Nextlink Wireless executives met with Rachael Bender, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, to continue to make the company’s case (see 1704060040) for changes to its spectrum frontiers order. The discussion focused in part on rules for upper microwave flexible use licenses, the company said. The June 2024 performance deadline for incumbent UMFU licensees is too onerous and may deter development of mobile technology, said a filing in docket 14-177. Standards for 5G are still years away, the company said. “Meanwhile, the state of the art of several components of 5G technology, including beamforming and antenna form factor, must advance significantly for next-generation mobile networks to become viable,” the firm said. “Extending incumbent licensees’ performance deadlines will not give them any advantage over new UMFU licensees because these new county-based licenses will require significant construction by incumbents and new licensees alike.”

Wireless charging got a boost from Dell’s announcement of a two-in-one tablet with a detachable wireless charging-enabled keyboard, said a Tuesday IHS Markit report. It uses magnetic resonance technology from WiTricity and is compatible with the AirFuel resonant specification. This “could not have come at a better time” for the industry, since 75 percent of respondents to an IHS survey said they would like wireless charging capability in laptops, said analyst Vicky Yussuff. Mobile phones remain the primary driver for wireless power technology development and will be joined by laptops and wearables, said the research firm. Global receiver unit shipments are forecast to reach 325 million units by year-end, following 40 percent growth in 2016, said IHS. Samsung’s decision to retain wireless charging on the Galaxy S7, and LG’s addition of wireless charging in the new G6 for the U.S. market were “crucial," said Yussuff. Apple is expected to follow suit later this year with its next iPhone, she said. “The mobile phone market continues to be the entry point for the consumer experience of wireless power.”

The National Consumers League asked the FCC to refresh its record on “bill shock” from international mobile roaming (IMR) rates. NCL reported on a meeting with Rachael Bender, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, in a filing in docket 10-207. “Some wireless carriers have begun to introduce more affordable IMR options,” the group said. “These plans still amount to a significant financial burden for too many travelers. We pointed to efforts by regulators in the European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council to address IMR affordability and educate consumers about alternatives to using IMR services.”

The Telecommunications Industry Association expressed regrets on a proposed order from the FCC ending a 2013 proceeding, which could have relaxed rules on cellphone discussions on commercial flights (see 1704100066). “We believe the FCC should reconsider its decision to keep this regulation, which serves as a barrier to consumer choice and innovation,” TIA said in a news release. “There is no technical or safety reason why in-flight mobile data and voice applications should not be allowed to operate on board aircraft. The industry’s longstanding position is to avoid the prioritization of one technology over another.” TIA noted airlines are already permitted to provide Wi-Fi: “TIA believes the FCC should encourage competition and innovation by allowing them to provide access through additional network technologies.” But the Association of Flight Attendants, a labor union, hailed the move. "The traveling public and crew members do not want voice calls on planes,” the group said. “It would jeopardize safety, security, increase conflict and exponentially raise the annoyance level of everyone in the cabin. Now the DOT [Department of Transportation] should follow the FCC's lead and ban voice calls inflight. That's the only sensible, safe and secure course of action."

T-Mobile told the FCC there's broad agreement on the need for clarification of a December order establishing a common standard for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT). T-Mobile sought clarification (see 1702240035) on the obligation of carriers to deliver calls to 911 call centers using an emergency services Internet Protocol network (ESInet). “No commenter opposes a clarification by the Commission that wireless carriers should not be responsible for transcoding RTT calls delivered in IP format to an ESINet,” T-Mobile said in comments in docket 16-145. “Furthermore, several commenters expressly agree that in the situation described by T-Mobile, 'transcoding of RTT to TTY should not be the responsibility of an originating service provider or access network provider' when delivering calls to an ESINet.”

The FCC will say in a Wednesday Federal Register notice that changes to its cellular service rules, approved in March (see 1703230062), will take effect in 30 days. The FCC approved at its March commissioners' meeting changes to the rules for the 800 MHz cellular service band -- the initial band used by cellphones starting in 1981. The changes will help carriers use the band for LTE, the FCC said. "The Cellular licensing rule revisions continue the transition to a geographic-based regime by eliminating certain filing requirements, and also eliminate the comparative hearing process for Cellular license renewals," the notice said. "Both the technical and licensing reforms provide Cellular licensees with more flexibility, reduce administrative burdens, and enable Cellular licensees to respond more quickly -- and at lower cost -- to changing market conditions and consumer demand. They also promote similar treatment across competing commercial wireless spectrum bands.”

General Motors officials said they met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and staff on the automaker’s plans for self-driving vehicles and to test the deployment of vehicular short range radar (SRR) within the 76-81 GHz band. They gave "an overview of GM's Privacy policies, continue[d] our discussion on GM's request for the FCC to adopt the service rules that will allow for the deployment of vehicular short range radar within the 76-81 GHz band, and inform[ed] the Chairman of the Special Temporary Authority request from GM's vendor, Alps Electric North America,” a filing in docket 15-26 said. Alps Electric sought the STA in March to test the use of the radars in the band, the automaker said. “SRRs are important safety technologies for GM.”

The FCC extended by 14 days deadlines for comments on a Mobility Fund-II Further NPRM on the challenge process on areas eligible for support. CTIA requested the delay. The deadline for initial comments was Wednesday and was extended until April 26; the new deadline for replies is May 11, an order by the Wireless Bureau said. “In its MF-II FNPRM, the Commission sought general comment on two options for potential structures for the challenge process and explained that it intended to take the most effective parameters from the options presented, as well as possible additional alternatives offered by commenters, to assemble a ‘best in class’ structure for the challenge process.” CTIA said it's seeking to build an industry consensus on the challenge process. “The proposal not only would address the Commission’s goals of accuracy by ensuring that only unserved areas receive funding but also would be administratively efficient and minimize the burden on Commission staff,” the group said in an April 7 filing in docket 10-90.

ZTE announced its first wearable for the U.S. market, the Android 2.0-based Quartz, priced at $192 and available from T-Mobile.com Friday and in T-Mobile stores April 21, it said in a Monday announcement. The watch can be used as a companion to a smartphone or as a standalone wearable capable of making calls on its own, said the company. Features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 1.4-inch AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass 3, 500 mAh battery and compatibility with the Snapdragon Wear 2100 platform.

Sprint is offering a free 32 GB iPhone 7 to consumers who switch to a Sprint contract and turn in select Apple, Samsung or LG smartphones, it announced Monday. The offer also applies to existing customers who add a line of service, it said.