Attorneys general from 15 states asked the FCC to move forward on uniform handset unlocking rules, Massachusetts AG Andrea Joy Campbell (D) said Monday. “Inconsistent policies and arbitrary timelines across carriers have made purchasing a mobile phone and choosing a service provider all too confusing and expensive for consumers,” Campbell said. Proposed in a unanimously approved NPRM (see 2407180037), the rules' outlook could be in doubt given the pending change in administrations (see 2411150043). The rules “will benefit consumers by reducing handset costs, increasing competition between providers, and creating a clear and uniform timeline for unlocking devices so that consumers can pursue the services that best meet their needs,” the letter said. AGs from Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island also signed the letter.

Open radio access networks are poised to change the telecom industry, as advances first seen in greenfield networks are deployed in legacy systems, 5G Americas said in a paper released Monday. “While ORAN offers numerous advantages, including flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, the integration of components from multiple vendors can be complex,” 5G Americas said. But work that will support ORAN adoption “through funding, test labs, and policies -- can mitigate these challenges.” The mobile wireless industry is “on the brink of a revolution” and ORAN deployment “is not just a fleeting trend but a substantial shift towards more efficient, cost-effective, open, and flexible network infrastructures,” the paper said: While new networks, “built from scratch, have garnered much of the initial attention, looking ahead, the focus shifts to brownfield operators in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, who are embracing Open RAN while leveraging the inherited values of cloud infrastructure and automation tools to enhance operational efficiency.”

EchoStar, RS Access and Go Long Wireless reached an agreement with the Navajo Nation that allows it to use as much as 100 MHz of the 12.2 GHz band for wireless if the FCC approves fixed wireless use of the spectrum. The agreement was filed Monday at the FCC in docket 20-443. The companies hold nearly 90% of multichannel video distribution and data service licenses nationwide “and they stand ready to extend the agreement provided herein on the same terms to any Tribal entity,” the filing said. “This approach would help close the longstanding digital divide for hard-to-reach Tribal lands, while simultaneously respecting tribal sovereignty and self-determination.” The agreement is "a direct spectrum assignment to participating Tribal entities, empowering them to deploy the spectrum as they see fit,” the companies said.

The Wireless Future Program at New America is calling on policymakers to take a harder look at rules for indoor-only use of spectrum bands, as the administration studies the future of the lower 3 and 7/8 GHz bands. Michael Calabrese, director of the program, said the group filed its report at the NTIA, at the agency's urging, as part of a multistakeholder review process last month and Monday released a public version. “The potential benefits of different rules for indoor-only use are becoming more evident,” the report said, noting the FCC’s 2020 decision to authorize low-power, indoor (LPI) use across the 6 GHz band. Incumbent licensees already are using the spectrum, including more than 50,000 high-power fixed microwave links, the report said: LPI use is limited “to roughly one-fourth the standard power of Wi-Fi, yet is considered extremely useful since the vast majority of internet data (including at least 80% of mobile device data traffic) is transmitted indoors and over Wi-Fi.” LPI in 6 GHz “highlights the potential to authorize indoor-only use in many other bands where users comply with power, device form factor, database coordination, or other technical requirements necessary to protect the primary licensees from harmful interference,” New America said. While LPI in 6 GHz is authorized under Part 15 of the commission’s rules, “LPI can be adopted as part of a licensed-by-rule framework or licensed exclusively to select categories of facilities (such as factories and schools),” the report said. It notes DOD concerns about sharing the lower 3 GHz band, which the military uses broadly. “Similarly, large portions of the 7 GHz band” are “currently used by sensitive military systems in the United States and in Europe (e.g., NATO operations in 7250–7750 MHz).” New America points to five frequency ranges that may be particularly suitable for LPI use: 3100–3450, 7125–7250, 7250–7750 and 2900–3100 MHZ, and 10–10.5 GHz. Of lower 3 GHz it says that “while a dynamic coordination system should enable DOD to share at least portions of the band for low-power use outdoors … a broader underlay authorization for LPI use should be considered as an option for this band.”

Lending Tree asked the FCC to change some of the one-to-one robotext consent rules commissioners approved last December (see 2312130019) before they take effect Jan. 26. Company representatives met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and staff from the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau, said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-402. “LendingTree urged the Commission to adopt a narrow exception to the 1-to-1 Consent Rule for curated comparison-shopping platforms in order to preserve the ‘value that comparison shopping offers to consumers who seek specific goods and services, and the value that lead generators offers to businesses, including small businesses, seeking new customers,’” the filing said. Lending Tree said a recent survey it conducted “showed that 73% of consumers who have applied for a loan or insurance policy expect to learn about service providers that they have never heard of when comparison shopping.”

