With Verizon set to report earnings Thursday, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche predicted Wednesday the carrier will report a decline of 120,000 wireless phone connections and 576,000 tablet adds, for net growth. “On the wireless side, we believe VZ had a relatively quiet quarter characterized by strength in margins and churn offset by weaker service revenues and postpaid phone losses,” Fritzsche said in a note to investors, referring to the carrier's stock symbol. “We expect a lot of focus on VZ's recent acquisitions -- RYOT Corp., Complex, Awesomeness TV -- and how they fit within its digital media/AOL platforms. We do not expect any commentary around a possible Yahoo bid.”

A recent FCC Enforcement Bureau order tentatively finding in favor of AT&T in a data roaming dispute with Worldcall Interconnect (WCX) isn't the kind of order that requires WCX to seek review or reconsideration, the bureau said in a letter posted Wednesday in docket 14-221. The April 14 order “is not a final order or action” that would trigger deadlines for WCX to seek review, the bureau said. WCX didn't demonstrate that AT&T’s proposed rates “are commercially unreasonable,” the bureau said in an earlier order, which directed both sides to continue negotiations (see 1604150063).

The FCC is seeking comment on ANSI C63.26–2015, ‘‘American National Standard for Compliance Testing of Transmitters Used in Licensed Radio Services,’’ said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The agency is seeking comment on incorporating the standard into FCC rules “by reference as part of an open rulemaking proceeding that addresses its equipment authorization (EA) rules and procedures,” the notice said. The standard was recently published and is already considered an ‘‘active standard,’’ the agency said. Comments are due May 5, replies May 16. “Take note: the periods are shorter here than in many Commission proceedings, so if you have something to say, you should be prepared to say it quickly,” Fletcher Heald said in a blog post.

Officials from FirstNet’s technical HQ team were at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February and saw a lot of technology with implications for FirstNet’s future network, said a Wednesday blog post by the authority’s devices group. FirstNet officials saw advances in smartphones and 5G technology, wearables and drones that can be used for communications, the group said. “As commercial wireless technology transitions to public safety use, there are areas that are customized to support the public safety operational procedures and working environments,” the group said. “Examples of these areas include ruggedization of devices for operation in hazardous environments, modification of user interfaces to match the public safety usage requirements, and enhanced security capabilities to allow connection to limited access databases.” In general, advances in technology occur first on commercial networks, the blog post said. “Monitoring the advancements in the area of commercial products provides some advance notice of what may be coming in the future to public safety platforms,” the group said. “In some cases, there may be a need to accelerate the transition of commercial focused technology for the benefit of public safety users.”

CTIA representatives warned the FCC it’s premature for the agency to focus on wireless emergency alert (WEA) rules in the context of 5G when 5G is still evolving. “CTIA and members also noted the uncertainty regarding the timing of ubiquitous deployment of 5G networks and its implications for WEA,” said a filing on the meeting in docket 15-91. The FCC proposed at its November meeting to allow longer WEA messages, inclusion of hyperlinks and narrower distribution of alerts (see 1511190053). CTIA and its members also warned about an FCC proposal to embed information in alerts. “CTIA and carriers explained their concerns over network congestion that could result from an untold number of wireless subscribers simultaneously attempting to access embedded URLs or phone numbers from a WEA message,” the filing said. “The parties discussed the complexity that would be introduced in trying to manage the impact on wireless providers’ networks.” While the proceeding “provides an opportunity for all stakeholders to consider ways to further enhance the WEA system, the Commission should only adopt rules that maintain the simplicity and success of the WEA program for wireless providers, local alert originators, and wireless subscribers,” the filing said. Representatives of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular and Verizon met with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau.

Sprint scheduled its fiscal Q4 2015 earnings call for May 3, starting at 8:30 a.m. EDT, it said Tuesday. Last quarter, the carrier moved up its earnings call by a week, reportedly to address shareholder concerns (see 1601220047). Verizon, traditionally the first major carrier to report, releases results Thursday.

AT&T representatives met with Erin McGrath, aide to FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, about the carrier’s real-time text petition for rulemaking, said a filing posted Monday in docket 15-178. The FCC is to take up proposed rules for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT) technology at its April 28 open meeting (see 1604070067). “AT&T generally discussed its petition and stated that the rules need to be flexible enough so that services can evolve with new technology,” the filing said.

The entire 57-64 GHz band should be open for in-flight connectivity applications since there's little chance of interference to Earth Exploration Satellite Service (EESS) operations, the Wi-Fi Alliance said in a filing Tuesday in docket 14-177. "WiGig" technology doesn't rely on reflected signals, instead using narrow beams with highly directional antennas, unlike the omnidirectional antennas used in Wi-Fi, meaning no line-of-sight transmissions between WiGig devices and EESS satellite receivers, "and any energy 'reflected' towards [aircraft] windows will have negligible power levels," Wi-Fi Alliance said. It also said National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Radio Frequencies (CORF) suggestions that prohibit in-flight use of WiGig Channel 1 (57.24-59.4 GHz) are unnecessary, pointing to its own interference analysis and saying limiting WiGig channels on flights would restrict unlicensed capacity there and could mean the necessity of installing more access points throughout an aircraft. Wi-Fi Alliance also said the CORF-suggested requirement of RF-reflective window films "would be a costly impediment to the adoption of unlicensed technologies in the millimeter wave bands" and a fix for a reflected signals problem "that will not exist in the first place." It said CORF red flags about WiGig use in the 64-71 GHz band causing interference with Radio Astronomy Service operations are similarly misplaced because RAS doesn't have an allocation there. NAS didn't comment.

The FCC should take into account the cost of deploying new 5G services as it considers a second mobility fund, U.S. Cellular officials told Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and Deputy Chief Jim Schlitchting in a meeting. “We urged the Commission to consider the implications of the coming deployment of 5G technology on the funding that will be necessary to effectively deploy 5G across rural America in light of the anticipated need for significant additional towers to accommodate the reduced propagation characteristics of high band spectrum,” U.S. Cellular said in a filing in docket 10-208. The carrier also counseled against using a reverse auction to award funds. “We explained that this placed mountainous terrain at a distinct disadvantage over flat terrain to stand a reasonable chance of winning and the further difficulty of being able to accurately project the costs of deploying facilities in such geography in advance of submitting bids,” the carrier said.

Apple is maintaining its “strong share” of the premium smartphone market, although analyst firm Canaccord Genuity expects negative year-over year iPhone sales for the rest of the fiscal year, said analyst Michael Walkley in a research note Thursday. The iPhone 6 and iPhone 6s have enabled Apple “to materially increase its share” of the premium smartphone market via Android switchers, said Walkley. Canaccord estimated the installed base of iPhone users grew 26 percent last year from 402 million to 506 million “much faster” than the company's growth estimates for the overall smartphone market. Overall, connected Apple devices now exceed a billion users, Walkley said, and the “impressive installed base” is expected to drive strong future iPhone replacement sales and earnings. Canaccord maintained a "buy” rating on Apple, saying the iPhone SE will help moderate the iPhone unit sales decline. Walkley predicts a “reacceleration of replacement sales,” led by the upcoming iPhone 7 that's expected to drive strong iPhone sales during FY 2017. Total iPhone unit sales are projected to grow from 216 million in FY 2016 to 239 million in FY 2017, he said.