Sony, a spectrum access system operator in the citizens broadband radio service band, asked the FCC to approve it as an environmental sensing capability provider, in a Wednesday posting in docket 15-319. Parts were redacted.

Panasonic had a call with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology officials on a report that argues the 5.9 GHz band should be reallocated for vehicle-to-everything communications, with no allocation for Wi-Fi (see 2010070050). That's per a filing posted Wednesday in docket 19-138.

Apple’s iPhone 12 launch likely isn't the beginning of a “supercycle” for 5G, which is “still far away from real relevance,” MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett wrote investors Wednesday. Any bump in iPhone sales will likely be due to pent-up demand for upgrades and replacements in the lengthening handset replacement cycle, but that will “burn off fairly quickly,” said the analyst: “New and better cameras are great, but the real 5G cycle is at least a year or two away.” Verizon is the “big winner” of Apple’s decision to go all-in on millimeter-wave for its quartet of 5G iPhone 12 models, launched Tuesday (see 2010130043), said Moffett. Apple supports both of Verizon’s main millimeter-wave bands, 28 GHz and 39 GHz, he noted. The surprise cameo from Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg at the virtual launch event could mean Apple sees millimeter-wave as a “differentiator,” said the analyst. “But Apple’s support for mmWave may reflect the uncomfortable reality that 5G in any spectrum band other than mmWave is basically just LTE with a new name,” Moffett said. T-Mobile and AT&T already offer nationwide 5G in low frequencies to attain coverage, “but the small block widths for the spectrum mean that the user experience is not really any better than 4G." AT&T’s iPhone trade-in offer -- a free 5G iPhone for trade-in of an iPhone 8 or later, is a “preemptive race to the bottom,” he said, saying that what he sees as a net subsidy above $600 “strikes us as rather steep.” Verizon’s trade-in deal -- the $799 iPhone 12 for $15 per month and the $699 iPhone 12 mini for $12 per month with trade-in and 24-month contract -- “seems positively pedestrian by comparison.” The iPhone 12 rollout will accelerate a new round of 5G “map wars” as carriers try to “maximize perception for the breadth and depth of the new technology platform,” Citi's Michael Rollins wrote investors Wednesday: The “switcher pool and churn” will pick up in Q4, favoring “insurgents over incumbents.”

T-Mobile opposed streamlined review of Verizon buying Tracfone (see 2009140010), in an undocketed FCC filing. “Applicants propose a $7 billion transaction under which the largest facilities-based provider of mobile wireless services in the United States would acquire the fourth largest provider of wireless services by subscribership,” T-Mobile said: “While T-Mobile takes no position on the merits of the Application, a transaction of this magnitude warrants careful scrutiny and the opportunity for public comment -- no less than T-Mobile’s recent acquisition of Sprint.” Verizon didn't comment.

T-Mobile US will release Q3 results Nov. 5, with an analyst call at 4:30 p.m. EST, the carrier said Tuesday.

NCTA disputed NTIA arguments for exclusion zones to protect federal operations if the 5.9 GHz band is reallocated for unlicensed use (see 2009090025). "Conclude that exclusion zones are not required in order for outdoor Wi-Fi devices that operate within a 36 dBm [effective isotropic radiated power] limit to prevent harmful interference to federal facilities,” NCTA asked the FCC in a filing posted Tuesday in docket 19-138: “Seek further comment on whether the proposed exclusion zones and number of protected federal facilities could be reduced and whether there are other mechanisms that could be employed to facilitate coexistence.”

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America told FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff that all 75 MHz of the 5.9 GHz band are needed for transportation safety and should be reallocated for vehicle-to-everything systems. Officials from the New York City, Michigan and Texas Transportation departments were on a call, said a filing posted Friday in docket 19-138.

Tech companies spoke with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on their quest for further changes to 6 GHz rules, the subject of a Further NPRM (see 2007280033). “We discussed the importance of Commission rules that ensure 6 GHz devices meet consumers’ expectations by enabling mobile use -- including both mobile [automatic frequency coordination]-controlled devices as well as very-low-power devices,” said a filing by Apple, Google, Facebook and other tech companies posted Friday in docket 18-295: “Mobile AFC-controlled devices would not add any significant new complexity to the AFC, and could leverage capabilities commonly found in mobile devices today.”

The open radio access network market is “rapidly expanding” and expected to near $41 billion in global revenue by 2026, reported ABI Research Thursday. The ORAN opportunity “invites various stakeholders to bring their best in class technologies and hardware/software components to contribute to building a flexible, secure, agile, and multi-vendor interoperable network solution,” said ABI. Trade wars and the COVID-19 pandemic brought “tremendous restrictions” to the telecom supply chain and disrupted the “evolution of new technologies,” it said. These conditions will “accelerate” ORAN’s development and deployment, it said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved a waiver for Metrom Rail, allowing the certification and operation of ultra-wideband devices used to enhance the safety and reliability of transit rail operations. Metrom is a technology company that serves railroads. “Specifically, we are waiving the requirement that devices must be handheld while operating and are allowing Metrom’s directional antenna system to employ an additional 6 dB of gain to produce an [effective isotropic radiated power] of up to -35.3 dBm/MHz,” OET said in a Friday order in docket 18-284. Metrom’s operations are limited to 3.248-4.990 GHz, OET said. The waiver request was before the FCC for more than two years (see 1809200041).