AT&T’s decision to sell 600 MHz licenses it bought in the incentive auction (see 1801080017) doesn’t have negative implications for T-Mobile, the top bidder in the auction, Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche emailed investors Friday. “After reviewing T’s [AT&T’s] bidding activity, it is clear to us that T made a strategic decision to stop bidding on 600 MHz licenses during Stage 1 Round 22,” Fritzsche said. “We suspect this was driven by T’s confidence it was going to win the FirstNet contract, along with 20 MHz of 700 MHz and $6.5 [billion] that came with it, and opted to deemphasize its auction bidding activity.” The outlook remains bright for T-Mobile, she wrote. “Based on our conversations with spectrum experts this past week -- we remain even more enthused about [T-Mobile’s] spectrum portfolio and the opportunity it has to run with the 5G message.”

The FCC needs "to make both mid- and high- band spectrum available to enable the full suite of 5G services," said T-Mobile, which said it would launch 5G in the 600 MHz band. In meetings with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Mike O'Rielly and aides, "We discussed actions and plans by countries around the world to provide mid-band spectrum, including in the 3.5-4.2 GHz range for 5G services and the need for the Commission to move rapidly to make spectrum in this range available in the U.S.," said a filing posted Friday in docket 17-258. "To preserve U.S. leadership in wireless technologies, we urged the Commission to complete the rulemaking proceeding intended to update the regulations governing 3550-3700 MHz band and to initiate steps to auction Priority Access Licenses in that band in 2018." T-Mobile sought an NPRM "covering, and [to] otherwise accelerate its consideration of, the use of the 3.7-4.2 GHz band for terrestrial mobile broadband networks," the company said. "We discussed the need to move quickly to auction the millimeter wave bands allocated for terrestrial mobile use in the Spectrum Frontiers proceeding. ... Auctioning all bands together will result in a more robust and competitive auction."

APCO International supported an FCC draft wireless emergency alerts order on the tentative agenda for the Jan. 30 commissioners' meeting (see 1801090050). "The proposed enhancements to geo-targeting and alert message preservation will make our communities safer and improve public safety operations," said a letter posted Friday in docket 15-91. "Based on the record that has developed in this proceeding, requiring the proposed enhancements by November 30, 2019, is reasonable and technically feasible." APCO recommended the FCC add language to clarify the obligations of participating WEA providers, and "to narrow the intent of what it means to be 'technically incapable' of matching" a "specified target area," among other clarifications.

The wireless industry is committed to developing solutions for contraband cellphones in prisons, in cooperation with the FCC, correctional facilities and vendors, CTIA said. The group "supports improving corrections officials’ ability to timely terminate service to contraband handsets via a court-ordered process that would direct wireless carriers to disable service to devices identified as contraband inside a correctional facility," said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-111 on a call with Wireless Bureau Chief Don Stockdale and staffers. "CTIA also reiterated its opposition to the use of 'jamming' devices to achieve the shared goal of preventing inmates’ use of contraband wireless devices given the impact to legitimate users."

T-Mobile US said it added more than 5 million net customers last year, and more than 1.9 million net customers in Q4. That brings its subscriber base to nearly 72.6 million at the end of the year. “The #uncarrier had an amazing Q4 and 2017, but #wewontstop fighting for our customers!” tweeted CEO John Leger Tuesday. “Watch out 2018!” The quarterly net adds includes 891,000 postpaid phones, said a T-Mobile news release. The annual figures include 2.8 million branded postpaid phone net adds. Branded postpaid phone churn was 1.18 percent in Q4. T-Mobile had “better than expected postpaid phone adds, driven by better than expected churn,” said New Street Research’s Jonathan Chaplin. T-Mobile “continues to see best-in-class operating momentum, even in a seemingly ‘light’ competitive environment in US wireless this quarter,” Chaplin said.

CTIA further backed FCC efforts to modernize wireless broadband deployment processes. CTIA representatives "encouraged the Commission to find ways to more effectively target the environmental and historic preservation review of infrastructure and to streamline and provide clarity regarding the historic preservation review process," said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-79 on a meeting with Commissioner Brendan Carr and an aide. T-Mobile supported the FCC's continuing efforts to make millimeter wave bands available for mobile wireless broadband services. "To ensure continued U.S. leadership in Fifth Generation ('5G') wireless networks, we urged the Commission to initiate the process of auctioning together in 2018 the spectrum that has already been made available for that purpose -- in particular, the 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 47 GHz bands," said a filing in docket 14-177 on a discussion with Wireless Bureau Chief Don Stockdale and aides. "[W]hile T-Mobile has petitioned for reconsideration of the Commission’s allocation decision governing the 37-37.6 GHz band and the issue of operability in the band remains open, neither matter need delay Commission efforts to conduct an auction for the remainder of the 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands (37.6-40 GHz)."

