The National Science Foundation said it designated its first two Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research -- in Salt Lake City and New York. “These platforms will power research motivated by real-world challenges on experimental, next generation wireless test beds at the scale of cities and communities,” the foundation said Monday. “The goal is to advance the state of the art for wireless technology beyond today's 4G, LTE and emerging 5G capabilities.” The development “will help the wireless industry test new and experimental technologies, processes and devices,” said Tom Sawanobori, CTIA chief technology officer.

The FCC proposed a penalty of $235,668 against Aura Holdings of Wisconsin for allegedly failing to provide accurate information to the FCC. “Aura apparently submitted false and misleading information in 10 different change in ownership applications using the Commission’s Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) system,” the FCC said in a notice of apparent liability. “Aura also apparently made a false and misleading statement to a Commission employee, claiming the Company owned an antenna structure that it did not own.” Didn't the FCC "issue a much bigger fine in 1990 for less egregious action?” former FCC engineer Michael Marcus asked on Twitter. Marcus cited a 1990 case in which Centel Cellular agreed to pay $1 million to the federal government for a 1989 accident in which two died when their helicopter crashed into a radio tower under construction in North Carolina. Was Enforcement Bureau action even timely? Marcus asked. “Why not 18 USC 1001 prosecution in this safety matter?” The FCC and Aura didn't comment.

Use of the TV white spaces is critical to deployment of broadband in rural areas, Connected Nation said in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “By leveraging TV white spaces and other unlicensed technologies in rural areas, there is significant potential to reduce the cost of bridging the Digital Divide when compared to deploying fiber solutions alone,” the group said in docket 16-56. "That cost savings could mean that we can deliver the life-changing opportunities to rural Americans who for too long have lagged behind their city-dwelling counterparts. We believe that all potentially viable options should be on the table.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai assured Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and other senators that a Mobility Fund II coverage map is “only the beginning of the process.” The senators cited “serious concerns” about the coverage map and whether it overstates the level of 4G LTE coverage in many markets. The Rural Wireless Association has objected to the FCC map (see 1803290043). “The Commission established a lengthy and robust challenge process in consultation with a variety of stakeholders precisely because we anticipated, based on past experience, that parties would raise concerns with the initial eligible areas map,” Pai said in a letter released last week. It will issue a map of “those areas that did not make the initial eligibility map because only one unsubsidized carrier claims to provide the requisite level of service,” Pai said. “These are the areas that are most susceptible of being successfully challenged.”

The Wi-Fi Alliance urged the FCC to move quickly on opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use, in a meeting with Chief Julius Knapp and others from the Office of Engineering and Technology. “Limited availability of unlicensed mid-band spectrum undermines the potential of Wi-Fi technology to deliver ubiquitous broadband connectivity,” said a filing Thursday in docket 17-183. “The next generation of Wi-Fi, based on IEEE standard 802.11ax, is optimized to support high data throughput applications in wider channels (i.e., 80 megahertz and 160 megahertz), and therefore requires access to contiguous spectrum segments.” The alliance said the band is “ideally suited for rapid deployment of Wi-Fi technologies because it is adjacent to spectrum in the 5 GHz band that is designated for unlicensed use.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment Friday on whether it should extend by up to three years 12-year license terms and associated build-out requirements for AWS-3 licenses. It cited “complexities and timing of clearing Federal government operations” from the spectrum. The bureau asked if extension is warranted for all licenses or only those issued the earliest. “If a blanket extension for all AWS-3 licenses is not appropriate, is an extension warranted for AWS-3 licenses in specific geographical area(s) or spectrum band(s) (1695-1710 MHz or 1755-1780 MHz or specific blocks therein) in light of the status of Federal relocation?” the public notice asked. “If an extension is warranted, how long should it be? ... Bear in mind the Commission’s previous indication that it would consider extensions up to 3 years.” Comments are due June 5, replies July 5, in docket 18-104. The auction ended in January 2015 and set records for an FCC spectrum auction with almost $45 billion in provisionally winning bids (see 1501290059).

The U.S. wireless industry contributes $475 billion yearly to the U.S. economy, said a CTIA report released Thursday written by Accenture. This shows why the U.S. has to be first to 5G, said CTIA President Meredith Baker. “The next generation of wireless will represent an even bigger boost to the economy, and that’s why we need key policy reforms this year to ensure the U.S. wireless industry wins this global race.”

Representatives from APCO, the National Emergency Number Association and CTIA met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff on changes to 911 and the role that could be played by apps and the like. “Supplemental data solutions can offer Automatic Location Information (ALI), routing information, or other data relevant to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) for a wireless 9-1-1 call,” said a filing Wednesday in docket 07-114. That comes with risks, the groups warned. “To maintain the integrity, reliability and resiliency of the evolving 9-1-1 system, the parties encouraged the Commission to issue guidance to ensure that such solutions are reliable and secure.”

Verizon is working with leading vendors and technology companies to test 4G over the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service spectrum at its lab in Irving, Texas, the carrier said Thursday. After initial trials last year, Corning, Ericsson, Federated Wireless, Google, Nokia and Qualcomm are working with Verizon on “end-to-end system testing to further develop the use of this new spectrum,” Verizon said. The companies are testing spectrum access system algorithms from Google and Federated Wireless to make sure they are “consistently providing the best channel match from the SAS database,” said a news release. Also under examination are “data rates, modulations and the customer experience using CBRS spectrum,” the level of interoperability between infrastructure providers “to ensure seamless handoffs between CBRS spectrum and licensed spectrum for customers,” and the performance and data rates of 4G LTE over the spectrum,” the carrier said. The company predicted the band will be available for use next year.

Four out of five iPhone X buyers who were previously Samsung owners were “satisfied with making the switch,” Strategy Analytics reported. The iPhone X’s $999 starting price was an issue for many respondents, some "questioning whether it is a premium worth paying,” SA said Wednesday. Among buyers who converted brands, more who moved to the iPhone X were satisfied than those moving from Apple to the Samsung S8, said analyst Adam Thorwart. Price was the main issue for discontent among consumers switching from Samsung to Apple, said analyst Kevin Nolan. “While switchers were highly satisfied with the iPhone X’s feature set,” they didn’t feel the features justified the high price, Nolan said, saying it opens an “opportunity” for Samsung to reclaim some converters.