Amdocs, CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google, Key Bridge Wireless and Sony filed in docket 15-319 proposals at the FCC to serve as the first spectrum access system (SAS) administrators in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. Ruckus and Fairspectrum earlier filed (see 1809100051). Federated said Monday it filed its proposal to make initial commercial deployment (ICD) in the band and to unveil a training program for certified professional installers of CBRS devices. “We have not only submitted our proposal to the FCC, we’ve done so on an astonishingly large scale, which underscores the scope of shared spectrum adoption in the wireless industry and signals true commercialization of the band right out of the gate,” blogged Federated CEO Iyad Tarazi. “It’s taken us five years to get here, and we’re not stopping now.” Google said its SAS can support service anywhere in the U.S. “For ICD, however, Google anticipates discrete deployments in various locations around the country,” the tech player said. “Locations will be selected based on the participants’ joint business interests, as well as on the need to protect Tier 1 incumbent systems.” Google said its different deployments will be used to test various conditions: “Deployment at one site may demonstrate protection of nearby [grandfathered wireless protection zones]. Deployment at another site may demonstrate protection of [fixed satellite service operators]. Yet another site may involve overlapping coverage with another SAS.”

The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce supports T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint “because it will expedite restoration of fast, reliable broadband service in Puerto Rico, which in turn will help encourage the continued recovery of Puerto Rico’s economy and communities after Hurricane Maria.” The filing was posted Monday in docket 18-197.

The National Taxpayers Union Monday called on the FCC to move forward with proposed changes to wireless infrastructure rules. Chairman Ajit Pai last week circulated a draft declaratory ruling and order, crafted by Commissioner Brendan Carr (see 1809050029), for a vote Sept. 26. “Local government bureaucrats have been abusing their authority to drag out permitting processes and charge exorbitant fees to wireless companies rolling out networks,” the group said. “Carr’s proposal addresses these problems.”

The FTC finalized 5-0 a settlement with Blu Products over allegations (see 1804300045) the mobile phone manufacturer allowed a third-party service provider from China to collect personal information about consumers without consent, despite privacy agreements, the agency said Monday. There was no financial penalty. The manufacturer is prohibited from misrepresenting the extent to which it protects privacy and security of personal information. The company didn’t comment.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau Monday sought comment on an August report by CTIA and the national wireless carriers on vertical accuracy (z-axis) for wireless calls to 911. The report by Location Technologies Test Bed, the test bed administrator, “describes the testing process used to assess vertical location solutions … and provides the results of the testing,” the bureau said. The report notes that two vendors, NextNav and Polaris, took part in tests. The technologies they offer “rely on barometric pressure sensor information from mobile wireless handsets to determine an estimated altitude of an indoor wireless 9-1-1 call,” the bureau said. Comments are due Oct. 1 in docket 07-114, replies Oct. 11.

Take “a light regulatory approach” and don't pre-empt local governments to spur wireless deployment, the Marin (California) Telecommunications Agency (MTA) urged the FCC, posted Thursday in docket 17-84. “The Commission appears to be on the cusp of a rulemaking that would cripple local government authority,” said MTA, a local authority including Marin County and nine cities and towns near San Francisco. “All this damage would be done for the purpose of providing one industry and one technology with … preferential treatment subsidized by local taxpayers and other users of the public rights of way. The MTA is struggling to identify another industry that the federal government forces local government to subsidize in such a manner, and … we believe the Commission is setting a dangerous precedent if it continues.” MTA supports communications deployment including small cells, but delays may happen due to missing or incomplete applications by industry and design, location and appearance issues, it said. The FCC last week circulated a draft order targeting “outlier” conduct by local governments said to be slowing 5G deployment, while some localities sought reconsideration of an August order to pre-empt moratoriums (see 1809050029).

