Verizon signed deals with tower companies Crown Castle and SBA Communications to rapidly deploy equipment as it launches 5G and fixed wireless broadband in C-band spectrum. “Deploying 5G Ultra Wideband on this spectrum requires new network equipment including basebands and antennas to be placed on existing towers,” Verizon said Monday. The terms weren’t announced. The carrier secured an average of 161 MHz of C-band spectrum nationwide in the recent FCC auction (see 2103110034).

T-Mobile defended its plans to close its legacy CDMA network at the end of this year, against criticism from Dish Network (see 2104010044), which said doing so will harm Boost subscribers. “All CDMA customers, including DISH’s Boost-branded customers, will receive enormous benefits by migrating as planned onto T-Mobile’s new network, and it is absolutely in their best interest to do so,” said a letter to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, posted Monday in docket 19-348. Under T-Mobile’s agreement to sell Boost to Dish, “it is unambiguously DISH’s financial responsibility to migrate customers to the new technology in a timely manner, and if they live up to those obligations, no consumers will be negatively affected by the sunset and in fact will receive substantial benefits,” the filing said: The move from CDMA to the new network will provide Dish's Boost-branded customers and T-Mobile’s CDMA customers “a far better experience than that on CDMA.” Dish didn't comment.

CEO Gary King and others from Radio Physics spoke with an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on the status of the company’s 2-year-old waiver request for its standoff threat detection device, operating in the 71-86 GHz band. The company also sought an experimental license to test the device. Radio Physics asked the aide to “look into any obstacles that might be holding up decisions by the Commission on the pending application and Petition,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-158.

CTIA and USTelecom urged FCC action on a June petition seeking regulatory relief on pro forma filings (see 2006050039), in a call with an aide to acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “By issuing a Declaratory Ruling clarifying that no pro forma filings are required for certain non-substantial transactions and streamlining application forms, and initiating a Rulemaking to apply post-closing notification procedures to all pro forma transactions no matter the license type, the Commission can meaningfully reduce confusion and burdens associated with non-substantive assignments and transfers of control for all Commission licensees, large and small, communications and non-communications providers,” said a Friday posting in docket 20-186.

Texas Instruments requested an FCC waiver Wednesday for its single-chip vehicle radar systems operating in the 60-64 GHz band. The systems “enable interior cabin sensing capabilities for use while the vehicle is in motion, including hand gesture detection, seat belt reminders, and driver vital sign monitoring,” TI said: When the vehicle is stopped, they enable “occupancy detection, including child presence detection and intruder detection.” The waiver would allow operations at a maximum +10 dBm transmitter conducted output power, +13 dBm peak effective isotropic radiated power and +13 dBm/MHz peak power spectral density.

The FCC Wireless Bureau said Thursday that 50 more tribal applications to use the 2.5 GHz band for broadband passed initial review and are accepted for filing. So far, the FCC has granted 216 licenses. The tribal window to apply for licenses closed Sept. 2 with more than 400 applications (see 2009030012).

A T-Mobile spokesperson confirmed a Raymond James report that it's using Nokia customer premises equipment in its fixed-wireless internet offering, as announced Wednesday (see 2104070047). T-Mobile is targeting 500,000 customers by the end of the year. “The size of the launch is encouraging, and includes an emphasis on rural/underserved areas that might make for low-hanging fruit,” said Raymond James in a Thursday note to investors.

Verizon recalled Ellipses Jetpack mobile hot spots imported by Franklin Wireless due to fire and burn hazards, said the Consumer Product Safety Commission Thursday. Verizon received 15 reports of devices overheating, including six reports of fire damage to bedding or flooring and two reports of minor burn injuries. The hot spots were sold at Verizon stores nationwide and other stores April 2017-March for $50-$150. The recalled devices are in a dark navy plastic oval housing with Verizon printed below the display window, and the paired charger has a sticker on the wire that says: “Compatible: FWC MHS900L, Model: FWCR900TVL, DC151030.” Consumers should power the unit off and keep it away from combustibles until it can be returned to Verizon. Users who need the hot spot for internet access should plug it in and power it on to receive two automatic over-the-air software updates that enable an ID number to be viewed on screen and prevent the device from charging while powered on. When it's not in use, they should turn it off and unplug it, CPSC said. Owners can call Verizon toll-free at 855-205-2627 or go online at www.EllipsisJetpackRecall.expertinquiry.com for information on receiving a free replacement device, said CPSC.

Verizon, Tracfone and America Movil defended Verizon’s proposed $7 billion buy of the low-cost carrier, saying it will mean more competition in the U.S. prepaid market. T-Mobile’s Metro and AT&T’s Cricket “have significant competitive advantages over TracFone as flanker brands of mobile network operators,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 21-112. “TracFone has lost nearly 20 percent of its customers in recent years, while Metro and Cricket have roughly doubled their subscribers -- largely at the expense of TracFone -- over the same period,” the filing said: “TracFone’s continuing subscriber losses and eroding share of the prepaid segment show how hard it is to compete on a standalone basis.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved waivers sought by the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians and the Lower Sioux Indian Community General Council, allowing them to use 2.5 GHz spectrum under the FCC’s tribal window. The Paskenta Band in California got a waiver for a parcel “previously owned in fee by the Tribe and placed into trust in October 2018,” and the Lower Sioux in Minnesota for “small areas of off-reservation trust lands.” Trust lands aren't otherwise eligible under the FCC’s rules. Both orders were in Wednesday’s Daily Digest.