Comments are due May 15, replies May 30, on an FCC public notice on bidding rules for the 37, 39 and 47 GHz auction. Commissioners approved the notice last week 5-0 (see 1904120058). The auction, to start Dec. 10, will be the FCC’s third of high-band spectrum for 5G. “The clock phase of Auction 103 serves as both the forward and reverse portions of the incentive auction by determining the prices and winners of new flexible use licenses as well as determining the amount of incentive payments to those incumbent licensees that relinquish spectrum usage rights,” the FCC said Monday. “By initiating the pre-auction processes for assigning licenses in Auction 103, we take another step toward releasing even more high-band spectrum to the market and thus furthering the deployment of fifth-generation wireless, the Internet of Things, and other advanced spectrum-based services.”

Sprint told the FCC it won’t provide much competition without its deal with T-Mobile, said a letter posted Tuesday in docket 18-197. Meanwhile, public interest and consumer groups filed a petition urging the FCC to reject the deal. “Sprint is in a very difficult situation that is only getting worse,” the carrier said. “Sprint’s network lacks the coverage and consistency that customers demand. Sprint’s lack of low band spectrum is at the root of these network problems, and that problem cannot be fixed because there is no low band spectrum available that Sprint could buy.” Sprint said it's losing customers and seeing lower revenue and cash flow “further limiting its ability to invest in its network and service its debt. Simply put, Sprint is not on a sustainable competitive path.” Free Press, the Communications Workers of America, Common Cause, the Demand Progress Education Fund and other public interest groups said they filed 60,000 petitions at the FCC Tuesday opposing the deal. “Despite claims made by T-Mobile and Sprint executives[,] the deal would reduce competition, raise prices and result in the loss of as many as 30,000 jobs,” the groups said: “It won’t advance their stated goal of faster 5G deployment and improved rural broadband service." Industry officials said the number of petitions and how many are real is difficult to verify. On Monday, CWA reported on a meeting with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on its case against the transaction. DOJ staffers told the two companies the deal is unlikely to be approved as structured, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel repeated Monday concerns that the FCC should refocus on mid-band spectrum for 5G (see 1904120058). “The US has ceded leadership when it comes to mid-band spectrum,” Rosenworcel tweeted. “If we want to lead the world in #5G, this is a problem.”

Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche Monday downgraded the tower sector to market weight from overweight based on “recent checks” that raise questions about the speed of 5G deployment. “While we continue to believe towers will represent the ‘core’ in 5G and are firmly planted in the 5G conversation, the reality is we are in the early (way early!) innings of a true 5G infrastructure build,” she told investors: “This has been confirmed by many of our contacts in the network, fiber and densification space.” Wells Fargo is now recommending only one tower stock, Crown Castle, and downgraded American Tower to market perform from outperform.

AT&T offered the FCC advice on refinements for rules for the upcoming 37, 39 and 47 GHz band auction, in a filing posted Monday in docket 14-177. AT&T addresses a number of technical questions, like whether the FCC should include data from the 28 GHz auction in its price-weighting calculation for the upcoming auction. Given that only some licenses were available in that auction, the FCC proposes use of a statistical regression approach to calculate values nationwide, AT&T notes. “Although the Bureau’s regression appears sound, a concern still exists regarding the validity of the imputed results if, as appears to be the case here, the regression sample is non-representative,” the carrier said, noting that the largest markets by POPs were Honolulu and Kern, California. “The imputation of … values from those markets to markets like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago taxes credulity,” AT&T said. “Moreover, in addition to introducing potential error, the proposal creates added complexity without any tangible benefit.” FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Friday the 37, 39, 47 GHz auction will start Dec. 10 (see 1904120065).

