RF health activist Ronald Powell asked the FCC not to do anything to speed deployment of 5G. “The international biomedical research community is increasingly linking radiofrequency radiation from wireless devices to adverse health effects,” said Powell, a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard, in a filing in docket 17-79. “Among the devices of concern are cell towers and cell phones. Most recently, in 2016, the National Toxicology Program at the National Institutes of Health linked cellular radiofrequency radiation to malignant brain tumors (gliomas) and malignant nerve tumors (schwannomas) of the heart in rats.” Other recent comments raised similar health concerns.

FirstNet filed a matrix detailing areas of responsibility for the FCC as the commission reviews state plans to opt out of the national network for first responders. The commission “is responsible for reviewing alternative state and territory plans for constructing, maintaining, operating, and improving the radio access network portion of the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN) within their state or territory and either approving or disapproving such plans based on whether the plan demonstrates: (1) compliance with the minimum technical interoperability requirements contained in the Interoperability Board Report; and (2) interoperability with the NPSBN,” said an accompanying letter. The documents were in docket 16-269.

Ligado's latest push for FCC action on the company's twin proceedings is a 39-page report posted Tuesday in docket 11-109. It largely encapsulates company arguments for approving its applications, including its giving up use of the 1545-1555 MHz band as a guard band protecting GPS and agreeing to operate under more restrictive operational parameters than currently authorized, while major GPS manufacturers have signed off. The company said if the FCC acts, it will invest up to $800 million in 5G and IoT networks. It said an NPRM on shared commercial use of the 1675-1680 MHz band would let the agency decide whether National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration operations in the band can be safeguarded. Ligado pointed to the White House's proposed budget endorsing shared commercial use and the company's proposed protection zones and content delivery network idea. It repeatedly has pushed the FCC for a NOAA spectrum sharing NPRM (see 1705180038) and approval of its LTE plans (see 1703200032).

The Alaska Wireless Network got a waiver from the FCC Wireless Bureau to make it easier for the network to meet buildout requirements for a single 700 MHz license. AWN filed the request last year and the bureau sought comment in December (see 1612120049). “In light of the unique and unusual challenges of serving the State of Alaska, the waiver will allow AWN to meet population-[based] rather than geographic-based construction benchmarks for a Lower 700 MHz A Block license, covering the entire State,” said a Tuesday notice: It “will promote the underlying purpose of Section 27.14(g) and serve the public interest by fostering AWN’s rapid provision of new and advanced wireless services to Alaskans, including those living in remote areas of the State, where competition and choice of available services is often limited.”

The global wearables market “maintained its upward trajectory” in Q1, with Xiaomi and Apple leading all companies and multiple products experiencing double- and triple-digit sales growth, IDC said in a Monday report. All companies in the wearables space shipped a collective total of 24.7 million devices in Q1, up 17.9 percent from the same 2016 quarter, it said. "Fitbit finds itself in the midst of a transformation as user tastes evolve from fitness bands to watches and other products," IDC said. "This allowed Xiaomi to throttle up on its inexpensive devices within the China market and for Apple to leverage its position as the leading smartwatch provider worldwide. Now that Xiaomi and Apple have supplanted Fitbit, the next question is whether they will be able to maintain their position.”

FirstNet and AT&T will detail the state plan process for state single points of contact at a “kick-off” meeting Wednesday and Thursday in Dallas, FirstNet Chief Customer Officer Rich Reed said a Monday blog post. “This will be an opportunity for all of us to review the State Plans process in detail and for the states to understand how the online portal will operate.” FirstNet said it would release draft state plans mid-June, with final plans coming in the fall (see 1705190025). Governors will have 90 days to opt out, then 180 days to submit an alternative radio-access-network plan for FCC and NTIA approval, under the statute that created FirstNet.

T-Mobile officials met with FCC staffers on its plans for the licenses it purchased in the TV incentive auction. It updated "the FCC staff on the current status of 600 MHz wireless technology standards,” said a filing in docket 16-306. Its plan to "rapidly deploy the 600 MHz band spectrum for mobile broadband and commence providing service with that spectrum this year" came up, the carrier said. "Access to this low-band spectrum allows T-Mobile to bring new and enhanced competition to rural areas and to strengthen competition and service in urban and suburban areas.” The provider bought the most licenses in the recently concluded auction for $8 billion (see 1704130056). Staff from the Incentive Auction Task Force, including Chair Jean Kiddoo, the Media Bureau, the Wireless Bureau and the Office of Engineering and Technology attended. T-Mobile is trying to smooth the way to start wireless operations on the incentive auction-acquired spectrum (see 1706050066).

Consolidation remains a “top priority” for Sprint and T-Mobile, but Sprint parent SoftBank and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom “will dictate the moves,” Macquarie Capital emailed investors. Questions include which company needs the other more and which gets the premium, analyst Amy Yong wrote. Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son recently raised $93 billion from high-profile backers for his SoftBank’s Vision Fund and Son will now likely focus on Sprint, Yong said Monday. “DT, on the other hand, will likely wait for the right deal, offering both scale benefits and upside participation,” she said. “Things could progress swiftly with [board of director] and independent members’ approval; Softbank, Sprint, and T-Mobile all have 5 independent board members, while DT’s entire supervisory board is independent.”

The FCC set a pleading cycle on Verizon Wireless’ proposed acquisition of spectrum licenses from XO Holdings’ Nextlink Wireless. Verizon hopes to use 39 GHz and 3650-3700 MHz licenses controlled by Nextlink as part of its network local multipoint distribution service, said a public notice. “Applicants claim that Verizon Wireless has been driving the 5G ecosystem towards rapid commercialization with testing, standards development, fiber deployment and acquisitions for backhaul, and the planned launch of 11 pre-commercial 5G fixed wireless trials in 2017," the PN said. “Applicants argue that acquiring control of the Nextlink licenses currently subject to the leasing arrangement will provide Verizon Wireless greater certainty regarding its spectrum resources to help it develop and deliver 5G products and services.” Verizon has been leasing the licenses pending a transfer. In February, Verizon said it completed its $1.8 billion buy of XO Communications (see 1702010031). Verizon also has an agreement to buy Straight Path and its high-frequency spectrum, though it's expected to face opposition at the FCC (see 1705110052). Petitions to deny Verizon/Nextlink are due June 26, oppositions July 3, replies July 11.

AT&T agreed to buy Brocade’s Vyatta network operating system organization as the carrier virtualizes its network, the carrier said in a Friday news release. AT&T will hire some employees from the Vyatta business, it said. The deal is expected to close in early summer, subject to closing conditions and before closing of Broadcom’s acquisition of Brocade. The acquisition will help AT&T deliver cloud or premises-based virtual network functions, said the carrier, forecasting it will virtualize and software-control 55 percent of its network by year-end, and 75 percent of its network by 2020.