NTIA Wednesday asked for comment, no later than Jan. 2, on an implementation plan for the national spectrum strategy (see 2311130048). NTIA also asked parties who want to meet with NTIA staff on the plan to schedule meetings “as soon as practicable.” An accompanying presidential memorandum asked the Commerce Department to publish an implementation plan within 120 days of the Nov. 13 release of the strategy. “NTIA is welcoming public input from interested stakeholders to help inform the development of an implementation plan for the Strategy, which is needed for the U.S. to bolster investment in spectrum-related innovative technologies and plan effectively for its current and future spectrum Needs,” the notice said: “NTIA is interested in public views on implementing the Strategy, with a focus on the next 1-3 years, as such inputs allow NTIA and other federal agencies to benefit from expertise and viewpoints outside the federal government. These views will be considered in developing the implementation plan, which is intended to help accelerate U.S. leadership in wireless communications and other spectrum-based technologies and to unlock innovations that benefit the American people.”

One long-standing contention is that the odd number G’s -- 3G and 5G in particular -- aren’t as significant as the even numbered ones, Jeffrey Reed, Virginia Tech professor of electrical and computer engineering, said during an IEEE webinar Wednesday. But Reed predicted that over time 5G will start to meet expectations. “We’ve seen a lot of negative publicity about 5G lately,” but negative comments follow the introduction of every new generation of wireless technology, he said. The first generation was primitive, didn’t support data and security was “horrendous,” he said. With 2G the quality of voice calls initially was “horrible,” Reed said. 3G “promised a lot of data” but didn’t do a good job with video, and delivery was late, particularly for the European market, he said. “4G has its disappointments as well -- it brought us video, but its battery life was horrendous,” especially in the early days, he said: “There was a lot of hype behind 5G. We have yet to see the realization of low latency and massive machine-to-machine communications on a large scale.” But in all G’s, the standards eventually catch up with expectations, he said. “5G is still evolving and many of the capabilities will eventually be demonstrated,” he said. 5G will continue advancing over the next five years or longer “laying the foundation for 6G,” he said. Two advances almost universally expected for 6G are widespread use of AI in networks and greater energy savings, he said.

Verizon subsidiary Tracfone agreed to pay $23.5 million to settle an investigation into whether it violated FCC rules for the Lifeline and emergency broadband benefit programs, and to put in place compliance measures, the FCC said Wednesday. That amount includes $6 million to resolve a 2020 notice of apparent liability for other apparent Lifeline violations, the agency said. The Enforcement Bureau investigated Tracfone’s procedures “for determining customer usage, which are critical for ensuring public funds are not subsidizing unused connections,” the agency said: “TracFone disclosed that its internal processes resulted in Lifeline claims for customers who had not used the service in the prior 30 days, contrary to the Commission’s rules.” Verizon closed on its buy of the low-cost carrier two years ago (see 2111220069). “Whether attributable to fraud or lax internal controls, or both, we will vigorously pursue allegations of misconduct that harms critical FCC programs designed to help those most in need of communications-related services,” said Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan Egal.

NTIA’s Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund on Tuesday awarded its second round of grants, awarding a total of $13 million. Among the grants were $2 million to the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, for learning-based open radio access network testing, and nearly $2 million to Northeastern University for its DigiRAN digital framework. “The transition to open, interoperable wireless networks is now well on its way -- bringing with it greater security, competition, and resiliency,” said NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson: “The Wireless Innovation Fund will accelerate this shift by supporting the foundational research and testing needed for this crucial technology.” The fund will provide $1.5 billion during the next decade to support the development of open and interoperable networks.

Verizon is deploying C-band spectrum in rural and less dense markets, with more than 250 million POPs expected to be covered in the next few quarters, Joe Russo, president-global networks and technology, said during a Wells Fargo conference Tuesday. That’s up from 230 million POPs in the latest announcement. “POPs covered isn't exactly my goal,” Russo said. “My goal is to get capacity and performance into the network where customers want to use it when they need it, where they need it,” he said. Verizon plans to deploy the band in all U.S. markets, which will happen over the next few years, he said. “We'll follow where customer demand is. … Where we see we need capacity, coverage or capabilities in the network, that's where we'll target next.” Verizon is targeting 350,000-400,000 net fixed wireless adds a quarter, using spectrum it already has deployed, he said. It is seeing “more and more enterprises look to us” for fixed wireless access, “both for backup and primary connections,” he said. Companies that have branches in different locations want access to the same level of throughput in all branches, he said. Verizon is also pleased with the performance of its high-band spectrum, which it’s using in ways the company didn’t expect a few years ago, Russo said. “It's a great tool in our toolbox to handle capacity and to allow customers to do things they never could do before in certain areas,” he said: “If you've been to a Taylor Swift concert, all of those people, our customers, are there and they want to stream that experience with their friends and family, and you couldn't do that in a 4G world.”

