DALLAS -- A focus on collaboration among industries including carriers, vendors and software makers continued to be urged by Telecommunications Industry Association panelists (see 1606070021 and 1606060044) to speed automation of wireless networks and help undergird commercialization of 5G. Such collaboration also may include cost sharing as infrastructure is built out further and software moved closer to the edge of networks where they connect with wireless and other devices, they said. It may even involve municipalities, TIA 2016 panelists said. The collaborative nature of this work underscores that not one type of company is considered a service provider anymore, some said: Instead, that name can apply to many different players.

DALLAS -- The FCC approach under Chairman Tom Wheeler to competition was attacked as a Telecommunications Industry Association conference was drawing to a close Wednesday. In what TIA CEO Scott Belcher billed as the only time the policy chiefs of the big three ISPs gathered on one stage simultaneously, two of those executives, from AT&T and Comcast, had harsh words for a variety of competition-related rules. And the third ISP policy chief, from Verizon, said Washington gets it wrong on some broadband customer take-up issues.

DALLAS -- Amid preparations to move to 5G and surging mobile data usage (see 1606060044), carrier, software and equipment vendor executives continued saying at a Telecommunications Industry Association conference that their industries are moving network functions to the cloud. Network virtualization can include using more software and less hardware, they said during panels, keynotes and informal discussions on the sidelines of TIA 2016. They said this has the benefit of automating some functions and allowing broadband and data networks to handle changes in consumer usage better and adjust on the fly to meet data demand, instead of sending personnel to tweak equipment like switches, cell towers and antennas.

DALLAS -- With several areas of contention between spectrum users over using or sharing bands, FCC intervention may be needed, said panelists at a Telecommunications Industry Association conference. Examples include whether Ligado's building a terrestrial LTE network will interfere with GPS devices and whether those devices are themselves operating as intended (see 1605230031), the pending FCC draft order that would let Globalstar in phases build out its terrestrial broadband product (see 1606030041), and contested claims over whether carriers using LTE-unlicensed will interfere with cable operators and others' Wi-Fi services (see 1605060033). To incentivize parties at odds over contested spectrum to come to a solution, the FCC could try to convince opponents that reaching a deal will be better for them than not, said spectrum specialists and an industry lawyer at TIA 2016 Tuesday.

DALLAS -- Wireline and wireless companies may need to cooperate in some instances to fully meet future customer demand for bandwidth and to keep a lid on capital expenditures as carriers look toward 5G, executives said on a panel on the first day of a Telecommunications Industry Association conference. ISPs may sometimes need to collocate equipment to gain more broadband efficiency while preventing capital expenditure costs from skyrocketing, representatives from Corning and other big and smaller companies said Monday at TIA 2016. Smart enhancement of broadband and other services also means adopting different approaches in different areas, they said.

The FCC lost a media ownership court case in which broadcasters appealed an order limiting TV joint sales agreements in some circumstances and public interest groups appealed on a lack of further regulation and on concerns the commission didn't fully address diversity issues. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals also ordered mediation. It vacated and remanded to the commission the TV JSA agreement rule, in a brief order Wednesday.

BOSTON -- The FCC was criticized by another group of stakeholders at INTX, as the show drew to a close Wednesday. All four state telecom regulator panelists heaped criticism on the FCC over a range of process and legal issues. Critiques involved moving Lifeline subsidies for the poor to broadband from voice in a way that allows the FCC to certify providers as eligible telecom carriers (ETC) instead of just states having that authority, and pre-empting anti-municipal broadband state law. Process concerns included that the federal commission takes too long to issue the text of orders, is too partisan, and commissioners don't cooperate. State commissioners of both parties said the FCC doesn't work closely with state telecom regulators and follow through by having such cooperation reflected in rules. Asked in Q&A whether the FCC had any bright spots, panelists praised it for moving USF to broadband.

BOSTON -- Video programmers, website operators and others are revamping methods for placing digital and pay-TV advertisements and measuring ad performance, executives who work with those industries told INTX attendees. Some of the revamps of longtime ad procedures involve changes meant to increase effectiveness, maximize the amount of money the promotions earn and ultimately reduce digital user frustration with technical problems, the executives said.

BOSTON -- Comcast and Cox Communications are keeping options open on using another company's wireless network to extend their services, their executives said at INTX. Comcast Cable's Cole Reinwand, vice president of the company's Xfinity Wi-Fi program, and Cox's Kelly Williams, vice president-strategic video platforms, largely echoed each other, indicating no mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) plan is now in the works. On a panel on spectrum Tuesday, Reinwand and Williams said much traffic is going over Wi-Fi. And they and others said concerns continue over interference to Wi-Fi from LTE-U.

BOSTON -- Criticism of FCC regulatory plans (see 1605160033 and 1605160057) mounted as INTX continued. On a Tuesday panel of industry privacy lawyers including ex-FCC and ex-FTC officials, all speakers had harsh words for the FCC's ISP privacy NPRM. In a later Q&A at INTX, an AT&T executive also voiced concerns about various FCC proceedings. A commission spokeswoman defended the agency, in a follow-up email to us.