Responding to what it called a “significant uptick” in customers installing mobile security to protect devices, Symantec's Norton introduced an Android- and iOS-compatible version of its flagship mobile security product. The app deploys proactive protections against malicious apps and other threats and includes a “report card," the company announced.

Connected cars will continue gaining share of all autos, said Harman's Michael Mauser, president-lifestyle audio, at an investor conference Wednesday webcast from New York. Cybersecurity, over-the-air updates and data analytics are important, he told Wells Fargo attendees. The automotive market’s 27 percent take rate for connected cars will rise to 30 percent in the next three to five years, he predicted. Harman is building out sales channels through InMotion Entertainment stores in airports and through AT&T, Sprint and Verizon stores, he noted. His company got an autonomous driving assist in buying TowerSec earlier this year (see 1601050057), Mauser said.

Ericsson, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and Intel formed a partnership to build a 5G trial network in central Tokyo next year, an Ericsson news release said. “Trials represent a key milestone and enable tests of use case applications and radio performance in [a] non-laboratory environment.” In February, T-Mobile announced it was working with Ericsson and Nokia on field tests of early 5G technology (see 1602230064). "DoCoMo and Ericsson have been working together on joint 5G projects including outdoor trials, and this is a further development of our joint efforts,” said Seizo Onoe, the Japanese company’s chief technology officer. “Adding Intel's expertise, we will be on track to evaluate the feasibility of services that leverage 5G technologies together with ecosystem partner companies."

More than one-third of global wireless carriers planning to roll out 5G have initiatives in development, while another 32 percent are actively running trials, said an Ericsson 5G readiness survey released Wednesday. Twenty-two percent of carriers said they were in initial planning stages and 8 percent said they had done commercial deployment. The telecom equipment and services company surveyed 50 executives at 29 global operators that have announced 5G intentions.

FirstNet Wednesday formally opened its Innovation and Test Lab at its technical headquarters in Boulder, Colorado. The lab offers a “plug and play” environment in which FirstNet and still-to-be-named industry partner will test public safety features, devices and apps before they are deployed on the first responder network, FirstNet said in a news release. “The FirstNet Lab will be used to conduct validation and verification testing for the Network, services, and features, and aid future research and development related to public safety broadband technologies,” FirstNet said. “This testing will help reduce the time to initially field test and deploy public safety features of the FirstNet Network, including quality of service; priority; pre-emption; and other future mission-critical services and applications.”

Some preliminary recommendations of the FCC World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WAC) don’t take into account the agency’s work so far on 5G, T-Mobile said in a filing in docket 16-185. CTIA agreed. “The Commission must continue to be a leader in the critical effort to ensure that spectrum is globally available for those developing services,” T-Mobile said. “The Recommendations should therefore be adjusted so that they more accurately reflect our Nation’s goals.” The U.S. position should promote policies like making spectrum available for 5G terrestrial services “on an exclusive basis,” T-Mobile said. “The Recommendations do not yet make this clear, and the Commission should modify them before they are final.” T-Mobile said some of the proposals could lead to “inconsistent use of bands that in the U.S. have been targeted for possible 5G mobile terrestrial use.” The WAC reflects the perspective of industry as the U.S. develops positions for the worldwide conference, which is to take place in 2019. CTIA also said the recommendations should account for U.S. progress on 5G. The recommendations should focus on “allocation of additional mobile broadband spectrum to match the ever-increasing consumer demand for wireless service domestically as well as prioritize efforts to facilitate access to spectrum for 5G internationally,” the wireless association said: They should also “ensure that U.S. international positions are consistent and compatible with recent domestic decisions regarding terrestrial mobile spectrum bands.” 5G Americas said the next WRC must focus on finding additional high-frequency spectrum for wireless broadband. “In 2014, consumers in North America used on average 1.89 GB of mobile data per month,” the group said. “By the time of WRC-19, consumers in North America are expected to use on average 11 GB of mobile data per month -- more than five times the capacity from five years before. With that pace of growth, global study of additional bands for 5G is justified.” The Association of American Railroads commented that the U.S. should push for international harmonization of spectrum used for railroad communications in the country: “AAR urges the Bureau to ensure that the railroads’ extensive investments in railway radiocommunication systems are protected from interference from new systems.”

FirstNet highlighted the important role that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) played in helping get the national network for first responders off the ground. “The over one million law enforcement officers employed in the United States represent the largest class of potential FirstNet network customers,” FirstNet said in a Tuesday blog post. “They have and will continue to shape the functionality of the FirstNet network through their recommendations and discipline-specific needs.” The IACP, with more than 27,000 members, “has both a presence and expertise that FirstNet can leverage to gain input on and support for the FirstNet network,” the blog post said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau terminated a license held by Janus Spectrum Group for trunked 800 MHz specialized mobile radio operations at two locations in Wisconsin. Janus had filed a notice indicating that both had been constructed Oct. 15, 2015, the bureau said in Tuesday order. Smartcomm filed a request for an informal investigation on the veracity of the construction notifications, the bureau said. “The request notes that the licensees applied for their respective licenses on the same day for the same two locations, and filed their construction notifications on the same day reporting the same construction date.” The Wireless and Enforcement bureaus both raised questions with Janus, but got no response, the order said. “The information provided by Smartcomm is persuasive evidence that Janus’s station is not constructed,” the bureau said. “In addition, Janus’s failure to respond to either letter presumptively indicates that the station is not constructed or operational.” Janus didn't comment.

T-Mobile and Bresnan Communications jointly asked the FCC to approve a waiver request that would facilitate the sale of three 700 MHz licenses in Montana from Bresnan to T-Mobile. The two have asked the FCC to approve the transfer and waive a pending accelerated buildout requirement (see 1610060062). “As Petitioners have demonstrated, granting the Waiver Request would bring increased competition and enhanced coverage to consumers in the areas at issue, many of which are rural and underserved and include tribal lands,” the two companies said in reply comments in docket 16-319. “It would also deliver new retail facilities and jobs.” The two highlighted the benefits to consumers. “To ensure … public interest benefits are delivered quickly, T-Mobile has committed in writing to specific deployment milestones, including introducing service in the licensed areas within the next year,” they said. Bresnan is a subsidiary of Charter Communications. The Rural Wireless Association filed comments saying the FCC should deny the waiver request. “The underlying purpose” of the buildout requirement “is to prevent the warehousing of spectrum,” RWA said. "The Commission has stated that adopting stringent performance requirements for 700 MHz licenses accomplishes several important policy objectives, including ensuring that licensees put this spectrum to use and provide service to consumers in a timely manner.”

Verizon urged the FCC to rethink a proposed NPRM that would consider applying the voice roaming standard to data roaming and classify voice over LTE as a common-carrier service subject to a roaming requirement. Chairman Tom Wheeler has teed up the NPRM for a vote at next week’s commissioners' meeting (see 1610270054). Verizon officials met with aides to Wheeler and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, said a filing in docket 05-265. “The Commission carefully crafted the existing voice and data roaming regimes to strike an appropriate balance between ensuring that voice and broadband data service is available to consumers as they travel outside their home market and preserving incentives for carriers to continue to expand and enhance their broadband networks,” Verizon said. “In achieving this balance, the Commission has consistently rejected prescriptive roaming rate regulation.” The Rural Wireless Association and NTCA jointly expressed support for the FCC proposal, in a filing. “The Commission needs to address issues regarding commercially reasonable, inter-carrier wholesale data roaming rates, and these issues impact the ability of smaller carriers to offer retail nationwide plans at rates competitive with nationwide carriers,” the groups said.