The FCC should work with industry to craft "specific performance measures" for a Wireless Network Resiliency Cooperative Framework, plus promote awareness of the framework and monitor its outcomes, recommended the GAO in a report released Tuesday. It noted the FCC reported wireless outages due to physical incidents -- mostly accidents, with some natural disasters -- spiked from 2009 to 2016, in part due to the growth in wireless customers infrastructure. "More robust measures and a better plan to monitor the framework would help FCC collect information on the framework and evaluate its effectiveness. Such steps could help FCC address any challenges or decide whether further action is needed," GAO said. "Also, by promoting awareness about the framework, FCC would help public safety officials and other industry participants to be well positioned to use the framework to help them prepare for or respond to emergency events."

This will be “the year of infrastructure” for wireless, though questions remain, said Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche in a note to investors. “The question is WHO has the leverage in terms of infrastructure?” she wrote: Carriers or infrastructure companies themselves? Fritzsche cited speculation that some requests for proposals have been released by one of the largest carriers on small cells, and a separate one on dark fiber to the tower. “Some have argued these RFPs are out there just to test the pricing waters and squeeze some of the current backhaul providers’ fees,” she said. “While we believe some of this is indeed happening -- the key question is will the demand for this fiber override the pricing compression the carriers seem to be forcing.”

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is promising more precise geo-targeting of wireless emergency alerts, with a WEA proposal he said circulated Monday to be included on the Jan. 30 meeting agenda. Pai said Monday that wireless carriers in the WEA program delivering better geo-targeted alerts would encourage more use of the alerts during emergencies and lead to the public taking such alerts more seriously. The agenda is expected to be released Tuesday. CTIA, in a statement in response to Pai's announcement, said it backed the chairman's efforts to enhance the WEA system’s geo-targeting capabilities through device-based solutions, and the agency "should adopt new rules that are technically feasible along an achievable timeline.” Separately, in a docket 15-91 ex parte filing posted Monday, CTIA recapped meetings with aides to Pai and other commissioners at which it said device-based geo-targeting will take at least 36 months to implement after the effective date of new FCC rules. It said the kind of "fundamental shift" in WEA capabilities that such geo-targeting requires incudes new mobile wireless network and device standards, and the agency needs to adopt "a reasonable timeline" for achievement. It said testing new WEA enhancements with a prototype device using device-based geo-targeting methods could happen by the end of 2019. In a separate filing posted Monday, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions Wireless Technologies and Systems Committee listed 15 standards that would need to be modified or developed for device-based geo-targeting. It said such standards work would take 12-18 months. And the Federal Emergency Management Agency said for geo-targeting alert messages, it saw little need for coordinate precision beyond the fourth decimal point of degree, which works out to about 11 meters or 36 feet. The agency said this doesn't conflict with efforts to have WEA-driven device-based geo-targeting with a one-tenth mile accuracy.

Columbia Capital’s acquisition of 16 incentive auction licenses in 11 cities from AT&T wasn’t a surprise since AT&T likely got caught buying licenses it didn’t want or need, industry officials said Monday. AT&T already had low-band spectrum from the original 700 MHz auction, and picked up access to 20 MHz of 700 MHz spectrum nationwide through its FirstNet contract. The two companies didn’t comment Monday and haven't disclosed the purchase price. AT&T bid just $910 million for 23 licenses in the auction, which ended last year (see 1704130056). AT&T filed a document at the FCC indicating it would transfer its 600 MHz holdings to LB License Company, an affiliate of Columbia Capital, an Alexandria, Virginia-based investment firm, which specializes in wireless. Earlier, Facticia reported that LB was trying to raise $928 million for undisclosed expenses. Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America tweeted “@ATT now has access to public safety spectrum nationwide (700 MHz 'D Block').” He said “600MHz was insurance, but [AT&T] has plenty of pricey low-band spectrum for coverage; will put it's [sic] focus now on lower-cost, higher-bands for capacity.”