Flexible OLEDs for smartphones will “enable larger displays that fit in a smaller area,” so the displays are expected to expand to “seven, nine, even 10 inches" and "become quasi-tablets,” Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, told a Display Week conference Monday here in Los Angeles. DSSC sees that “as a huge opportunity for Apple and Samsung in particular, as they have secured a much higher capacity in OLEDs than they have in the overall smartphone market,” said Young. “We see a growing number of prototypes for foldable displays, and I think it makes perfect sense to want to have a tablet that you could fold, and it becomes a smartphone. Who wouldn’t want a bigger display on their smartphone?” Technical "challenges” must be overcome before foldable OLED displays can be “high-yielding” at the factory, said Young.

American Tower faces both challenges and opportunities, a Macquarie Capital analyst wrote investors Monday after meeting with Chief Financial Officer Tom Bartlett. "Though its expansive international presence is clearly a standout, the domestic tailwinds are now just as great,” Amy Yong emailed. “Areas of upside include FirstNet, 600 MHz spectrum deployment, and an expanding wireless industry that could include” Dish Network-Amazon, cable and IoT, Macquarie said. A Sprint/T-Mobile could prove positive long-term for the tower company, Macquarie said: "Management noted that previous mergers have actually resulted in 20-25 percent greater activity” from the new company. On FirstNet, AT&T’s infrastructure investments likely will come mostly next year, but could start later this year, after AT&T won the contract to build the network, the firm wrote.

T-Mobile has done nothing it promised to do after the FCC approved a waiver of buildout requirements for 700 MHz licenses the carrier bought from Bresnan Communications in Montana, said the Rural Wireless Association. RWA earlier asked the FCC to review a December Wireless Bureau waiver of 700 MHz buildout rules for Bresnan (see 1612210038). “Recent filings by T-Mobile provide additional evidence that T-Mobile is and intends to continue to provide service only to the most populated areas of Montana where service is already provided by other carriers and that T-Mobile has no intention of bringing new service to currently unserved rural areas,” RWA said in docket 16-319. “The area newly served by T-Mobile consists primarily of populated areas such as Missoula, the second largest city in Montana (Population: 66,788) and Helena, the sixth largest city in Montana (Population: 28,190), and heavily traveled transportation corridors, including interstate highways 90 and 15.” The carrier has disputed the RWA complaints and called on the FCC to end uncertainty and dismiss the group’s application for review (see 1704210047).

The FCC published a notice by the Wireless Bureau (see 1705020064) seeking to update the record in the wireless radio service overhaul proceeding. “While the Commission already has a robust record in this proceeding, including filings made during the initial comment and reply period, it provided an opportunity for stakeholders to update the record with new information or arguments that may be relevant to the Commission’s consideration of what action may be appropriate in this proceeding,” said the notice in Monday's Federal Register. Comments are due June 1 in docket 10-112, replies June 16. The agency initially sought comment seven years ago.

The FCC denied Indiana’s motion to vacate a briefing order and suspend the schedule in a wireless case on an impasse in negotiations between Sprint and Indiana on costs to be reconciled as part of the closing of their frequency reconfiguration agreement. The cost reconciliation is required by FCC orders governing the nationwide 800 MHz rebanding. In the order Monday (docket 02-55), the Public Safety Bureau said Indiana’s stay request is deficient and moot, then resolved 14 issues of dispute between the parties, mostly in the carrier’s favor.

Satellite pushes for a tiered approach for the 37.5-40 GHz band and for eliminating the cap of three earth stations per upper microwave flexible use system license area (see 1702270018) would undercut the sharing framework between terrestrial and satellite users of millimeter wave spectrum laid out in the spectrum frontiers order, CTIA said in a docket 14-177 filing posted Monday. The order already is the result of substantial compromise, including grandfathering some fixed satellite service (FSS) earth stations, CTIA said. It dismissed satellite assertions that new FSS earth stations would be banned, since satellite operators still have "significant flexibility," and said satellite operators could access high-band spectrum through auction or purchase of license rights. It said the satellite proposal for tiered interference zone would preclude terrestrial mobile services by allowing far more FSS earth stations that would be permitted "to interfere with terrestrial operations with impunity." So too would satellite proposed changes to conditions for transient populations and the number of earth stations per market, CTIA said. A satellite representative didn't comment.

More than three-quarters of U.S. broadband homes use Wi-Fi for connectivity in the home, and half use 3G/4G services, Parks Associates reported Thursday. With more devices connecting to home Wi-Fi and portable 3G/4G hot spots, the Wi-Fi network is playing a “significant role in supporting consumer digital lifestyle and home-centric IoT applications,” said analyst Harry Wang. Streaming video, smart TVs and gaming consoles are “commonplace” in most homes today, and along with smart thermostats and webcams are creating a need for a “robust and seamless Wi-Fi connection,” said Justin Doucette, a Belkin senior director.

AT&T said it completed deployment nationwide of an improved IoT network, called LTE-M for LTE Cat M. “The LTE-M network is now live across the U.S. on our nationwide 4G LTE network, following software upgrades,” said a Thursday blog post. “Our LTE-M deployment marks another step forward on our path to 5G and massive IoT.” AT&T said it plans to deploy LTE-M across Mexico by the end of the year. It offered a new suite of rate plans with LTE-M, starting at $1.50 per month per device. LTE-M offers longer battery life, up to 10 years, and improved coverage underground and inside buildings, compared with the technology it’s replacing, the carrier said. The modules are also comparatively small.

Fire chiefs suggested ways to persuade governors against opting out of FirstNet state radio-access-network (RAN) plans. “If a governor decides to opt-out and build its own RAN, this will delay the process of building out the RAN in the state,” said International Association of Fire Chiefs Communications Committee Chairman Gary McCarraher in a Wednesday blog post. “States will assume all technical, operational, political, and financial risks and responsibilities related to building their own RAN for the next 25 years.”

Ligado is again prodding the FCC to move on the company's proposal for a rulemaking to allow for shared use of the 1675-1680 MHz band employed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In a filing posted Thursday in RM-11681, Ligado said that the proposal was backed by Congress in its omnibus spending bill passed in May, and that filings received following a public notice the FCC issued 13 months ago seeking fresh comments on the proposal (see 1604250019) largely rehash previously made arguments. Ligado said it's now time for the next step: an NPRM. It has repeatedly pushed for a rulemaking notice (see 1704130023 and 1703200032). The FCC didn't comment.