T-Mobile asked that the FCC direct the Universal Service Administrative Co. to make Q-Link Wireless reimburse it for money it owes for using the T-Mobile network. Q-Link Wireless CEO Issa Asad faces prison time and a fine of more than $100 million after pleading guilty to fraud tied to the FCC’s Lifeline program (see 2410160029). Q-Link is required to provide restitution to the commission for Lifeline fraud, but there is no provision to compensate T-Mobile for unpaid bills, said a filing posted Friday in docket 09-197. “Q LINK has been able to retain over $500 million of USF support without fully compensating T-Mobile for the services it provided to Q LINK and indirectly to consumers,” the carrier said. “Re-directing the funds to T-Mobile would simply allow it to receive the Federal benefits for the service that it ultimately provided during the term of its agreement with Q LINK and for the services that it continues to provide to Q LINK’s Lifeline program customers,” T-Mobile said.

EchoStar representatives met with FCC Space Bureau staff to urge the agency to move forward on higher-power fixed service use of the lower 12 GHz band. The officials refuted a recent SpaceX study warning of interference from fixed-wireless operations in the lower 12 GHz band (see 2409040035). “We explained that SpaceX’s study was designed to fail, because it employs unrealistic assumptions, and assumes interference scenarios that bear no resemblance to fixed 5G deployments designed to avoid interference and make sharing possible,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-443.

GSMA Intelligence expects trends in 5G growth and wide variations among the regions of the world will continue through the start of 6G in 2030, Emanuel Kolta, lead analyst-network sustainability and innovation, said Thursday. Kolta spoke during a Mobile World Live webinar. 5G isn’t new; the first commercial network launched in 2019, Kolta noted. “We have enough information to have some level of understanding about 5G and how the market, how users reacted to the launch,” he said. GMSA finds 75% of consumers say they’re happy with their 5G networks and satisfaction levels are growing, he said. In addition, it notes about a third are interested in fixed wireless access, which is a leading use case in many markets. The group also found that how 5G is deployed varies more by region than in earlier generations. He cited Southeast Asia as an example, where, more than in other regions, 5G connects “things” rather than just people. In countries with limited fiber penetration, including the U.S., the U.K. and South Africa, “FWA is a success story.” Regional differences will continue, he predicted. By GSMA’s latest count, 265 operators in 114 markets have launched 5G. By the end of the year, 5G connections are expected to reach 2 billion worldwide, “which is an enormous number,” and climb to 5.6 billion in 2030. After a period when the design and technology built into phones “kind of stalled,” consumers expect the next generations of phones to offer innovations, he said. “We also see some risks, such as the drop in smartphone sales in recent years” and the potential for geopolitical conflicts and other problems to cause supply chain issues. “We expect that consumer enthusiasm will continue,” he said: “We expect that North America will lead in terms of 5G penetration” with 90% penetration and 460 million connections by 2030. GSMA also sees data traffic continuing to grow at 30% annually. “There was some discussion around it slowing down, but bigger screens and better cameras continue to increase data traffic,” as does the growth of the IoT. GSMA believes 2G and 3G will still be used in five years, even though 5G has grown more quickly than any generation of wireless, he said. 4G networks will also continue to see broad use, though less than today.

Verizon representatives urged uniform handset unlocking rules, during a meeting with an aide to FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez. “The ad-hoc, asymmetric locking policies that currently apply to some providers and not others result in an uneven playing field, reducing wireless competition and ultimately harming consumers,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 24-186: “Whatever handset locking policy the Commission adopts should apply uniformly to all wireless providers.”

The Enterprise Wireless Alliance told the FCC it supports a change the American Petroleum Institute is seeking in rules for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2410080030). EWA said it supports API’s suggestion that system administrators incorporate a general authorized access tier user algorithm that prioritizes spectrum access for small businesses and enterprise customers. CBRS is important to EWA members, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. “In a telecommunications world that focuses increasingly on commercial broadband services, the vital importance of enterprise entities to the nation’s economy and to its day-to-day functioning must be recognized,” EWA said: “Some of their wireless needs can be and are met on commercial networks, but many have core responsibilities that cannot be outsourced to the network of a third-party commercial provider.”