Verizon, in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung, plans to begin field trials of 5G wireless technology in 2016, the company said in a news release Tuesday. Verizon said that although 5G technology should be introduced in the U.S. sometime after 2020, it's working with partners to accelerate the rate of innovation, and could see some level of commercial deployment by 2017. The company also said it has begun creating 5G network environments in its Massachusetts and San Francisco Innovation Centers. 5G technology is expected to include "about 50 times the throughput of current 4G LTE," reduce latency into the single-digit milliseconds and have the ability to handle exponentially more Internet-connected devices to accommodate the Internet of Everything, said Verizon.
FCC reorganization of Enforcement Bureau field offices is to become effective Tuesday. That’s the date of an announcement slated to run in the Federal Register. In July, the FCC approved a plan for reorganizing Enforcement Bureau field offices, which includes shutting some of the offices (see 1507160036).
The Small UAV Coalition emphasized the importance of allocating spectrum to unmanned aerial vehicles, said comments filed at the FCC in docket 15-99, focusing on recommendations for the upcoming World Radiocommunications Conference. “The unmanned aerial systems market, particularly the small unmanned aerial vehicle market, is growing exponentially in the United States and globally, with new innovations for small UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] occurring at a pace that is challenging the United States legal and regulatory system,” the group said. “The global market for non-military UAS already has expanded into a $2.5 billion industry that is growing 15 percent to 20 percent annually.” It's important that the FCC “work with industry, the FAA, and others to plan for sufficient spectrum to support the myriad communications functions that are necessary for low-altitude small UAS operations,” the group said.
The Department of Transportation delayed various deadlines on a rulemaking on whether it should prohibit voice calls on scheduled flights within, to and from the U.S. DOT originally expected to release the rulemaking last December, but that was pushed back until March 31, 2016, said a DOT report. Comments are now expected to be due May 23, 2016, DOT said. In December 2013, the FCC approved an NPRM seeking comment on modernizing rules to allow mobile wireless calls on airplanes while in flight (see 1312130061).
The FCC released comment deadlines on a proposal to designate a second available vacant channel in the UHF band for use by white space devices and wireless mics in areas where the “duplex gap” is impaired by a TV station. The FCC agreed to seek comment on making the channel available in its incentive auction procedures rules approved in August (see 1508060029). Comments are due Sept. 30, replies Oct. 30, a notice in Tuesday's Federal Register said.
Representatives of Nokia Solutions and Networks US offered their take on high-frequency spectrum, in a meeting with FCC staff, said a filing in posted Thursday in docket 14-177, saying "71-76 GHz and 81-86 GHz should remain under consideration along with the other mmWave bands the Commission is considering for 5G.” Nokia also sees “industry traction” for 70/80 GHz,” it said. “5G is expected to optimize below 6 GHz access and enable above 6 GHz access," Nokia said, saying 6-100 GHz spectrum is expected to be studied by the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2019. Nokia also said “5G will provide an order of magnitude improvement in performance” and the amount of licensed spectrum “needs to be large enough to support multiple operators.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a recent blog post the FCC will likely soon release an NPRM as it continues its examination of how new developments in technology could increase the viability of operations in bands above 24 GHz (see 1508030071). The FCC launched a notice of inquiry on the topic in October (see 1410170048).
The FCC Enforcement Bureau (EB) said it's adopting new procedures for addressing industry and public safety complaints. The bureau said the FCC will launch a new portal for those otherwise unable to resolve interference complaints. “Once operational, the complaint intake system should allow such complainants to receive immediate confirmation of the FCC’s receipt of their complaints, as well as permit them to track the status of their complaints within the FCC,” the bureau said Thursday. The system will automatically transfer complaint information from the Web portal to the bureau’s case management database, “accelerating investigations and reducing the possibility of human error,” the bureau said. FCC field offices will contact complainants raising high-priority issues within a single calendar day, the bureau said. Low-priority complaints will receive an initial response within five business days of filing. “The public safety/industry interference complaint escalation process will improve complainants’ ability to stay informed of the status of their complaint,” the bureau said. “This process also will enable public safety/industry stakeholders to develop mutually beneficial relationships with the EB field agents in their area.” In July, the FCC approved a plan reorganizing Enforcement Bureau field offices, which includes shutting some of the offices (see 1507160036).
Qualcomm’s Qualcomm UK Spectrum agreed to sell all of its U.K. L-band spectrum in two separate transactions, Qualcomm said Wednesday in a news release. The spectrum is in the 1452-1492 MHz band. Hutchinson 3G and Vodafone UK both agreed to buy 20 MHz of the spectrum, Qualcomm said. “Harmonized and mandated for mobile broadband by the European Union in May 2015, L-Band spectrum can be used for Supplemental Downlink (SDL), helping Mobile Network Operators to meet the global demand for increased mobile data traffic.” The SDL spectrum can be used for VOD and other “downlink centric services,” the company said. Both sales are subject to regulatory approvals, including from Ofcom, Qualcomm said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau made 36 minor changes to the FCC competitive bidding report and order, released by the agency July 21. Typical of the changes, the bureau modified a provision on the attributable material relationship rule to read that it establishes “a bright-line test for triggering the attribution of revenues where a lease was for more than 25 percent of the spectrum capacity of any individual license.” The sentence as released said only that it establishes a bright line. Footnote 485 discussed competitive carriers’ access to “scare” spectrum. The real concern is “scarce” spectrum, the bureau clarifies.
The FCC provided extra time for parties to comment on a July 17 NPRM on updating the rules that govern the evaluation and approval of radiofrequency devices. The American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee C63, CEA, Information Technology Industry Council and Telecommunications Industry Association had sought extra time, citing the complexity of the proceeding. “The Commission does not routinely grant extensions of time in rulemaking proceedings,” the FCC said Tuesday. “However, we believe that extensions of the comment and reply comment deadlines will provide parties with an opportunity to more fully analyze and respond to the complex technical issues raised in this NPRM, thus allowing development of a more complete record in these proceedings.” Comments were due Sept. 9, replies Sept. 22. The new deadlines are Oct. 9 for comments, Nov. 9 for replies.