Two groups representing users of 2.5 GHz spectrum raised concerns about the FCC's examination. There's a pending NPRM and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel Thursday sought action (see 1809060049). “In areas of the country where Educational Broadband Service (EBS) spectrum is licensed, the spectrum is not underutilized,” said the Catholic Technology Network and National EBS Association in docket 18-120. “There is widespread deployment of mobile and fixed wireless services, which are being used for both educational and commercial purposes. There is no reason to transform, and potentially disrupt, existing uses.” Engineers for the Integrity of Broadcast Auxiliary Services Spectrum (EIBASS) said the NPRM ignores that grandfathered TV BAS Channel A10 still is in the band, at 2,483.5–2,500 MHz. EIBASS warned of potential interference and an “oversight of shocking proportions.” With Sprint the largest EBS license holder, rules should acknowledge it's mostly used by carriers, and “there can be no doubt that the 2.5 GHz band is a commercial band,” recommended Midco, a regional cable provider. “Create rules to acknowledge and encourage this commercial development.” Bridge the Divide Foundation and Rocky Mountain Broadband called for changes. “Expand the coverage for EBS licenses from census tracts to county boundaries and remove educational limitations,” they asked. “These changes will serve the public interest by providing educators with flexibility in the use of their spectrum and attract necessary capital to build out the networks, thereby eliminating white spaces.”

The launch of 5G offers benefits and challenges to Verizon, Macquarie’s Amy Yong wrote investors. “5G home broadband faces three hurdles: 1) the technology is unproven; 2) Fios’ execution set the bar high; and 3) cable already offers 1 Gbps speeds." The analyst compared the launch with that of Fios: “This time, Verizon is much smarter but so is cable.” Based on Macquarie's survey, 64 percent wouldn't pay a premium to cable for Verizon’s 1 Gbps speeds. Verizon also has learned from its Fios experience, she said. “Its Fios deployment was met with long/messy municipality approval processes.” The initial 5G cities -- Los Angeles, Sacramento, Houston and Indianapolis -- "were picked based on fiber access, topography, population density, ease of municipal approval and competitive landscape,” she said.

Verizon and Nokia completed the first over-the-air, end-to-end data transmission on a commercial 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G new radio (NR) network in Washington, D.C., sending a signal over Nokia radio equipment and Verizon’s high-band spectrum and 5G network core to a Nokia test van downtown. “The transmission was part of the two companies’ ongoing demonstrations of 5G NR technology before commercial 5G mobile service launches in 2019,” Verizon said Thursday. “In August, Verizon and Nokia completed the first successful transmission of a 3GPP NR 5G signal to a receiver situated in a moving vehicle. In June, they completed a series of outdoor data sessions over the 5G NR standard, and the successful multi-carrier aggregation to boost those signals into Gbps range.”

Qualcomm regards 2019 and 2020 as likely “building years” for 5G smartphones as a prelude to the market reaching “scale” in 2021, said Chief Financial Officer George Davis at a Citi investors conference Wednesday. Every major smartphone OEM will have “rolled over to 5G” by 2021, he said. That Qualcomm knows of one “very large OEM” customer that plans no 5G smartphone launch in 2019 leads the company to believe that the market won’t be “ready for scale” until 2020 or later, he said. The componentry that Qualcomm markets for 4G smartphones “has an integrated modem,” he said. “Everything is very efficient and uber-effective” and is a “great value proposition for the supply chain,” he said. “You’ll have all that” with 5G, but not until 2021, he said. That will give Qualcomm at least a year and a half for the “debugging of everything,” learning all the “pain points that come with any generation change,” he said. It’s not easy to compare the predicted 5G ramp with the launch of 4G six years ago, said Davis. Average selling prices (ASPs) of the componentry that will go into a 5G smartphone will go up because those devices “are more complex,” he said. “They're bigger. They provide more functionality. So, that's a positive.” With the 5G ramp, “you won't have the same degree of unit growth behind it” as the industry had with the 4G launch, because the smartphone market is more mature and can’t support that same “sheer growth,” he said. Nevertheless, “from our standpoint, it's a very important time for improving share and improving ASPs and I think that's really what plays out over the over the next few years,” he said.