureau said. “In 2009, the Enforcement Bureau began receiving complaints from FAA TDWR systems about interference caused by U-NII devices,” the bureau said. The bureau found Towerstream interfered with TDWR systems at Kennedy Airport in New York and in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the consent decree said. In 2013, the bureau proposed a $202,000 penalty for the violations, the bureau said. Negotiations followed. “During those negotiations, Towerstream admitted for purposes of this investigation that operation of its U-NII transmission systems violated the Part 15 rules and Sections 301 and 333 of the Communications Act,” the bureau said. “Towerstream also presented financial information establishing its inability to pay the proposed forfeiture amount.” The bureau noted the FAA hadn't reported any additional interference to the systems in question. Towerstream didn't comment.

Wireless associations and groups representing the deaf and hard of hearing met last week with all five FCC commissioners to press the agency to adopt the consensus plan on hearing aid compatibility (HAC) both sides had agreed to last year and presented to the FCC (see 1511130027). The agreement would establish a path to achieving 100 percent HAC-handsets within eight years, if technically feasible. Chairman Tom Wheeler said in an earlier blog post the FCC will “enshrine” the consensus plan when revised HAC rules get a vote at Thursday’s meeting (see 1607150024). “During the meetings, the Parties reaffirmed their support for adoption of the historic Consensus Proposal that they presented to the Commission, which balances the goal of hearing aid compatibility for all wireless handsets with the need to encourage continued innovations that can benefit all consumers, including those who use hearing aid devices,” said a filing by the industry and consumer groups, in docket 15-285. The Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Technology Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center at Gallaudet University, the Hearing Loss Association of America and the Telecommunications Industry Association participated in the meetings at the FCC. “Specifically, the Parties continued to support the enhanced benchmarks and encouraged the Commission to adopt them as described in the Consensus Proposal, including (but not limited to) the timeline and the additional compliance periods specified for Tier I and non-Tier I service providers,” the filing said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology gave Cisco and Qualcomm more time to submit prototype devices as the FCC looks more closely at sharing between Wi-Fi and dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems in the 5.9 GHz band. Devices were due to be submitted to the agency Saturday. OET gave Qualcomm until Aug. 8 to submit devices and Cisco until Aug. 18. Those were the new deadlines each company requested. KEA Technologies said in a filing not yet posted by the FCC that it also had submitted a device for testing. “Accompanying this letter is a complete test bench for the ‘detect and avoid’ concept that several parties in this proceeding, including the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Association of Global Automakers, Intelligent Transportation Society of America and DENSO International America, Inc., recommend be evaluated by the FCC,” KEA said. Key differences of opinion remain about how the band can be shared between Wi-Fi and DSRC systems designed to prevent motor vehicle accidents (see 1605260059).

T-Mobile and Nokia met with FCC officials to press for tests of coexistence between LTE-unlicensed and Wi-Fi, said a filing in docket 15-105. “Nokia described the ability of its devices to meet Part 15 authorization requirements as well as pass currently agreed coexistence tests,” the filing said. “Moreover, Nokia representatives stated that they are prepared today to test devices for coexistence based on the current version of the Wi-Fi Alliance test plan.” The companies complained of delays. “It has been more than a year since the Wi-Fi Alliance announced that it was creating a cooperative process to evaluate coexistence between LTE-U and Wi-Fi devices, and the Commission has held off approving devices in anticipation of results from the process,” they said. “Although the test plan is fundamentally complete, we have seen numerous deadlines come and go without finalization of the procedure.” The Wi-Fi Alliance didn’t comment. T-Mobile and Nokia met with Julius Knapp, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, and Edward Smith, aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler, and others, the filing said. On a recent financial call, T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray said the carrier was “frustrated” by the lack of progress on LTE-U (see 1607270050). The Wi-Fi Alliance will deliver an “industry-validated Coexistence Test Plan as quickly as possible while ensuring industry-agreed-upon objectives for fair coexistence are met,” the alliance said in a statement. “While a significant number of test cases are nearly validated, validation of all test cases is necessary to deliver a test plan that will determine whether LTE-U devices are able to fairly share unlicensed spectrum with Wi-Fi. In addition, all of the test cases in the test plan are necessary to ensure LTE-U fairness with Wi-Fi.” The alliance said it shares the desire of other stakeholders to accelerate progress. “We will continue to serve as the forum for industry stakeholders to achieve a test solution in September. In facilitating this cross industry effort we welcome specific, actionable suggestions and contributions to accelerate delivery of the test plan.”

FirstNet will give public safety operatives better situational awareness, FirstNet said in a blog post Thursday. “For our nation’s first responders, having a common operating picture during emergencies and day-to-day scenarios is essential,” FirstNet said. “When emergencies happen in remote areas, public safety often lacks access to a radio signal or broadband connections that could help with response operations.”

The International Symposium on Advanced Radio Technologies (ISART) meeting next week in Westminster, Colorado, will explore “spectrum forensics,” said Keith Gremban, director of the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, in an NTIA blog post. ISART starts Monday, he noted. “Inexpensive radios and comprehensive code repositories have given those with limited skills and know-how the ability to misuse spectrum and cause interference with increasing frequency, severity and consequences. To help address this, some of the questions researchers and policymakers are trying to answer include: What are the best practices for isolating an interfering signal and tracking it to its origin, and what should the consequences be for the offending transmitter to prevent future interference?”