The iPhone XS, XS Max and XR models launched last fall accounted for 59 percent of U.S. iPhone sales in the March quarter, reported Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Wednesday, with the lower priced XR at 38 percent. The researcher estimated the newest models had similar sales rates as last year’s newest models, at about 60 percent of total sales, at an average selling price of about $800, down from the December quarter. As Apple begins to emphasize services over hardware, “results are highly uneven,” said analyst Mike Levin. CIRP estimated 48 percent of U.S. users paid for iCloud storage in the quarter, 3 percent bought AppleCare support, 21 percent used Apple Music and 13 percent used the legacy iTunes music service. ICloud, which integrates easily with Apple devices and “solves a common storage problem at a modest cost,” had the highest penetration, CIRP said. AppleCare warranties “sell poorly,” against “intense competition” from mobile phone carriers, retailers and other warranty providers, said Levin. Apple faces similar competition in music from Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and others, he noted. Findings were based on a survey of 500 U.S. Apple customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch January-March.

Ericsson urged the FCC to repurpose the 6.425-7.125 GHz band for flexible-use licensed service and the 7.125-8.5 GHz band for fixed commercial use, in a meeting with an aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. There's "no large swath of mid-band spectrum available for licensed, macro 5G service in the U.S.,” Ericsson said in docket 17-183, posted Wednesday. “To lead in 5G, the U.S. needs to identify more mid-band spectrum -- and soon -- as other countries are moving forward quickly to seize the 5G mantle.”

Midband spectrum is critical to 5G and the FCC should do what it can to reallocate the C band quickly, blogged Bret Swanson, visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “Existing low bands will continue to provide broad coverage, while the new high bands will provide extremely high capacity links, often in densely populated areas,” Swanson said. “Mid-band spectrum will fill the gap in between.” The C-band Alliance “has proposed a secondary market solution, which could avoid a time-consuming FCC re-auction,” Swanson said Wednesday. There are several proposed solutions for the C band, including an incentive auction, he said: “But the C-band Alliance method seems much simpler and quicker.”

AT&T, Verizon and Comsearch officials met with Chief Julius Knapp and others from the Office of Engineering and Technology to urge the FCC to focus in its 6 GHz proceeding on protecting incumbents. “Licensed incumbent operators in the 6 GHz band are entitled to at least the same protections that the Commission has afforded to licensed incumbents in other bands,” they filed Tuesday in docket 18-295. “The FCC should not permit unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band without requiring rigorous technical analyses and adopting robust protections for licensed incumbent operations.” The agency appears committed to moving forward with unlicensed in 6 GHz, and licensed in the C band, and must decide on such issues as whether to allow use of the band indoors without automated frequency control (see 1902250054). AFC is key to ensuring incumbents are protected, the companies said.

Sprint dropped a February lawsuit against AT&T over the marketing term 5GE, for 5G evolution, to describe upgraded LTE service, they confirmed. Representatives said consumers will continue to see 5GE marketing and advertising. Sprint had asked U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for an immediate preliminary injunction against AT&T. The case is #1:19-cv-01215-VSB. "The significance of AT&T’s deception cannot be overstated," Sprint said then (see 1902080038). “We have amicably settled this matter,” an AT&T spokesperson emailed now.

The Competitive Carriers Association told the FCC most members under waiver are working to implement real-time text as a substitute for the traditional text telephony (TTY) services used by those with hearing or speech disabilities. Commissioners approved an order on a common standard for the transition in December 2016 (see 1612150048). T-Mobile “successfully implemented RTT” on its 4G LTE network in 2017, CCA said. Cellular South say it “will initially deploy an application-based over-the-top RTT solution in order to meet the Commission’s transition deadline,” CCA said. “The remainder of CCA’s members are likewise committed to working alongside the FCC, policymakers, and other stakeholders to advance communications services that will result in alternative TTY solutions,” CCA said. “A carrier['s] ability to achieve RTT deployment and comply with the additional requirements … is largely dependent on other participants in the wireless ecosystem, including but not limited to standards bodies and Original Equipment Manufacturers.” CCA updated the FCC, posted Monday in docket 15-178.

T-Mobile Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray questioned how big a role millimeter-wave spectrum, as being deployed by Verizon and AT&T, will play in 5G. In a video Ray posted Monday, as someone from T-Mobile slides close a glass door, the high-band signal drops completely. Millimeter wave “has great potential in terms of speed and capacity, but it doesn’t travel far from the cell site and doesn’t penetrate materials at all,” he blogged. “It will never materially scale beyond small pockets of 5G hotspots in dense urban environments.” Ray also said Verizon’s first 5G markets suffer from more than propagation shortcomings. Customers pay an extra $10 a month and “coverage is very spotty and unreliable,” he said: “Verizon won’t publish a coverage map or acknowledge how limited their strategy really is, but people quickly found that Verizon’s 5G was awfully hard to find, barely available at the places it was promised to be available, dropping repeatedly to 4G and disappeared if they stepped into a building.” Verizon and AT&T didn't comment.

Smaller carriers are lining up against Verizon, which asked the FCC to let it adopt a temporary, 60-day lock on 4G LTE handsets to ensure bona fide customers are purchasing the handsets. Verizon faces special restrictions because of the rules for the 700 C-block spectrum the carrier bought at auction. “This targeted, 60-day period will enable Verizon to determine whether a new device was obtained by a legitimate customer who makes the first payment on that device and that the payment clears processing,” it replied, posted Monday in docket 06-150. “This is similar to, though narrower than, the locking practices of other large U.S. wireless carriers, except that unlike all other carriers Verizon will unlock the device automatically at the end of the 60-day period, regardless of whether the device has been fully paid off.” The Rural Wireless Association said the FCC should reject the request. “When the Commission adopted its open access requirements in the 700 MHz Order, including the handset locking rule, it did so based on a complete record and with clarity,” RWA said. T-Mobile and other carriers opposed Verizon in initial comments. “Rules governing devices using the 700 MHz C Block were adopted based on a record that leaves little doubt about what the Commission intended,” T-Mobile said.

Apple had 36 percent, Samsung 34 percent of U.S. smartphone activations in March, while Motorola (with 10 percent) stole share from LG (11 percent), Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported. Smartphone brand share is more variable than mobile operating system share, noted CIRP's Mike Levin: Samsung has typically had the highest share, from 30-39 percent depending on product launch calendars from March 2015-March 2019, he said, while Apple share varied from 29 percent-40 percent. “The most notable trend has Motorola taking share from LG and threatening to take over third place in the smartphone market,” said the analyst.

Sprint laid out its stance on the 2.5 GHz band and educational broadband service (EBS), in a Tuesday meeting with an aide to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. A year ago, commissioners approved 4-0 an NPRM seeking proposals for changes to the band, including a possible incentive auction (see 1805100053). There's "strong support across both the EBS community and commercial interests for ‘rationalization’ of existing EBS licensees to county-based licenses and ... that critical step in licensing 2.5 GHz spectrum would both close operational gaps and lead to more rural deployment,” Sprint said in docket 18-120 filing Thursday. There's "continued criticality of its leased 2.5 GHz spectrum and its long-standing mutually beneficial partnership with the EBS community which has enhanced Sprint's current 4G LTE deployment and will enable its 5G mobile deployment in nine major markets in the first half of 2019.”