Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies said they completed the first successful frequency division duplexing massive MIMO trial with a fully compatible customer device. The three companies said they used the latest Ericsson massive MIMO software and hardware on Verizon's network, plus a mobile test device using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform. “Massive MIMO is a key technology component in the evolution towards 5G,” said a Wednesday news release. “It has the potential of greatly improving network capacity and the customer's experience.” The test relied on transmission mode 9, which is designed to help reduce interference between base stations while maximizing signal stability and boosting performance.
Two Alexa-enabled products -- Amazon’s highly discounted Echo Dot and Fire TV Stick -- were the top-selling products at Amazon this holiday season, said Amazon Tuesday. Amazon sold “millions more” of its branded devices vs. the 2016 holiday season, it said, without breaking out numbers. A spokeswoman said the company couldn’t provide more specifics “at this time.” Amazon cut the price of the Dot, its entry-level Alexa device, from $49 to $29 through the holidays. It shaved the Fire TV Stick tag to $24 over Black Friday weekend, raising it to $39 after Cyber Monday (see 1711280053). Echo Spot, Echo Dot and Echo Buttons sold out this holiday season, Amazon said.
CTIA representatives said they met with staff from the FCC Enforcement, Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Wireline bureaus on wireless industry efforts to curb unwanted robocalls. Robocalls have been a top FCC consumer focus under Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1703230035). “We explained our support for a voluntary call-blocking framework with safe harbor protections and continued innovation to stop robocalls,” said the filing last week in docket 17-59. “We discussed our support for call authentication to combat illegal robocalls and asked the FCC to support industry work and encourage widespread adoption of call authentication protocols at home and abroad.” Officials from AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile also attended the meeting.
Additional wireless ISPs warned against selling priority access licenses (PALs) in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) band in geographic sizes larger than census tracts (see 1712220022). Kentucky WiMax said it already serves about 40 percent of its customers using WiMax equipment in the 3.65-3.7 GHz band, but is changing to LTE. “The rule changes proposed by the NPRM which increase the size of PALs and lengthen the term of licenses would most certainly put our company at a disadvantage to that of larger nationwide carriers,” the Kentucky WISP said. On-Ramp Indiana said larger PALs would “make the band nothing more than another Licensed band for the cellular industry.” InvisiMax, which serves parts of North Dakota and Minnesota, said it has invested more than $9 million in its network and investment sometimes seems “never ending.” InvisiMax said it's excited about the CBRS spectrum, but only big corporations and carriers will pursue larger PALs.
French company Rifft will show at CES a wireless charging system that charges multiple Qi-based devices simultaneously. The system is based on magnetic slabs that can be designed into furniture or placed on a hard surface. Users can personalize the modular slabs, which contain Qi power transmitters, fitting them together like a jigsaw puzzle that connects to one power outlet. The finishing plate that covers the magnetic charging layer can be customized by color, texture, finish and size. Users can charge devices not Qi-enabled by adding a Wi Surf receiving antenna, said the company. Rifft will exhibit at booth #50221 in Eureka Park at the Sands during next month's CES in Las Vegas.
Amazon bought video doorbell and home security camera company Blink, said Blink Friday. Terms weren’t disclosed. For Blink product owners, “nothing changes for now,” said the company website. “We’ll continue to operate under the Amazon umbrella selling and supporting the same great products,” said the company. An Amazon spokeswoman said: “As one of their distributors, we already know customers love their home security cameras and monitoring systems. We’re excited to welcome their team and invent together on behalf of customers.”
The Office of Management and Budget signed off on the information collection requirements of an order from last year on a common standard for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT), the FCC said in a Friday notice. FCC commissioners approved the order 5-0 at their Dec. 15, 2016, meeting (see 1612150048). RTT is expected to make communications simpler and more natural for many who are deaf or hard of hearing, FCC officials said then.
AT&T is seeking permission from the FCC to demo 5G's “functionality and capabilities” in the 3.5 GHz band in Washington. AT&T filed for special temporary authority to use the band for six months on an experimental basis at 601 New Jersey Ave. NW, the site of the AT&T Forum for Technology, Entertainment & Policy. “The demonstrations using this STA will provide valuable information to potential users whose feedback on the perceived performance of services provided through these 5G systems will also enable future standards and system optimizations,” AT&T told the FCC.
It would be a mistake for Dish Network to devote large quantities of wireless spectrum to the IoT, NPD analyst Eddie Hold said in a blog post. Dish's Charlie Ergen, who since stepped down as CEO to focus on the wireless business but remains chairman (see 1712050016), said in November that Dish was on track to deploy its narrowband IoT network in 2018 (see 1711160057). NPD cautioned against the move as it relates to smart home and smart meters. Many utility companies already have determined their IoT strategy and are installing smart meters today, Hold said Thursday. “By the time Dish builds out the necessary network, most of the near-term market opportunity will have been tied up in long-term contracts.” Hold suggested instead that Dish provide a cellular network to support long-range management of commercial drones. That inevitably leads to Amazon, which has led the way on drone use for commercial delivery. Many commercial drone opportunities are local, but Amazon’s “implied strategy around drones is far broader, both in terms of aspirations and geographical scope,” Hold said. Amazon needs a wireless strategy underlying the service, he said, offering the possibility of Amazon working with an existing mobile carrier to create an “IoT service-level agreement to support the drone needs.” Amazon and Dish could establish a joint venture to build the new wireless network, which could be a venture that allows Amazon to support its drone strategy, or a full-scale partnership, wherein the two companies combine forces in mobile “to build something far greater, and with more of a consumer focus,” Hold said. Merging the assets would allow Dish and Amazon to enter the mobile market “in a far more aggressive way, creating a competitor that will threaten the current status quo.”
Panasonic North America urged the FCC to protect vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications in the 5.9 GHz band. The FCC is looking at whether to allow Wi-Fi to share the band (see 1707250049), using spectrum set aside for dedicated short-range communications technology. Panasonic said, in a filing in docket 17-183, it supports efforts by the FCC and Department of Transportation to evaluate sharing, but they “should not consider any sharing arrangements that would degrade V2X communications in the 5.9 GHz band or require re-channelization that would delay implementation of V2X technology and its associated safety benefits.”