A June 30 FCC order tweaking Part 5 experimental radio service rules (see 1607010023) is to take effect Aug. 24, based on a notice to be published in Monday's Federal Register. The revised order makes medical device manufacturers eligible for medical testing experimental licenses.

Sprint filed a response to questions posed by the FCC Wireless Bureau on the carrier's proposed swap of PCS and AWS-1 licenses with U.S. Cellular (see 1607070042). The carrier redacted all information it offered the FCC in the public version of the filing. The swaps include spectrum in 49 counties in all or parts of 14 cellular market areas in parts of Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Virginia and Washington, the FCC said in a notice on the deal.

The smartwatch category showed its first year-over-year decline in Q2, down 32 percent to 3.5 million units, due to a falloff in Apple Watch shipments, said an IDC report. It attributed Apple’s falloff to 1.6 million shipments in Q2 to high comparables from the initial launch quarter of the Apple Watch. Improvements to the watch aren’t expected until later this year, analyst Jitesh Ubrani said Thursday. Next-generation smartwatches “will appeal to a broader market, ultimately leading to a growing market," said analyst Ramon Llamas. IDC expects the category to return to growth next year, he said.

The Pokémon Go craze shows the importance of the recent FCC order providing high-frequency spectrum for 5G (see 1607140052), said Bret Swanson, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy. “The FCC is not often celebrated for its timeliness and foresight,” Swanson said in a blog post Friday. “The last few years have been among its darkest. But we offer congratulations when due. Just as Pokémon GO was demonstrating the need for more wireless capacity, the FCC was voting unanimously on a spectrum proposal that could dramatically expand commercial US airwaves and enable the next generation of 5G wireless devices, networks, and applications.” It's only a game, “but it shows the power and possibility of geolocation and the Internet of Things in other realms,” he said.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council said the FCC should err on the side of safety in the fight over sharing the 5.9 GHz band between Wi-Fi and proponents of dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) systems designed to curb vehicular accidents (see 1607080037). In reply comments, NPSTC supported the auto industry. It's an umbrella group that represents 16 public safety organizations. Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) operations already are allocated 580 MHz of spectrum at 5 GHz outside the DSRC band, NPSTC said. “In contrast, the 5.850-5.925 GHz band under consideration for sharing is the only spectrum allocated for DSRC operations.” There are use cases where public safety could make use of the band, the filing said. Public safety agencies could transmit a warning message to motorists to detour around a major accident, NPSTC said. “A public safety vehicle such as a fire truck, ambulance or police car travelling on an interstate or major highway to an incident could warn motorists in its path that it is approaching.” Or an emergency vehicle could use the band to alert other first-responder vehicles, such as an alert sent between two fire trucks approaching the same intersection from different directions. “DSRC technology has tremendous potential to enhance safety for the motoring public, including that of firefighters, law enforcement officials and emergency medical personnel heading to an incident to help save a life,” NPSTC said. “This potential can be realized only if the DSRC spectrum is not subjected to interference by unlicensed operations.” Replies were due Friday in docket 13-49.

T-Mobile US plans its quarterly earnings call Wednesday, it said Thursday. That will make T-Mobile the last of the four major wireless carriers to report. The call starts at 10:30 a.m. EDT and listeners can offer questions via text, Twitter or Facebook, T-Mobile said in a news release. “Similar to past quarters, prepared remarks will be kept to a minimum in order to provide more time for free-flowing dialogue with analysts, investors, media and consumers.”

Americans are making their smartphones more secure, CTIA said Thursday, reporting on the results of a Harris Poll it commissioned. Harris found that 69 percent of U.S. wireless consumers surveyed use PINs/passwords on their smartphones, which is an increase of 13 percent from 2015 and 38 percent from the first survey in 2012. Harris also found that 51 percent have installed remote lock and erase software on their smartphones, up 42 percent from 2015 and 31 percent from 2012. It said 73 percent of respondents say they run software updates “every or almost every time,” 51 percent have installed an anti-virus and 86 percent “are familiar” with cybersecurity. “These results show that our continued education initiatives are working, and we remain committed to increasing consumer adoption,” CTIA said in a news release. Harris used a sample from the Harris Poll Panel of 1,008 U.S. adults, 18 or older, who own and use a smartphone and/or tablet, the firm said. “Because the sample is based on those who were invited to participate in the Harris Poll online research panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated."

The FCC should revisit data roaming in light of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s decision upholding the agency's 2015 net neutrality order, the Competitive Carriers Association said in a filing. “The 2015 Order will affect many Competitive policy issues moving forward, including data roaming obligations, and the FCC should initiate the promised proceeding,” CCA said in a news release. The group “ardently supports ensuring that all carriers have access to just, reasonable and nondiscriminatory data roaming agreements, particularly with the two dominant nationwide carriers, AT&T and Verizon,” CCA said in a filing in FCC docket 05-265. “This is essential to promoting competition and providing consumers with the ubiquitous mobile broadband services that they deserve and demand. For these reasons, the Commission should immediately begin a review of its data roaming policies pursuant to its 2015 Order.”

Fifth-generation radio access network revenue in 2020 could double 2010 revenue for 4G RAN, Dell’Oro Group predicted in a Wednesday news release. The average 5G network in 2020 will likely be smaller than the average 4G network from 2010, but operator participation will be higher, it said. At first blush, the shift to 5G might not appear as significant as 3G to 4G, said Dell’Oro analyst Stefan Pongratz, but “the combination of a high performance network coupled with new successful technologies, applications, and services will together form the basis for a transition that will have a significantly broader effect than previous mobile technology migrations. This will create massive opportunities for both existing and new players."

Smartphones, tablets, LCD TVs, laptops and desktop PCs together will contribute $114 billion, 51 percent, to tech industry's revenue this year, but in 2017, the five leading categories will account for less than half of industry income, said CTA. Smartphones continue to lead the segment, with $55 billion revenue (4 percent higher than 2015) on a projected 183 million unit shipments (up 5 percent), but the lengthening smartphone replacement cycle will make 2017 the first year smartphones decline in unit sales and revenue, said Monday's report. Emerging technology and broader adoption of connected devices will push revenue for the consumer tech industry up 1.3 percent this year. Wearable sales are projected to grow by 39 percent to 48 million units, said CTA, while tablets will continue their decline and virtual reality headset unit sales will jump along with drone sales.