Filings are due May 12 on preliminary categories and estimates of expenses incumbents may incur as they clear fixed-satellite operations from the 3.7-4.0 GHz portion of the C band and fixed service operations from the entire band, said Friday's Federal Register. The FCC docket is 18-122.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau extended to June 30 its May 4 deadline for finalizing findings that Huawei (docket 19-351) and ZTE (19-352) are a national security threat, it said Friday. The bureau wants more time to examine comments.

Sprint postpaid net adds were 502,000 in Q1, with adds offset by postpaid phone losses of 348,000, T-Mobile said in an SEC filing Friday, reporting on Sprint’s last months as a stand-alone company. Postpaid churn was 1.86%, up 5 basis points year over year. Prepaid net losses were 10,000 in Q1. T-Mobile will release its results this week with a call Wednesday, its first since completing its buy of Sprint. End-of-period connections were 54.7 million, up from last year's 54.5 million. Financial and operational results for Sprint are expected to be released in May after an audit is complete, T-Mobile said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology approved a Massachusetts Institute of Technology waiver request for its WiTrack System, a swept-frequency ultra wideband indoor medical monitoring device (see 1903290014). Chairman Ajit Pai tied the approval to the FCC’s response to COVID-19. Pai said he saw a prototype in action when at MIT in 2018. “Devices like these can be the difference between life or death, especially now when remote monitoring is critical for patients, seniors and their caregivers as we all practice social distancing,” he said Thursday. The device is designed to “measure physiological characteristics such as gait, breathing, heart rate, and sleep, and facilitates the detection of potentially life-threatening events, such as falls,” the order said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau allowed TerreStar to begin offering wireless medical telemetry services (WMTS) in the 1.4 GHz band, reversing an earlier order finding the licenses had been terminated. The company got 64 commercial wireless licenses in the 1.4 GHz band through secondary market transactions in 2008 and faced an April 23, 2017, buildout deadline. The FCC earlier rejected a waiver request. Last summer, TerreStar met with Chairman Ajit Pai and others at the agency asking for a rethink of earlier decisions (see 1908270027). “With the COVID-19 outbreak causing increased reliance on medical telemetry monitoring in hospitals and on telehealth in general, this action will help ensure that traditional health care facilities have more spectrum capacity to meet a surge of additional monitoring demands that may occur in emergencies,” the FCC said in a Thursday news release. The decision was based on “new information” raised by TerreStar, the American Society for Health Care Engineering of the American Hospital Association, GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare on the “interference potential” to WMTS and “the need for additional WMTS spectrum for the benefit of public health and safety,” the FCC said. The decision will “permanently protect and expand” WMTS across the U.S., TerreStar said.

LightShed deemed Apple "neutral" Wednesday, saying 5G is unlikely to trigger a “supercycle” of iPhone sales, and consensus revenue and earnings estimates for 2021 are too optimistic. But carriers "will increase ad spend and use new network implementations to boost interest in 5G,” analyst Walter Piecyk told investors: COVID-19 “threatens our prediction of a stabilization in upgrade rates in 2020 based on near-term store closings and intermediate-term economic impacts.”

Extend the window for tribes to apply for free 2.5 GHz licenses, before an eventual auction, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Wednesday. The window opened Feb. 3 and closes Aug. 3. “The FCC has an amazing one-time opportunity for Tribes in rural areas to access spectrum and build their own broadband networks,” Rosenworcel said: “But the window for action is during a national crisis. The agency has extended other deadlines. It should extend this one too.”

Rural Wireless Association representatives asked FCC Wireline Bureau staff about the timing of a prohibition on carriers receiving USF support to buy Huawei and ZTE equipment. RWA representatives expressed concern about how the FCC will interpret provisions of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act and FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-89. RWA asked whether the rule “goes into effect prior to August 14, 2020 pursuant to the 2019 NDAA or whether the FCC must develop a specific list of prohibited Huawei and ZTE equipment and services prior to March 11, 2021 pursuant to the Secure Networks Act." If the FCC concludes “USF support is akin to a loan and grant as defined under Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA, then RWA is concerned that its members may no longer be able to use universal service funding for the operation of Huawei or ZTE networks after August 13." Representatives of Mavenir, Nokia, Panhandle Telephone Co-op, Pine Belt Cellular and Strata Networks participated.

American Tower is seeing a small COVID-19 business impact, the company said Wednesday, reporting Q1 results. “Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we delivered a solid first quarter,” said CEO Tom Bartlett. “The resilience and stability of our business model, our investment-grade balance sheet, substantial liquidity and the secular global growth trends in mobile data usage will help us manage through the ongoing crisis.” Bartlett told analysts executives have been working remotely. “Our infrastructure is incredibly critical to ensure our tenants are able to keep their customers connected,” he said: In many markets, staff got “official priority definitions” so their work can continue “largely uninterrupted.” The company expects “temporary” delays in a few markets, he said. Bartlett said 5G trends include the cloud “coming closer to the edge” and deployment in a number of bands “depending on the specific area’s coverage and capacity requirements.” The variety of devices and apps “is expected to grow faster than we can possibly imagine,” he said. The company had almost $2 billion in revenue, up 9.9% over last year, and profit of $419 million, up 2.7%. “When most companies are pulling guidance, the fact that American Tower left its 2020 guidance basically unchanged … says a great deal,” MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett told investors.

The Wireless Bureau sought comment Tuesday on Garmin's request for declaratory ruling or waiver for a handheld device with a low-power, terrestrial Part 95 transmitter and an emergency satellite communications module. FCC rules otherwise prohibit such dual devices, the bureau said. Comments are due May 28, replies June 13 in docket 20-115.