TCL’s 10 5G UW smartphone is available on prepaid plans at Walmart ($299) and Verizon ($399), TCL said Monday. Verizon plans start at $40 monthly and can be lowered by up $15 through autopay and loyalty discounts, TCL said. The 6.5-inch phone is built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor and has a 48-megapixel main camera.

Make the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for commercial 5G “as quickly as possible” via rules similar to those in the adjacent citizens broadband radio service band, Federated Wireless executives asked an aide to acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “A holistic approach to the 3 GHz band will be critical for assuring U.S. 5G leadership by maximizing the utility of this spectrum for the widest range of diverse users and use cases and promoting innovative spectrum management,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-348.

Shure representatives spoke with acting Chief Ron Repasi and others from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology on wireless multichannel audio system (WMAS) technology and possible changes to Part 74 rules. “Shure is enthusiastic about the promise of WMAS technology and strongly supports the initiation of a rulemaking proceeding and issuance” of an NPRM, said a filing posted Monday in RM-11821. “We discussed the evolution of wireless microphone technology to address shrinking spectrum resources and soaring demand for high performance wireless microphones.”

The FirstNet board and committees meet virtually Feb. 10, starting at 11 a.m. EST, says Monday's Federal Register.

CTIA filed a new report at the FCC, “Building the 5G Economy -- The Wireless Industry’s Plan to Invest and Innovate in the U.S.,” posted Thursday in 19-348 and other dockets. “5G will drive the new jobs and economic growth that the United States needs to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and lead the world,” the association said.

MediaTek gained “meaningful share” globally last year in 5G and Wi-Fi 6 “in the first year of the end-market takeoff” of those technologies, said CEO Rick Tsai on a Q4 call Wednesday. “We are seeing increasing Wi-Fi 6 demand in high-end routers, broadband and TV.” Laptop and Chromebook brands are adopting “MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 solutions,” he said. The first high-end Wi-Fi 6 gaming laptop “will hit the market in the first quarter with more to come,” he said. MediaTek is “on the test bed” for Wi-Fi 6E development and already has “started Wi-Fi 7 investments,” he said. For 2021, MediaTek forecasts global 5G smartphone shipments will exceed 500 million, a 250% increase over 2019, said Tsai. He estimates “at least” 60% of that growth will come from China. MediaTek launched a complete 5G “product portfolio” last year and “engaged with all global major Android smartphone brands,” he said. “Our 5G market share has already exceeded 40% in markets we serve.”

A lawyer for the Environmental Health Trust and other plaintiffs in the lawsuit asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to force the FCC to update 25-year-old exposure rules complained the agency went beyond the scope of what the court asked in answering questions on work by the Radiofrequency Interagency Work Group and Technical Electronic Product Radiation Safety Standards Committee (TEPRSSC). A letter (in Pacer) from the commission doesn’t limit itself to “purely factual matters” and introduces new arguments on why neither the FCC nor the Food and Drug Administration “sought input from the TEPRSSC,” said Wednesday's filing (in Pacer) by Edward Myers in docket 20-1025. “This goes well beyond the scope of the Court’s request and is generally improper since the time for submitting briefs in these cases is long past.” Judges heard the case Monday (see 2101250051).

NCTA urged aides to FCC Commissioners Brendan Carr, Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington to adopt parts of the citizens broadband radio service rules in the framework for the 3.45-3.55 GHz band. There's “concern expressed by many commenters in the record regarding the coexistence of deployments in the CBRS band with new adjacent 3.45 GHz operations,” said Tuesday's posting in docket 19-348.

Aviation industry representatives raised concerns with FCC staff about the coexistence between 5G in the C band and incumbent radio altimeters in 4200-4400 MHz. The Aerospace Vehicle Systems Institute met with officials from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology about a recent report by RTCA, formerly the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics, on interference risks (see 2010280048), said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-122. Industry representatives “stressed their continued support of the Commission’s goals of providing the benefits of 5G to the U.S. public, while also keeping the flying public safe by avoiding harmful interference to existing radio altimeters,” the filing said.

Pause additional equipment certifications for 6 GHz unlicensed low-power indoor (LPI) devices “until rigorous testing is conducted to demonstrate that unlicensed devices can coexist with incumbent fixed-microwave licensees in the 6 GHz band,” 6 GHz incumbents said in a letter to FCC commissioners. “Such action is necessary to satisfy Congress’s recent directive to the FCC to provide a report on progress towards ‘ensuring rigorous testing related to unlicensed use of the 6 gigahertz band’ and is the only prudent course given recent showings in the record that LPI devices pose a significant interference risk,” said a Wednesday posting in docket 18-295. The Utilities Technology Council, Edison Electric Institute, American Public Power Association, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Petroleum Institute, American Water Works Association, American Gas Association, National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, International Association of Fire Chiefs and APCO signed. “The FCC reviewed an extensive and detailed technical record over multiple years and correctly decided that the risk of harmful interference from indoor Wi-Fi devices to fixed link operations in 6 GHz is insignificant,” an NCTA spokesperson responded: “The recent call by fixed link incumbents to stop the 6 GHz equipment certification process does not change the facts and is another attempt to relitigate settled issues and unnecessarily delay the substantial benefits of Wi-Fi 6E and more for American consumers at a time when they rely on Wi-Fi more than ever before.”