The cellular router and gateway market saw 5.6 million units shipped in 2022, with annual revenues of $1.4 billion and the Americas accounting for about half of that, ResearchAndMarkets.com said in a Monday report. Average selling price in the Americas region “is significantly higher compared to other markets, primarily due to a higher share of feature-rich, high-speed 4G LTE and 5G devices in the product mix,” it said. The report forecast $2.5 billion in global revenues in 2027. Ericsson’s Cradlepoint and Semtech’s Sierra Wireless were the market leaders, the report said.

Verizon updated the FCC on integration of low-cost carrier Tracfone into its network (see 2111220069) in a semi-annual report posted Monday in docket 22-210. “Two years after the close of the transaction, Verizon has continued to satisfy the closing conditions set forth by the FCC, and continues to strengthen its internal control environment to further support the compliance program established shortly after close,” Verizon said. “As certain milestones have either arrived on the second anniversary of the transaction, Verizon has continued to adapt its approach to prepare for these critical milestones by proactively testing measures put in place to meet these requirements, and improved its feedback loop with business personnel responsible for meeting the conditions to ensure ongoing compliance.” Verizon said it met one of the most challenging requirements, that by last Thursday all devices “sold by TracFone and activated on the Verizon network must be capable of automatic unlocking.” As a result, “there is no longer customer intervention required to unlock a handset purchased from TracFone and activated on the Verizon network,” the carrier said. Parts of the filing, including data on the number of Lifeline customers transferred to Verizon’s network and the number receiving 5G service, were redacted. Marketing data was also redacted. The last report was filed in May (see 2305240032).

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Monday approved a tweak that GPR recently sought to a waiver the company received for its driver-assistance safety technology, which uses ultra-wideband (UWB) ground penetrating radar (see 2311140046). “GPR requested that we modify the Waiver Order to remove condition 6, which requires the GPR device to cease operation when the vehicle on which it is mounted comes to a stop,” OET said: Removing the condition “will not undermine the purpose of the UWB rules, i.e., to prevent harmful interference to authorized services.” The likelihood of harmful interference from the GPR device “is extremely low due to a number of factors, including operating in frequency bands that were selected to reduce the likelihood of harmful interference to authorized services, at low power levels with emissions in adjacent bands attenuated to protect services in those bands, only when pointed at the ground, and under conditions that limit how the units may be deployed,” OET said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau Monday approved an American Radio Relay League request for a waiver of the commission’s Part 97 rules to communicate with military stations as part of Pearl Harbor Day commemorations Dec. 6 and 7 (see 2211180048). “This event presents a unique opportunity for the Amateur and military communities to practice communication skills under the guidance of military officials, which may be useful in the future and serves the public interest,” the bureau said: "In addition to the skills gained by amateur operators that participate in the test, this day has a historic significance and emphasizes the importance of reliable communications and the need to be vigilant in our national defense. We also find that the limitations proposed by ARRL are appropriate to prevent harmful interference."

The World Radiocommunication Conference this year is a “critical event” for the GSMA, Director-General Mats Granryd said during an ITU podcast. “It’s where we agree [on] the future spectrum, we harmonize spectrum, and spectrum is our lifeline,” he said. “It’s really an event that affects billions of people.” GSMA’s focus this year starts with low-band, 400-600 MHz, he said. Low band builds capacity and makes sure everyone around the world “can actually get online through a mobile device,” Granryd said. The next focus is mid-band, 4-6 GHz, which is equally important for building capacity, he said. Through spectrum harmonization, carriers can grow and have the same application programming interfaces (APIs) globally, he said. “With 5G now really kicking in properly, and we see more business-to-business applications ... we must have more spectrum,” he said. Granryd said the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona early in 2024 is nearly sold out. Businesses are trying to figure out how they can use 5G connectivity to their advantage, “how can I prosper from that,” he said. Hot topics will include 5G applications, open gateway, “which is basically API roaming," and AI and the use of AI, he said: “I think you will see a lot of use cases.”