T-Mobile told the FCC that only porting data raises questions on the effect of its Sprint buy on competitiveness. The filing, posted Monday in docket 18-197, includes a white paper by T-Mobile counsel, with most of the numbers redacted. “The White Paper demonstrates that utilizing any data that reflects a reasonably representative sample of customers leads to the conclusion that the merger is pro-competitive each and every year from approval through 2024,” T-Mobile said. “Porting data which Applicants have demonstrated to be not representative are the only one of the many sources that leads to a contrary result.” T-Mobile made three other confidential filings Monday, the docket shows. MVNO Altice argued against the deal in meetings on Wednesday with aides to Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks and the T-Mobile/Sprint transaction team. “The proposed merger will reduce, not increase, incentives for the New T-Mobile to invest in 5G” and “will eliminate incentives for the New T-Mobile to provide wholesale service to infrastructure mobile virtual network operators, such as Altice, thus precluding increased retail competition,” Altice said. President Donald Trump’s pro-5G announcements Friday (see 1904120065) likely don’t speak to administration support for the deal, New Street’s Blair Levin told investors. Trump “is not a subtle guy,” Levin said. “If he wanted to support (or block) the deal, we suspect he would say so publicly.” DOJ’s Antitrust Division also isn’t looking at U.S. competitiveness versus China on 5G, he said. “One way to read the President’s statement is that he believes America should give him credit for already doing everything that needs to be done to assure American leadership; therefore the deal is not relevant to his accomplishment,” Levin said. “It is possible that the leadership at the DOJ and FCC could read his statements to think he wants the deal approved but we don’t think that is the best read.”

Sprint is pushing hard to steal customers from AT&T and Verizon, new promotions show. Customers who switch to Sprint from another wireless carrier will get up to $650 to help cover switching fees, and they can score for a limited time a $250 prepaid Mastercard if they buy a late-model “iconic” smartphone with a contract, it said Friday. Under a “100% Total Satisfaction Guarantee,” new and current customers who try Sprint’s “improved” LTE service are assured full satisfaction or they’ll get a refund from Sprint to cover phone costs, service charges and fees, it said. The carrier said it has been working to improve coverage, reliability and speed nationwide via its Next-Gen Network plan, resulting in a 36 percent performance boost in national average download speeds from March to March. Through roaming agreements, Sprint offers 30 percent more total LTE data coverage nationwide, it said.

Commissioners rejected a Rural Wireless Association petition for reconsideration on FCC 2013 rules for the H block, the 1915-1920 and 1995-2000 MHz bands. RWA asked the commission to reconsider its decisions to license the H-block spectrum using economic areas and to adopt population-based performance requirements. The agency “acted well within its discretion, struck a reasonable and well- justified balance among multiple statutory goals, and complied fully with the requirements of Section 309(j) of the Communications Act,” Friday's order said. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, the only agency member to issue a statement, "will be watching" to see if the regulator ensures "licensees satisfy the agency’s buildout requirements in a timely manner. To maximize the efficient use of our limited spectrum, those requirements need to mean something."

Beginning Friday, consumers who previously registered on Samsung.com to receive more information about the Galaxy Fold smartphone (see 1902200065) will be at the head of the line for an invitation to reserve the next-generation phone that’s due April 26 in select AT&T, T-Mobile, Best Buy and Samsung Experience Stores. Supplies will be limited, Samsung said Thursday. It describes the Fold as having a “tablet-like experience when you want it,” and being a smartphone “when you need it.” One of the wow factors of the hybrid device is the ability for content to move from the cover display of the folding device to the larger 7.3-inch tablet screen when the device opens. Samsung also pushed its Galaxy S10 5G, due next month. Preorders for the 5G handset will begin "soon," it said.

The U.S. has “a real imperative to move quickly” on 5G, to beat China to the new technology, T-Mobile CEO John Legere blogged Thursday. One answer is for regulators to approve his carrier's buy of Sprint, he said. “We will bring our Un-carrier disruptive mentality to wireless and beyond, and we are committed to investing $40 billion to deliver the first broad AND deep truly nationwide 5G network.” The current situation won’t be enough, he said. “We are currently stuck with a status quo that is just not working,” Legere wrote. “If we leave it up to AT&T and Verizon, we’ll be stuck with a spotty, thin, incomplete 5G infrastructure for YEARS. We’ve covered this before, but the abysmal, do-as-little-as-possible approach to 5G rollout so far is proof that AT&T and Verizon won’t change unless they are forced to change.” Verizon and AT&T didn't comment.