“Expeditious action" is needed by the FCC on 28 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz and 64-71 GHz in the form of proceedings that would help the 5G transition, Nokia said in an ex parte filing Monday in docket 14-177 on a meeting between Nokia executives and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The company previously advocated that the FCC could better facilitate 5G by considering bands below 6 GHz and in the 6-24 GHz range. Nokia said now that 5G requires both millimeter wave bandwidth and low- and mid-band spectrum, and the FCC should also act on 3.5 GHz and "consider that band as [the] 150 MHz centerpiece for an extremely valuable swatch of spectrum from 3.1 GHz to 4.2 GHz, all of which should be studied for mobile broadband." Also, Nokia said, given the infrastructure such as small cells that will be needed for 5G, the FCC "should consider the need for wireless backhaul when studying new bands for mobile broadband" and act to lower regulatory burdens for deploying such infrastructure. "Ubiquitous 5G coverage will be impracticable under the current local government and commercial frameworks that stifle, rather than embrace, wireless infrastructure deployment," Nokia said. The company said the agency should reform its experimental licensing process to foster more and longer experimentation across multiple bands.

The National Wireless Safety Alliance and the Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a framework of job task requirements that ensure safe and quality work, as well as an agreement to develop a "systematic approach to provide certification of workers," they said in a news release Tuesday: "TIRAP and NWSA agree to work together toward the goal of developing one aligned body of knowledge with common titling based on input and coordination between both groups." The groups said they "agree to take all actions feasible to coordinate non-restricted information and work closely together for integrated and consistent application of position development and certification." Thursday, the FCC and Department of Labor, which takes part in TIRAP, hold an event on communications tower safety and TIRAP.

Improved targeting and personalization made possible by digital coupons is leading to higher activity rates as brands and retailers respond to consumer demand for mobile integration, said a Juniper Research report Monday. The research cautioned that retailers not offering mobile integration will likely have “far lower levels of visibility on consumer activity” and be at a disadvantage when trying to customize offers and increase lifetime value of the consumer. More than 3 billion loyalty cards will operate solely on mobile devices or be integrated into mobile apps by 2020, up from 1.4 billion last year, said Juniper.

The FCC should act to protect the privacy of Americans' cellular communications against the "secretive" use of StingRays by law enforcement agencies, wrote Jason Norman, senior managing editor of the Federal Communications Law Journal, in a new 179-page piece explaining the usage of such cell-site simulators, their impact on privacy and security and why they undermine the justice system. Increased use of StingRays has come under fire by privacy and civil liberties advocates and others because they scoop up cellphone information from all nearby bystanders, not just suspects being targeted by law enforcement agencies, creating potential privacy implications. Norman argued StingRays are potential signal jammers, which are prohibited by the FCC except in narrow circumstances and only for use by federal law enforcement agencies. He said it could be illegal for state and local police to use such devices, which might cause interference. Norman also wrote that the FCC has formed a task force to probe potential abuses by foreign intelligence services and private individuals, but not those by U.S. government agencies. But FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has said Title III of the Communications Act gives the agency power to address threats posed by such devices and that the commission needs to work with industry to secure wireless networks and better protect privacy, wrote Norman. This means enhancing encryption standards and security features for all devices over wireless networks, he said. "An insecure communications network is the Achilles heel of a strong nation, and while unchecked mass surveillance by law enforcement is profoundly disturbing, the thought that anyone with moderate technical knowledge and a few hundred dollars in their pocket can eavesdrop on 99% of our communications is terrifying," he wrote. The FCC didn't comment.

The satellite industry is continuing its push for rule changes for the FCC spectrum frontiers NPRM. In an ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 14-177, the Satellite Industry Association recapped a meeting it and numerous members had with Commissioner Ajit Pai about industry concerns on the idea of spectrum sharing in and among the 28, 37 and 39 GHz bands, including that earth stations should have co-primary status in the 28 and 39 GHz bands, as SIA has previously advocated (see 1601290010). At the meeting with Pai were SIA President Tom Stroup and executives from Boeing, EchoStar, Intelsat, Iridium, Kymeta, Lockheed Martin, O3b, OneWeb, SES, SpaceX and ViaSat.

Regulators around the world have wrestled with zero rating and are offering different solutions, said Ellen Goodman, professor at Rutgers Law School, in a new paper. The Netherlands banned zero rating, while Chile allows only zero rating of noncommercial services like Wikipedia, Goodman wrote. The EU has been silent, while the U.S. is taking case-by-case approach, she said. “Even where there has been a preliminary decision, the issue of zero rating is in flux,” Goodman said. “The market impact of differential pricing is difficult to predict and assess, and is likely to vary with the particular practice, the state of broadband competition, and other features of fluid Internet market structures.” In the U.S., zero rating is being looked at against the backdrop of the war over net neutrality, Goodman said. “The zero-rating debate revisits the almost theological conflicts of net neutrality,” she wrote. “What constitutes innovation and what regulatory and business relationships best promote it? Are broadband carriers, if unconstrained by regulation, incentivized to keep connectivity costs artificially high? Do data caps constitute rent seeking or efficient price discrimination?”

The FirstNet board approved a resolution reappointing Harlin McEwen as chairman of its Public Safety Advisory Committee. The 42-member PSAC provides advice to FirstNet from the standpoint of first responders. FirstNet tweeted the news Friday. The board approved the resolution through its written consent process, said the resolution posted on FirstNet’s website. McEwen had three terms as PSAC chairman.

AT&T is seeking a three-year experimental license to test 5G in Austin, it said in an FCC filing. The tests, mobile and fixed, would be done in the 3400-3600 MHz, 3700-4200 MHz, 14500-15350 MHz and 27500-28500 MHz bands. “Applicant’s testing and the expected experimental equipment would support potential fifth generation (5G) multi-gigabyte per second (Gbps) applications for fixed and mobile wireless communication networks at higher transmission rates and lower latency than is currently available,” AT&T said. Verizon said in January it plans to be the first U.S. carrier to do field tests of 5G. The first phase of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project standard for 5G won’t be ready until the second half of 2018, with the second phase due in December 2019 (see 1602030043).

A court granted the request of Assist Wireless and others to dismiss their challenge to an FCC Oklahoma map decision that will restrict the scope of areas where carriers are eligible for enhanced tribal Lifeline USF support. The brief order Friday of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissing Assist Wireless v. FCC (No. 15-1324) came days after the FCC gave Lifeline providers a 120-day extension -- from Feb. 9 to June 8 -- on implementing the map's tribal-related boundaries (see 1602030027), which itself came days after Assist Wireless filed its dismissal motion (see 1601290066).

T-Mobile US plans an earnings call and “an extended, open conversation” about the company’s Q4 and full-year 2015 financial and operational results Feb. 17, T-Mobile said in a news release. T-Mobile is the last of the four major wireless carriers to hold an earnings call. The call and webcast start at 8:30 a.m. EST.