New York City Public Design Commission members critiqued aesthetics of the Department of Information Technology’s (DoITT) 5G deployment plan. The committee voted 6-0, with one abstaining, to largely approve the plan, at Monday's livestreamed virtual meeting. The authority rejected installing facilities on certain types of poles, among other conditions. President Signe Nielsen, abstaining over objections about the matter’s handling, said she had concerns about how small cells looked on three or four pole types. Some “look ridiculous,” agreed Commissioner Laurie Hawkinson. Commissioner Ethel Sheffer favored customizing designs, especially since some have historic significance and are part of the “fabric of the neighborhood's design.” Commissioner Manuel Miranda asked if installations could be clearly labeled. DoITT directed industry to collaboratively design a uniform, minimally obtrusive attachment, said Brett Sikoff, the agency's liaison to the commission. In cities where deployments were unregulated, "a lot of this equipment is unshrouded and ... haphazardly put on poles," he said. Different designs for different poles could be more obtrusive and confuse residents, he said. The city’s involvement means more equitable deployment, Sikoff stressed. Commenters raised health concerns about RF emissions, comparing emissions to “second-hand smoke” and facilities to cluster bombs. Some commissioners voiced uncertainty about health risks, noting science is outside their purview. The FCC governs RF safety, Sikoff said. “We can only enforce the rules.” Some commissioners said they heard complaints about not enough outreach. Sikoff said it was sufficient and DoITT addressed concerns.

T-Mobile is adding 2.5 GHz spectrum at the rate of 600-700 sites every week, said Neville Ray, president-technology, on the carrier’s Q2 call Thursday (see 2008060074). “We are running very, very hard,” Ray said: “We’ve got great resources out there working very safely and with health and safety paramount. Our supply chain is actually really robust.” Chief Financial Officer Peter Osvaldik said 95% of customers that took advantage of the FCC’s Keep America Connected pledge have made some form of payment. “There is a small subset of FCC pledge customers that likely will not recover,” he said: Q2 results reflect 110,000 deactivations, including 90,000 postpaid phones.

The pandemic “highlights the urgent need to advance toward smart healthcare systems” based on 5G, reported ABI Research Wednesday. It forecasts 5G will generate just under $400 million in healthcare revenue, with 4.6 million connections, by 2026. “These numbers underscore the huge momentum that we see for 5G adoption in the healthcare domain,” said ABI. “5G will be an important building block for smarter and more efficient healthcare systems.”

T-Mobile said Tuesday it's the first wireless carrier to launch a commercial nationwide stand-alone 5G network. It's "expanding 5G coverage by 30 percent, now covering nearly 250 million people” and using 600 MHz spectrum, the company said.

AT&T and Verizon face a tough challenge from T-Mobile, New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors: “We haven’t seen what they plan do with their newfound assets yet, but we will soon with the relaunch of T-Mobile’s brand and the arrival of the first 5G iPhone. I suspect they will make things uncomfortable.” Both can narrow T-Mobile’s advantage in spectrum through the C-band auction, he said. “They won’t be able to rein T-Mobile in entirely, the magenta cowboys will have at least a two-year head start, but the auction will determine whether it is two years, or forever.” T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said Monday the Sprint brand is no more: “Yesterday, we unified the T-Mobile and Sprint brands to operate under the T-Mobile flagship."

Google put a priority on price for its new smartphone, the Pixel 4a, which went on preorder Monday at the Google Store and on Google Fi for $349. The 5.8-inch device is due in stores Aug. 20, bringing back camera features from the 4, including HDR+ with dual exposure controls, portrait mode, top shot, fused video stabilization and night sight with astrophotography, blogged the company. A Recorder feature can connect to Google Docs to save and share transcriptions and recordings. The phone’s Personal Safety app enables real-time emergency notifications and has car crash detection, it said. Live Caption provides real-time captioning for video and audio content, including voice and video calls. Google’s first 5G phones, the 4a (5G) and 5 are due in fall starting at $499.

Multichannel video and data distribution service proponents' own analyses show 5G in 12 GHz can't be done without interfering with existing non-geostationary orbit licensees there, said an FCC International Bureau posting Friday. It recounted meetings between SpaceX representatives and Commissioner Brendan Carr, aides to Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Mike O'Rielly, and Wireless and International Bureau staffers. SpaceX challenged MVDDS arguments against lower orbits for its proposed Starlink constellation, saying previous modifications to altitudes were made with no such objection and the band today has no 5G operations.

Ligado joined the Open Radio Access Network Policy Coalition, said the company Friday. Open RAN will enable operators to build networks at lower cost and update their infrastructure more quickly, said Ligado. It also will help "drive U.S. leadership in 5G and advance national security."

Reverse the FCC Public Safety Bureau’s July designation of Huawei and ZTE as a national security threat to communications networks and the communications supply chain and terminate the designation proceedings (see 2006300078), the Chinese companies told the FCC separately. “The Bureau had no authority to enter the final designation or even conduct these proceedings,” said a Huawei filing posted Friday in docket 19-351: The bureau “violated Commission precedent and the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to support its final designation by a preponderance of actual, reliable evidence in the administrative record. ... The Bureau largely ignored or failed to meaningfully address extensive evidence that Huawei is a leader in developing and implementing cybersecurity measures, and that it is not controlled or unduly influenced by the Chinese government.” The designation was “infected by unconstitutional congressional pressure and the Commission’s unconstitutional prejudgment against Huawei,” the company said. “The Bureau erred in its overly-broad application of the Supply Chain Security Order, contradicting the intent of Congress as codified in the Secure Networks Act,” ZTE said in docket 19-352: It “erred in not considering all available evidence and in concluding that ZTE did not dispute its assertions.”

Verizon launched new LTE Home Internet service in Savannah; Springfield, Missouri; and the Tri-Cities area of Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky. It's adding the offering to customers “outside the Fios and 5G Home footprints, expanding home connectivity options to rural areas,” the carrier said Thursday: “They’ll get unlimited data, and experience download speeds of 25 Mbps with peak Internet speeds of 50 Mbps.”