Qualcomm Technologies and Nokia said they will cooperate on interoperability testing and over-the-air field trials based on under-development 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G New Radio (NR) Release-15 specifications. “The testing and trials intend to drive the mobile ecosystem toward rapid validation and commercialization of 5G NR technologies at scale, enabling timely commercial network launches in 2019 based on 3GPP standard compliant 5G NR infrastructure and devices,” the companies announced Monday. Qualcomm said a recent survey it commissioned found 48 percent of consumers say they're likely to buy a smartphone that supports 5G when available, and “5G was the top feature that consumers were willing to pay more for in their next mobile device.”
T-Mobile, working with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies, said it exceeded gigabit speeds using commercially available 4G LTE technology. In tests at T-Mobile’s lab, the carrier said it hit download speeds of 1.175 Gbps using Nokia’s 4.9G network and its AirScale Base Station, with the Snapdragon X20 LTE modem. “T-Mobile customers have a lot more speed to look forward to from our LTE network as we evolve to 5G,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile chief technology officer.
The FCC needs to cut unnecessary regulation, starting with parts of the 2015 net neutrality rules, to spur the growth of broadband, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Thursday at the Institute for Policy Innovation in Irving, Texas. “Broadband networks are expensive to build. And they don’t have to be built. Capital doesn’t have to be spent. Risks don’t have to be taken. So the more difficult government makes the business case for deployment, the less likely it is that broadband providers, big and small, will invest the billions of dollars needed to connect consumers.” Pai said cutting wireless siting red tape is key to 5G, which will require network densification and building small cells across many markets. “We are talking about hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of small cells,” supported by backhaul, he said. “That’s a lot of approvals that will have to be given -- and a lot of possibilities for delay and higher costs.” Rules "designed for 100-foot towers might not make sense for small cells that are the size of a pizza box," he said.
CTIA representatives met with aides to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly on pending changes to siting rules, said a filing in docket 17-79. “CTIA highlighted the importance of modernized siting policies at the federal, state, and local levels and their key role helping to ensure the U.S.’s 5G leadership,” CTIA said. Timely action across all levels of government will be essential to creating capacity for today’s 4G LTE networks and building out the nation’s next-generation wireless networks.” CTIA reported on a second meeting, in docket 14-177, to discuss spectrum frontiers rules. The U.S. "leads the world in the deployment and adoption of 4G wireless services" and "5G wireless services hold the promise of unlocking even greater benefits to consumers, businesses, and the U.S. economy by providing much faster speeds and enough bandwidth to support the" IoT, the group said. Representatives met with an aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and staff from the Wireless and International bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology, the filing said.
Microsoft is continuing to meet with FCC officials to pitch its idea of launching rural broadband using TV white spaces spectrum (see 1707100042). In a docket 12-268 ex parte filing posted Tuesday, the company recapped meetings with staffers including Media Bureau Chief Michelle Carey and Incentive Auction Task Force Chairwoman Jean Kiddoo at which it said a single channel can be preserved in the TV bands nationwide for unlicensed use without affecting full-power broadcasters and having only de minimis effect on a few scattered low-power broadcasters.
Qualcomm filed at the FCC for an experimental license to test 5G technologies near its San Diego campus. The tests would use 3.4-3.55 GHz spectrum. “The network supported by this experimental license is critical for Qualcomm to develop, validate, and then demonstrate 5G technology wireless communications systems,” said the application. “Qualcomm designed the network to generate the smallest amount of RF interference to incumbents in the requested frequency range while also providing the RF coverage area required for engineering development and showcasing advanced wireless technology for indoor, outdoor, static and mobility user environments. The network is required to support both conventional passive antennas configurations as well as advanced beam forming technologies that will be utilized by 5G networks.”
Microsoft representatives met with aides to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr over the company’s proposal to launch rural broadband using TV white spaces spectrum (see 1707100042). “We discussed Microsoft’s efforts to eliminate the rural broadband gap in the United States through its Rural Airband Initiative, and the importance of the Commission’s proposals to preserve a single vacant channel in each market for a total of three usable channels in the UHF band in each market,” Microsoft said in a filing in docket 12-268.
T-Mobile Thursday unveiled the first smartphone with a chip that supports the 600 MHz spectrum it bought in the TV incentive auction -- the LG V30. T-Mobile also said it has deployed 600 MHz in a second market, Scarborough, Maine. Earlier this month, the carrier deployed the TV spectrum in Cheyenne, Wyoming (see 1708160038). T-Mobile also said it's using new Ericsson radio equipment that supports both LTE and 5G. “We’re lighting up our new super spectrum for LTE and laying the foundation for 5G so fast we’re making the other guys’ heads spin -- and with the LG V30, everything is coming together in record time,” said T-Mobile CEO John Legere in a news release. AT&T and Verizon also said they plan to offer the new smartphone (see here and here).
Nick Degani, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said Pai is dead set on digital inclusion and bridging the digital divide. Pai has seen the problem firsthand, Degani told the University of Mississippi Tech Summit Wednesday, according to written remarks. “I don’t mean jet-setting to major technology hubs like Silicon Valley or Boston,” he said. “I’m talking about road trips to visit the people and places we seldom associate with the digital revolution, such as Dillon, Nebraska, and Minneola, Minnesota.” Pai believes overregulation is part of the problem, Degani said. The move to 5G is a big deal for the wireless industry, he said. “Clearing the regulatory underbrush could remove a lot of delays and higher costs as 5G rolls out.” Fifth-generation will be a game changer, he promised: “5G promises exponential growth in the Internet of Things, major advances in augmented and virtual reality, cooperative collision avoidance for cars, remote robotic surgery. And those are just the things we can already foresee.” To "promote digital inclusion, the biggest mechanism in the FCC’s proverbial toolkit would be our universal service programs," he said, saying USF invested $180 million last year in Mississippi. Experts agree it will take more government and industry coordination to further narrow the digital gap between rich and poor (see 1708220036).
AT&T said Wednesday it’s expanding fixed wireless 5G trials to business and residential customers in Waco; Kalamazoo, Michigan; and South Bend, Indiana, by year-end. The first trial, in Austin, started in June, said a news release. “Since then, we’ve gained new insights into millimeter wave performance and propagation,” the carrier said. “We’ve also learned more about how things like foliage, building materials, device placement, surrounding environment and weather impact the signal and system in a real-world environment.” The launch of more trials means AT&T could start offering pre-standards 5G next year, AT&T said. It's working with Ericsson, Samsung, Nokia and Intel on the trials.