CTIA urged the FCC to move away from census tracts for priority access licenses (PALs) to be auctioned in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, in favor of the April compromise proposed by it and the Competitive Carriers Association (see 1804230064). Some “continue to call for the use of census tract PALs for all or some of the PALs,” but census tracts would be administratively burdensome, lead to interference concerns, increase the cost of deployment, hurt rural investment, lead to economic inefficiencies, “impede and delay access to spectrum” and “significantly reduce the value of the CBRS band,” CTIA said Friday in docket 17-258. “An auction that includes census tract licensing -- be it for all 70 megahertz of licensed spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band or only a portion -- will necessarily result in delayed deployment.” The filing hadn't been posted by the FCC.

NTIA said in a report Friday that tests at a federal prison in January show targeted micro-jammers can disrupt cell signals inside a prison cell but have no effect several feet away. Wireless carriers have opposed cell jamming, which they say violates the Communications Act. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), NTIA and the FCC cooperated on the tests, done at the Federal Correctional Institution at Cumberland, Maryland (see 1801180054). “These promising test results mark a step forward countering the security threat posed by contraband cellphones,” said Assistant Attorney General Beth Ann Williams for the Office of Legal Policy in a BOP news release. “The results indicate the potential for localized impact of this micro-jamming technology. That is an encouraging sign that brings us closer to a solution that will make our communities safer and help prevent the continuation of criminal activity from inside prison walls.” Prison officials “reported that while their cellphone signals were blocked inside the cell, their cellphones were operable when standing several feet from the cell’s window,” BOP said. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has concerns about the danger of contraband devices (see 1604060058). Last week, CTIA hosted a two-day meeting on technical solutions (see 1806130090). The report said the results reflect the conditions at the Cumberland prison. “The measurement results of this study are idiosyncratic to this particular jammer installation at this particular facility,” the report said. “Variations in jammer designs and emission characteristics, structural and attenuation characteristics of buildings, and site-dependent propagation factors would be expected to produce different results for different jammer installations.” CTIA and the FCC didn't comment.

The T-Mobile board ratified the appointment of Mike Sievert as president, as previously announced (see 1804290001) as part of the company’s proposed buy of Sprint, T-Mobile said in a Thursday SEC filing. Sievert retains the title of chief operating officer and former President John Legere remains CEO.

Nearly half of all smartphone owners in U.S. broadband homes stream video on their devices, “creating more demand for high-speed mobile connections as the mobile service industry is preparing to shift to 5G network infrastructure,” said Parks Associates Thursday. Video streaming “is increasingly common among mobile consumers,” though social media access is still the most popular activity, with nearly 60 percent of smartphone owners using their devices for that purpose, said Parks. "The resurgence of unlimited data plans has been successful in getting consumers to upgrade." As the “race” to 5G intensifies, “network capabilities will also become increasingly important in the battle for consumers,” it said.

T-Mobile offered inducements for some AT&T customers to switch to its network Thursday. “Last week, AT&T hiked up rates on some of their unlimited ‘grandfathered’ customers, the third increase in just the last two years,” T-Mobile said. “Those poor AT&T customers are now paying 50 percent more than originally. Quick, someone get AT&T execs a dictionary -- that’s not how ‘grandfathering’ works.” T-Mobile bills this as its “Why the Hike” offer. T-Mobile CEO John Legere often refers to AT&T and Verizon as “Dumb and Dumber.” The price hike “seals it,” Legere said. “AT&T is ‘Dumber’ for sure.” The offer applies to some AT&T customers with data unlimited for iPhone plans. AT&T didn't comment.

