AT&T and EchoStar's joint plan for sharing the 28, 37 and 39 GHz bands would protect existing fixed satellite service licensees while giving them co-primary status with new Upper Microwave Flexible Use licensees, set up protection zones in metropolitan areas to prevent new FSS installations from interfering with UMFU systems, and create coordination guidelines and parameters for FSS/UMFU spectrum sharing outside those protection zones, the companies told the FCC. In an ex parte filing Thursday in docket 14-177, they said coordination, safe harbor and aggregate interference guideline details still are being hashed out. But for the 28 GHz band they propose individually licensed FSS earth stations already operational or in the works by the UMFU auction be co-primary with UMFU licensees, with the UMFU licensee having to design its network to accept interference from the grandfathered FSS earth stations and the FSS operators allowed to add individually licensed earth stations to existing facilities. Meanwhile, they said, outside urban cores, co-primary FSS and UMFU licensees would need to engage in "good faith coordination" when placing new FSS earth stations, while within urban cores FSS could deploy on a secondary basis. They also said UMFU licensees would be required to respond to coordination requests in good faith "and cannot demand financial consideration from FSS operator" except for reimbursement of coordination expenses. Regarding the 37 and 39 GHz bands, AT&T and EchoStar are proposing combining them into one contiguous 37-40 GHz band, with UMFU use permitted throughout it. The 39-40 GHz portion of the band would be the preferred channel for new individual licensed FSS earth station deployments, and UMFU licensees there would have to accommodate those deployments on request and give them co-primary status, they said. Meanwhile, FSS deployments in the 37.5-39 GHz portion would be allowed on a secondary basis, they said. They also proposed guidelines for FSS receive earth stations and new UMFU licensees in the 39-40 GHz spectrum and for UMFU accommodation of new FSS deployment in the band. The filing recapped a meeting involving such FCC officials as International Bureau Chief Mindel de la Torre with company representatives including EchoStar Vice President-Regulatory Affairs Jennifer Manner and AT&T Assistant Vice President-Federal Regulatory Stacey Black. CTA also has pushed for creation of a new Upper Microwave Flexible Use Service in the 28 GHz, 39 GHz and 37 GHz bands (see 1601280062).

Sprint signed an agreement with several bankruptcy remote entities, collectively called Network LeaseCo, for the sale and leaseback of some of its network assets, mostly equipment located at cell towers, the carrier said in a news release Wednesday. The transaction is expected to close next week and give Sprint $2.2 billion in funding, the carrier said: “When closed, the transaction will immediately improve the company’s liquidity position at an attractive cost of capital in the mid-single digits.” Sprint Chief Financial Officer Tarek Robbiati said the company developed the deal in cooperation with parent SoftBank. “This transaction is an important first step in addressing upcoming debt maturities and allows us to stay focused on our corporate transformation, which involves growing topline revenues and aggressively taking costs out of the business to improve operating cash flow,” he said. Sprint said it will pay the money back in staggered, unequal payments through January 2018.

Nokia said it will cut thousands of jobs worldwide between now and the end of 2018, tied to its recent buy of Alcatel-Lucent. Nokia said it previously indicated it anticipates cutting just over $1 billion in operating costs in 2018. “Nokia is taking steps to adapt to challenging market conditions and to shift resources to future-oriented technologies such as 5G, the Cloud and the Internet of Things,” it said in a Wednesday news release. “As part of the program, the company also continues to target worldwide savings in real estate, services, procurement, supply chain and manufacturing.” Workforce reductions will come largely in areas where there are overlaps, including R&D and sales, Nokia said. Company representatives met Wednesday with two European Works Councils to discuss the job cuts, with similar meetings planned in almost 30 countries in future weeks, the manufacturer said. The actions are "designed to ensure that Nokia remains a strong industry leader," said Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri. "We also know that our actions will have real human consequences and, given this, we will proceed in a way that is consistent with our company values and provide transition and other support to the impacted employees." Nokia plans to cut 1,300 jobs at its Finnish bases in Espoo, Oulu and Tampere and 1,400 of its 4,800 jobs in Germany, said an article in the Wall Street Journal. Nokia plans to keep 4,200 workers in place in France for at least two years in keeping with promises to the French government to win approval of the Alcatel-Lucent acquisition. Nokia has 104,000 employees worldwide.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved U.S. Cellular’s buy from Adams Telcom of two lower 700 MHz C-block licenses covering two local market areas in Illinois. The deal got extra scrutiny because it gives U.S. Cellular more than one-third of the currently suitable and available below-1-GHz spectrum in those markets, the bureau said Wednesday. “After carefully evaluating the likely competitive effects of [U.S. Cellular’s] increased aggregation of below-1-GHz spectrum in the relevant local market areas, as well as the other factors ordinarily considered in a case-by-case review, we find that the likelihood of competitive harm is low,” the bureau said in the order. “We find some public interest benefits are likely to be realized, such as the deployment of a competitive LTE network and a better consumer experience.”

