NTIA announced the first three winners under the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, a $1.5 billion federal fund aimed at spurring the growth of open radio access networks and advanced spectrum sharing. NTIA unveiled the grants Tuesday at Northeastern University in Boston, one of the recipients.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears to be teeing up an order on revised rules for the 6 GHz band for one of the commissioners' open meetings before the World Radiocommunication Conference, which starts Nov. 20 in Dubai. The WRC includes an agenda item on whether to identify the upper 700 MHz of the band for international mobile telecommunications, which the U.S. opposes, and the order would lay down a strong U.S. marker in favor of unlicensed use of the band, Wi-Fi advocates told us.
FCC commissioners approved a notice of inquiry on the use of AI and other technologies in managing how spectrum is used and an order providing an up-to-$75 monthly broadband benefit, through the affordable connectivity program, for subscribers living in qualifying high-cost areas, both 4-0 Thursday.
The FCC’s draft notice of inquiry on understanding nonfederal spectrum use “through new data sources, technologies and methods” appears to be generating little official reaction from the wireless industry. Only one party filed comments on the draft in a new docket, 23-232 -- the Institute for the Wireless IoT at Northeastern University. No one reported meetings at the FCC about the draft. Some experts said it's unclear what the NOI will accomplish. Commissioners are expected to approve the item at their Thursday meeting, officials said.
The CEOs of the major U.S. tower companies in recent calls with analysts all acknowledged a general slowdown in Q2 on carrier deployment of 5G. SBA on Monday became the last of the big three to report earnings.
DOJ and the FCC on Monday defended the commission’s order last year further clamping down on gear from Chinese companies, preventing the sale of yet-to-be authorized equipment in the U.S. (see 2211230065). Dahua USA and Hikvision USA challenged the order, which implements the 2021 Secure Equipment Act, questioning whether the FCC exceeded its legal authority (docket 23-1032). The case is in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Oral argument isn't scheduled.
Allocating the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use can help cut overall energy use relative to using carrier networks, argues a new study by WIK, released by the Wi-Fi Alliance Monday. European nations are considering whether to follow the U.S. lead and allocate the full 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi, and a key decision on the spectrum is expected at the World Radiocommunication Conference, which starts Nov. 20 in Dubai.
T-Mobile would be interested in any spectrum Dish Network offers for sale, CEO Mike Sievert said during a Q2 earnings call Thursday (see 2307270064): “You know we've never met spectrum we didn't like.” One thing that distinguishes T-Mobile is “when we get our hands on spectrum, we put it to work right away,” he said. “You see that in how we're deploying so ambitiously the 2.5 GHz” acquired as part of the Sprint buy, he said. “We're always on the hunt for other ways to add capacity to our network because it allows us to do amazing things like not only continue to take share and grow and meet ever rising needs of customers on their smartphones” but also expand fixed wireless access, Sievert said. T-Mobile remains on track to have as many as 8 million home internet customers by 2025, using excess spectrum capacity, he said. T-Mobile agrees to provide fixed-wireless only in areas with extra capacity, which currently means it’s available to about 50 million U.S. homes, Sievert said. Ulf Ewaldsson, president-technology, said T-Mobile remains well situated on spectrum. “We have lots of room to move ahead,” he said: “We have today 255 MHz of spectrum that is dedicated to 5G on our mid-band, and you have to remember that our low-band is all dedicated to 5G.” Other carriers are sharing spectrum between LTE and 5G, “and we're not -- we're dedicating spectrum,” Ewaldsson said. T-Mobile is deploying high-band, but in markets with “extraordinary” capacity needs, including Manhattan and Los Angeles, he said. Callie Field, president of T-Mobile Business Group, said the provider is expanding its business portfolio, adding a major global asset management firm and a “leading global bank” as new accounts in Q2. Some multiunit national retailers are replacing their wireline connections with 5G from T-Mobile, and hospitals and schools have also been seeking alternatives for campus-wide connections, she said. “The structural unattractiveness of the wireless industry has weighed on T-Mobile’s shares just as it has on AT&T’s and Verizon’s,” MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett told investors: “The only remedy will be for T-Mobile to, well, just keep putting up the numbers and buying back stock. They did both in Q2. Eventually, reticent buyers will have no choice. It’s just that it may still take some time. As ever, we’re still believers in the T-Mobile story.”
The wireless industry would likely welcome a sale of returned and unsold spectrum licenses, especially Dish Network’s surrendered AWS-3 licenses if the agency holds a remnants auction, as proposed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel last week, industry experts told us.
T-Mobile added 760,000 net postpaid customers in Q2, besting AT&T and Verizon, it reported Thursday. That’s up from 538,000 in Q1. T-Mobile also picked up a net 509,000 customers for its home internet service, which it said is “more than AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Charter combined.” Postpaid churn hit a record low for the carrier of 0.77%. Service revenue of $15.7 billion was up 3% year-over-year and net income was $2.2 billion, compared with a net loss of $108 million last year. T-Mobile raised its guidance for the year in several areas and is now projecting 5.6 million-5.9 million postpaid net customer additions, compared with prior guidance of 5.3 million-5.7 million. T-Mobile said 285 million POPs are covered by T-Mobile’s Ultra Capacity 5G network, which uses its 2.5 GHz spectrum. Consumers are starting to “take notice” of T-Mobile’s 5G network “as we’re winning prime network seekers in the top 100 markets,” CEO Mike Sievert said on a call with analysts. In small markets, T-Mobile is capturing 30% of customers who switch networks, he said. Sievert said T-Mobile’s integration of Sprint is now “substantially complete, with both the billing migration and retail rationalization done ahead of a year-end target. The deadline has passed for Dish Network to exercise an option it got as part of a complicated arrangement on T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint to acquire the company’s 800 MHz spectrum for $3.4 billion (see 2304280049), Sievert said. Dish asked for additional time from the DOJ to consider what it would do “and we did not object to that,” he said. Dish has until Aug. 11 before T-Mobile will terminate the offer, Sievert said: “But, in fact, we’re in discussions with Dish about whether or not there might be a win-win that’s different from their initial privilege … But that deadline is coming.”