The FCC Wireless Bureau said it's accepting applications to modify existing licenses in the 39 GHz band. “The Bureau is accepting these modification applications to facilitate the efficient use by existing 39 GHz licensees of the millimeter wave spectrum” for 5G, the IoT and “other advanced spectrum-based services” before an auction of new licenses for flexible use in the band, said a Thursday public notice in docket 18-619. Nothing the bureau is doing “prejudges the proposals pending before the Commission regarding the assignment of licenses for, or access to, the 39 GHz band,” staff said. The FCC hasn't set a date for a 39 GHz auction. "We emphasize that -- for purposes of streamlined processing -- licensees may only request modifications that reflect the amount of their existing holdings, i.e., they cannot apply for modifications to their licenses that cover more MHz-Pops within each [market] than what they currently hold in the 39 GHz band," the bureau said.

The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) urged the FCC not to change rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band to take spectrum away from the general authorized access tier or approve priority access licenses larger than counties. “It is likely that many users will rely on both PAL and GAA spectrum,” the group said. “The current PAL rules allow rural and small ISPs, individual business facilities and venues, and public-purpose networks -- including schools, libraries, college campuses and municipal services -- to leverage access to both interference-protected and GAA spectrum.” PISC met with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, said a filing in docket 17-258.

South Korea is poised to jump into the mid-band fray with auction of 3.5 GHz spectrum for 5G starting Friday, as the FCC is working toward finalizing revised rules. CTIA is asking the FCC to move quickly to free more mid-band spectrum. “The wireless spectrum being auctioned by South Korea’s government will be available for commercial use by December of this year,” CTIA said. “Recent research commissioned by CTIA revealed that the U.S. ranks sixth out of 10 lead nations studied in terms of mid-band spectrum availability. China ranked first.” The association noted Spain plans a mid-band auction in July, and Australia and Italy plan to launch mid-band auctions in coming months. The FCC didn't comment. “The leadership of the United States is not guaranteed -- especially when you consider that the FCC is timidly moving to auction spectrum for 5G one band at a time instead of boldly all together," responded Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "It also has yet to put on a public calendar just when additional airwaves will be made available. These are confusing signals to send to the marketplace. We need to fix them.”

A 3rd Generation Partnership Project plenary meeting approved completion of release 15 5G stand-alone (SA) new radio standards, NTT DoCoMo said Thursday in a release listing AT&T, Dish Network, LG, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Verizon, ZTE and many others. The group approved specifications for non-stand-alone (NSA) operation in December. “The whole industry is taking the final sprint towards 5G commercialization,” the company said. “Completion of SA specifications which complements the NSA specifications, not only gives 5G NR the ability of independent deployment, but also brings a brand new end-to-end network architecture.” This is key to deployment of 5G, said Asha Keddy, Intel vice president-Technology, Systems Architecture & Client Group: “Industry has not just taken more steps to advance the future of 5G, but has gone from a walk to a jog to a run, and is now in a full-blown sprint to commercialization.”

The Aerospace Industries Association petition for technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems controls can't be the basis for an NPRM, CTIA replied in RM-11798. In April, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on the petition. Initial comments were mixed (see 1805300049). CTIA saw general consensus. “Commenters agree that the AIA Petition lacks clarity and cannot be acted upon,” CTIA said. “A diverse set of UAS stakeholders, from those with interests in small UAS, to large stratospheric platforms, to AIA members themselves, are puzzled by the ambiguity.” CTIA disputed Boeing statements no bands other than 5030-5091 MHz are available for control-non-payload communications: “Many other spectrum bands are suitable for UAS command and control functions, including the commercial wireless bands that enable 4G LTE and 5G.” AeroVironment, which makes small UAS for DOD and other customers, disagreed. In the initial comment round, six of eight commenters supported releasing an NPRM, the company said. “Within the rulemaking process, opposition to, or alternatives for, committing 5030-5091 MHz to safety or regularity of flight can be debated in detail,” AeroVironment said. AIA asked the FCC to act on the NPRM, saying it has "no expectation” the band is the only one that would be used by UAS. “A variety of spectrum bands and frequency assignment mechanisms are currently being contemplated for different UAS use cases,” the group said. “The participation of multiple industry stakeholders serves to reinforce the view that the time is right for the FCC to act.” Rockwell Collins "fully agrees" with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon seeking prompt action.