Google supports CTIA’s request that the FCC reconsider out-of-band emissions (OOBE) limits for Citizens Band Radio Service devices in the 3.5 GHz band, Google representatives said in a series of meetings at the FCC. Google met with Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai, and aides to the other commissioners, said a filing in docket 12-354. ”Google representatives noted current interest being shown in CBRS by wireless carriers, equipment manufacturers, and chip suppliers, as well as the productive role the Wireless Innovation Forum (WinnForum) is playing in developing consensus among a large and diverse group of CBRS stakeholders,” Google said. There are now 55 organizations developing 3.5 GHz band standards within the WinnForum’s Spectrum Sharing Committee, Google said. Google’s propagation testing shows OOBE requirements “can be relaxed as proposed by CTIA without material increased risk of harmful interference,” the company said. WinnForum members including Google also lobbied the FCC recently on CBRS (see 1604050019).

AT&T responded to T-Mobile comments Tuesday that AT&T and Verizon had to know Netflix was throttling its own transmissions to their subscribers (see 1604050053). An AT&T spokesman said T-Mobile CEO John Legere originally accused AT&T and Verizon of throttling the Netflix transmissions until it became clear Netflix was responsible. “We're not going to comment on this because we're still waiting for Legere's apology for falsely accusing our company two weeks ago,” the AT&T spokesman said. “Legere is obviously correct,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “There is no way that Verizon and AT&T didn’t notice that Netflix downloads on their mobile network was using a far smaller amount of bandwidth than Netflix downloads on their wireline network.” But Calabrese also said he was frustrated about complaints that Netflix doesn't fall under FCC net neutrality rules. “How Netflix wants to transmit its content, as one of millions of edge providers, is between Netflix and its subscribers,” he said. AT&T and Verizon had to know what Netflix was doing, said Harold Feld, senior vice president at Public Knowledge. “AT&T does seem to be reveling in its role as the offended innocent, falsely accused by T-Mobile of throttling Netflix when it was Netflix deliberately reducing the speed to AT&T's network to avoid giving AT&T subscribers unexpected overages,” Feld said. “I can see the allure. But I wouldn't overplay the role. As just about everyone agrees, this doesn't actually have anything to do with net neutrality.”

Representatives of the Wireless Innovation Forum, CTIA and various companies active in the area updated the FCC on work on standards for the 3.5 GHz band. The industry representatives met with officials from the FCC Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 12-354. It said the companies have completed an interim technical report on exchange of information between spectrum access systems and between SASs and citizens band radio service devices. At the meeting were representatives of Airspan Networks, AT&T, Ericsson, Federated Wireless, Google, Huawei, Key Bridge Global, Motorola Solutions, Nokia Networks, Pathfinder Wireless, Qualcomm, Ruckus Wireless, Sony and Verizon.

Media Institute President Patrick Maines said revelations that Netflix throttled its own service to AT&T and Verizon customers show deep problems in FCC net neutrality rules. Commission officials have said Netflix, as an edge provider, isn't subject to the rules (see 1603250050). “The two companies that generate more than half of all downloads in North America are Netflix and Google,” Maines said in a commentary in The Hill. “And it was those two companies, and their amen chorus in what is laughingly referred to as the tech media, that led the way to what became the net neutrality rule. Indeed, one can say that the whole of the net neutrality case was conjured up by, and for the express benefit of, exactly two companies.” Netflix didn't comment.

IoT went mainstream in 2015, said Verizon in a report released Tuesday. Globally, the installed base of IoT endpoints will grow to more than 25.6 billion in 2019, up from 9.7 billion in 2014, and hit 30 billion in 2020, said Verizon, citing an IDC report released in February. Global spending on IoT will hit $1.3 trillion in 2019, up from $591.7 billion in 2014, with a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent, it said. “2015 was the year IoT gained legitimacy,” Verizon said in its report. “Businesses budged off a ‘start small think big’ mindset. Today, they’re building IoT into future strategies and business models.” Key areas for IoT growth include smart cities, energy, agriculture, transportation, healthcare and home monitoring, the telco said. Enterprise businesses say that revenue growth is the biggest factor driving them to adopt IoT, said Verizon, citing an Oxford Economics study commissioned by the telco. “The view has been that IoT is a mashup of complex technologies used only by early adopters,” said Mike Lanman, Verizon senior vice president-IoT and enterprise products. “In the past year, we’ve seen compelling examples of how IoT is being deployed by a wide-range of enterprises, entrepreneurs, municipalities and developers to address relevant business, consumer and public needs. Meanwhile, consumers are more willing to try new technologies and apps that introduce a better way of life.”

A municipal broadband project in California will wirelessly bring 1 Gbps speeds to residents, businesses and community sites in Santa Cruz. Siklu Communication, Cruzio and the City of Santa Cruz on Tuesday unveiled a project to use hybrid fiber-wireless technologies to roll out the wireless service in less than three months. The service will connect existing fiber from independent ISP Cruzio to millimeter wave radios provided by Siklu. The radios can be attached to building facades, roofs, poles and other locations to wirelessly extend the reach of fiber. Millimeter wave frequencies allow the radios to transmit multiple gigabits reliably with low latency and no interference and congestion. Chairman Izik Kirshenbaum said in a news release that Siklu aims to deploy the same technology “in other U.S. communities in the months to come.”