The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment on a waiver request by Puerto Rico Telephone Co. for an additional 180 days to meet new wireless emergency alert requirements that kicked in Wednesday (see 1904300143). Comments are due May 15, replies May 29, said a notice Wednesday in docket 15-91.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association and the Power and Communication Contractors Association said they'll work together to expand training initiatives to help build a stronger wireless workforce to deploy 5G networks. “PCCA has developed successful utility technician training programs at community colleges and plans to enhance them with WIA’s wireless curricula to teach workers skills they need for 5G,” said a Wednesday news release. The two said they briefed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on the initiative. “Community colleges and technical schools are an ideal training ground for 5G jobs, and these programs will help ensure we have the skilled workforce in place to deploy next-gen networks,” Carr said. Carr has made workforce training for 5G a focus (see 1904180054).

Ruckus Wireless received special temporary authority from the Office of Engineering and Technology to test citizens broadband radio service technology “prior to full FCC certification.” The tests will be in Sunnyvale, California, through Nov. 1. Sony, which hopes to be a spectrum access system operator in the band, also got OET permission to do tests of its systems in San Jose through Nov. 30.

Comments are due June 3, replies June 17, on an NPRM seeking to update a rule for over-the-air reception devices (OTARDs), primarily sought by wireless ISPs, says a notice set for publication in Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved the NPRM 5-0 last month (see 1904150035). “The Commission’s previous decision to limit the applicability of the OTARD rule reflected the infrastructure needs of a previous generation of wireless technologies that relied on larger antennas spread over greater distances to provide service to consumers,” the notice said: “The wireless infrastructure landscape has since shifted toward the development of 5G networks and technologies that require dense deployment of smaller antennas across provider networks in locations closer to customers.” Local governments may oppose the rule change (see 1904230029).

International Association of Fire Chiefs President Dan Eggleston discussed the T-band with Chief Lisa Fowlkes and others from the FCC Public Safety Bureau, said a filing in docket 07-114. A provision in the 2012 spectrum law mandates public safety agencies move off the 470-512 MHz T band by 2021 (see 1808020051). The meeting covered “the challenges posed by an auction of the T-Band, particularly the lack of alternative spectrum options for public safety incumbents,” IAFC said: “Also mentioned were the many benefits that the T-Band provides to public safety as a reliable communications resource.” Eggleston supported tougher standards for locating the vertical access of wireless calls to 911 but suggested the FCC “explore narrowing the margin of error over a reasonable timeframe as technology develops.”

Following the “recent debacle with foldable screens,” full-display smartphones will initially be best realized through better biometrics, said ABI Research Tuesday. Vendors are either increasing screen-to-body size ratios or offering a foldable or flexible screen to enable full-display phones, said analyst Stephanie Tomsett, but they can also get there by reducing the need for sensors, buttons and other features on the front screen. Camera-based recognition will be a dominant smartphone biometric technology, reaching 487 million shipments in 2023, followed by in-display fingerprint scanners with nearly 228 shipments in in the same time frame, said Tomsett. On possible future technologies, Apple has a patent for an iPhone that allows the screen to be a speaker, Samsung has a patent for a smartphone that allows the screen to be a camera and LG has a smartphone patent outlining a full-screen, all-display device, said the analyst.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a request by Ocean Signal for waiver for a personal locator beacon (PLB) in spectrum used for maritime navigation. The beacon incorporates automatic identification system functionality in compliance with a recently published Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services standard, the bureau said Tuesday. “Ocean Signal believes that PLBs designed to the new … standard will provide users with enhanced safety, as the addition of AIS in PLBs will provide increased location accuracy and enhance the ability of rescuing resources to locate persons in distress,” the bureau said: “We ask commenters to address the potential effect on the integrity of AIS, which is primarily a maritime navigation system, of the addition of PLBs, which may be used on both land and water.” Comments are due May 30, replies June 14, in docket 19-124.

Microsoft representatives stressed the importance of broadband in the TV white spaces, meeting with FCC Office of Native Affairs and Policy staff, said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 14-165. The company held a series of recent meetings on the topic at the FCC, including with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai (see 1904250039) and staff from the Office of Engineering and Technology (see 1904190027).

AT&T turned on its narrowband IoT network. "It’s a big step toward massive IoT and 5G,” blogged Chris Penrose, AT&T Business president-IoT solutions. It complements AT&T’s existing IoT network -- called LTE-M for LTE Cat M (see 1705180058) -- launched last year (see 1806200022), Penrose said Monday. "With NB-IoT, we now have two complementary Low-Power Wide Area networks -- including our LTE-M network in the U.S. and Mexico,” he said.

The FCC reminded carriers Tuesday of revised rules for wireless emergency alerts, approved in 2016 (see 1609290060), which take effect Wednesday. The order increased the maximum length of WEA messages from 90 to 360 characters for 4G LTE and future networks, created a new class of alerts -- public safety messages -- to “convey essential recommended actions that can save lives or property,” such as information on emergency shelter locations or boil water orders, and requires carriers to send out alerts in Spanish. The order also requires presenting the message on the device as soon as it's received. The FCC “adopted these improvements to help communities communicate clearly and effectively about imminent threats and local crises, and to create a framework that would allow emergency managers to test, exercise, and raise public awareness about WEA,” said the Public Safety Bureau notice.