T-Mobile Thursday unveiled the first smartphone with a chip that supports the 600 MHz spectrum it bought in the TV incentive auction -- the LG V30. T-Mobile also said it has deployed 600 MHz in a second market, Scarborough, Maine. Earlier this month, the carrier deployed the TV spectrum in Cheyenne, Wyoming (see 1708160038). T-Mobile also said it's using new Ericsson radio equipment that supports both LTE and 5G. “We’re lighting up our new super spectrum for LTE and laying the foundation for 5G so fast we’re making the other guys’ heads spin -- and with the LG V30, everything is coming together in record time,” said T-Mobile CEO John Legere in a news release. AT&T and Verizon also said they plan to offer the new smartphone (see here and here).

The FCC Wireless Bureau denied a request by American Electric Power for a waiver to access 800 MHz industrial/land transportation pool frequencies in Sugarcreek and New Philadelphia, Ohio. AEP said the spectrum would be used to fill in coverage gaps and increase the capacity of its network. Rules set aside the channels, in the interleaved portion of the band, for three years or in this case until Feb. 9. The utility contends there's "ample other spectrum available in the area for Public Safety use, and no Public Safety eligible entities have requested vacated interleaved channels" there, said a Thursday order. “It argues that the purpose of the three-year set aside therefore has been met, and would not be undermined by grant of its waiver requests. We disagree with the suggestion that the purpose of the rule has been met. ... The requested locations, however rural the immediate surroundings, are close enough to major metropolitan areas that grant of the requests could affect urban spectrum availability.”

Fossil announced Wednesday a “massive expansion” of wearables, with Google continuing to be a partner via Android Wear 2.0. The expansion is part of the company’s plan to have 300 smartwatches in global markets by year-end (see 1708090030).

AT&T said Wednesday it’s expanding fixed wireless 5G trials to business and residential customers in Waco; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana, by year-end. The first trial, in Austin, started in June, said a news release. “Since then, we’ve gained new insights into millimeter wave performance and propagation,” the carrier said. “We’ve also learned more about how things like foliage, building materials, device placement, surrounding environment and weather impact the signal and system in a real-world environment.” The launch of more trials means AT&T could start offering pre-standards 5G next year, AT&T said. It's working with Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia and Intel on the trials.

The dynamics of the market-share battle between Android and iOS smartphones will remain virtually unchanged through 2021, as global unit shipments of devices from each platform rise at a compound annual growth rate of just above 3 percent, IDC reported Tuesday. It expects overall smartphone shipments to grow to 1.7 billion handsets in 2021 from 1.47 billion in 2016.

Best Buy stock closed down 12 percent at $55.02 Tuesday after the company gave conservative guidance for the rest of the fiscal year, and amid declining gross profit margins for mobile devices. Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry warned of a “highly competitive” holiday quarter after strong growth in the quarter ended July 29. Sales in Q2 rose to $8.9 billion from $8.5 billion in the year-ago quarter, it said. Barry believes Q4 will fill “a hole” that was left by the ill-fated Samsung Note7 last year, and there will be some “mobile strength.” She said with a maturing category and installment billing, "people realize just how much their phone costs” and “are thinking about different ways” to buy.

Fitbit unveiled a smartwatch Monday, announcing the Ionic with on-board music, four-day battery life and contactless payments. The Ionic can store more than 300 songs, which allows users to “leave your phone at home,” Fitbit said. The watch’s training programs are said to offer personalized features not available in other smartwatches, and Fitbit said a subscription-based guidance and coaching app for $7.99 per month will be available on the device early next year. North American retailers include Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Verizon, said Fitbit. Fitbit is working on contactless payments with American Express, Mastercard and Visa, it said, and banks including Bank of America, Capital One, HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada and US Bank.

Verizon, Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and Federated Wireless said they were the first to demonstrate the successful use of LTE with carrier aggregation in the 3.5 GHz shared band. The demonstration was in an Ericsson lab in Plano, Texas, and offered “end-to-end” Citizens Broadband Radio Service communications “using 2x20 MHz LTE carriers on the CBRS band 48,” said a joint news release. "The use of CBRS spectrum greatly advances our work in emerging spectrum bands,” said Nicola Palmer, Verizon wireless chief network officer.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on rules for the re-licensing of 700 MHz lower A-, B- and E-block and the Upper C-block spectrum that's returned to the agency’s inventory as a result of licensees’ failure to meet applicable construction requirements. The Monday notice follows up on an April 2007 order approved by commissioners that “set forth the overall rules and policies for the relicensing process,” while delegating authority to the bureau to implement its rules and policies. “We cite to those rules, and ... seek comment on the Bureau’s proposed approach to the remaining elements of the process, including the respective costs and benefits of the various proposals,” the bureau said. Initial comments in docket 06-150 are due 20 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register, replies 30 days after publication.

Verizon made its case for changes to wireless siting rules, in a meeting with FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Donald Stockdale and other bureau officials. Verizon reported on a similar meeting with Wireline Bureau officials last week (see 1708250044). “The Commission should clarify that Sections 253 and 332(c)(7) of the Communications Act bar state or local actions that erect substantial barriers to wireless facilities deployment, and that fees for access to rights-of-way and municipal poles that exceed cost violate Sections 253(a) and (c),” Verizon said in a filing in docket 17-79. “We also asked the Commission to adopt a 60-day shot clock for acting on small cell applications and to deem applications granted when the applicable Section 332(c)(7) shot clock expires without action.”