The launch of 5G offers benefits and challenges to Verizon, Macquarie’s Amy Yong wrote investors. “5G home broadband faces three hurdles: 1) the technology is unproven; 2) Fios’ execution set the bar high; and 3) cable already offers 1 Gbps speeds." The analyst compared the launch with that of Fios: “This time, Verizon is much smarter but so is cable.” Based on Macquarie's survey, 64 percent wouldn't pay a premium to cable for Verizon’s 1 Gbps speeds. Verizon also has learned from its Fios experience, she said. “Its Fios deployment was met with long/messy municipality approval processes.” The initial 5G cities -- Los Angeles, Sacramento, Houston and Indianapolis -- "were picked based on fiber access, topography, population density, ease of municipal approval and competitive landscape,” she said.

Verizon and Nokia completed the first over-the-air, end-to-end data transmission on a commercial 3rd Generation Partnership Project 5G new radio (NR) network in Washington, D.C., sending a signal over Nokia radio equipment and Verizon’s high-band spectrum and 5G network core to a Nokia test van downtown. “The transmission was part of the two companies’ ongoing demonstrations of 5G NR technology before commercial 5G mobile service launches in 2019,” Verizon said Thursday. “In August, Verizon and Nokia completed the first successful transmission of a 3GPP NR 5G signal to a receiver situated in a moving vehicle. In June, they completed a series of outdoor data sessions over the 5G NR standard, and the successful multi-carrier aggregation to boost those signals into Gbps range.”

Qualcomm regards 2019 and 2020 as likely “building years” for 5G smartphones as a prelude to the market reaching “scale” in 2021, said Chief Financial Officer George Davis at a Citi investors conference Wednesday. Every major smartphone OEM will have “rolled over to 5G” by 2021, he said. That Qualcomm knows of one “very large OEM” customer that plans no 5G smartphone launch in 2019 leads the company to believe that the market won’t be “ready for scale” until 2020 or later, he said. The componentry that Qualcomm markets for 4G smartphones “has an integrated modem,” he said. “Everything is very efficient and uber-effective” and is a “great value proposition for the supply chain,” he said. “You’ll have all that” with 5G, but not until 2021, he said. That will give Qualcomm at least a year and a half for the “debugging of everything,” learning all the “pain points that come with any generation change,” he said. It’s not easy to compare the predicted 5G ramp with the launch of 4G six years ago, said Davis. Average selling prices (ASPs) of the componentry that will go into a 5G smartphone will go up because those devices “are more complex,” he said. “They're bigger. They provide more functionality. So, that's a positive.” With the 5G ramp, “you won't have the same degree of unit growth behind it” as the industry had with the 4G launch, because the smartphone market is more mature and can’t support that same “sheer growth,” he said. Nevertheless, “from our standpoint, it's a very important time for improving share and improving ASPs and I think that's really what plays out over the over the next few years,” he said.

Himax will collaborate with MediaTek and facial-recognition developer Megvii on the first 3D-sensing reference design for Android smartphones using an active stereo camera. Compared with structured light technology for 3D-sensing, the ASC approach has lower cost and targets "mass market smartphone models for facial recognition, secure online payment” and artificial-intelligence-based “photo enhancement,” it said Wednesday. It promises to inspire “broader adoption” among Android smartphone makers during 2019.

Sprint said company officials spoke with David Lawrence, director of the FCC task force coordinating the review of the proposed T-Mobile deal, and others from the agency. Sprint asked for “clarification of the scope of the response” to an Aug. 15 letter of inquiry by the Wireless Bureau, said a filing in docket 18-197. The FCC sought information from both carriers in lengthy letters asking a broad series of questions (see 1808150072).

Fossil Group's 250 smartwatch styles for this holiday season include Google Pay via near-field communications, untethered GPS, one-hour fast charging and Google Assistant, it said Tuesday at IFA.

Google's Project Soli, even at the higher power levels needed to make it effective, "can reasonably coexist" with other 60 GHz band users like remote sensing satellite equipment or radio astronomy, company representatives told an aide to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, said a docket 18-70 ex parte posting Tuesday. Google said it needs higher peak effective isotropic radiated power and transmitted conducted power levels for U.S.-Europe operational equivalence than now allowed since current power levels result in more blind spots and missed motions for the hand gesture-detecting radar. It said 60 GHz Wi-Fi is "only marginally affected" with sometimes a 10 percent throughput reduction and that the Earth exploration satellite and radio astronomy applications won't see harmful effects from airborne use of Soli because of the attenuation from inside a plane to outside and slim odds of multiple simultaneous uses of Soli at low altitudes during landing directly above a radio astronomy site. Google is seeking a waiver to allow higher power levels (see 1803120031).

Illinois Commerce Commission Chairman Brien Sheahan urged FCC approval of T-Mobile buying Sprint. It "will benefit consumers in a variety of ways including acceleration of the build out of 5G service in both urban and -- importantly -- in rural areas of Illinois," said a Sheahan letter posted Tuesday in docket 18-197. Meanwhile, the New York attorney general's office and California's AG requested access to confidential information in the proceeding, including from other carriers, said a public notice Tuesday so affected carriers can contact the state officials or otherwise object. T-Mobile said it received a subpoena from the New York AG's office on its review, seeking all materials the company received from the FCC, including confidential wireless carrier numbering resource utilization and forecast (NRUF) reports and disaggregated, wireless carrier local number portability (LNP) data, said the PN. It noted the New York office intends to share the materials with other state AG offices and signed confidentiality agreements with T-Mobile and Sprint. The NY and California AGs notified the FCC that "they plan to seek materials that contain or incorporate NRUF/LNP Confidential Information," the PN said.

There are 102 entities with access to a Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process portal of Universal Service Administrative Co., said an FCC public notice Tuesday in docket 10-90 citing data as of Friday. That's up from 80 on June 30 (see 1807020054). The parties include 38 mobile service providers that file Form 477 data, 17 state government entities, 25 local government entities, 16 tribal government entities and six others that received waivers to participate. Challengers submitted data including almost 3 million broadband speed tests (up from 399,390), the PN said.

AT&T fired back at Lincoln, Nebraska, which told the FCC last week (see 1808310049) the carrier was off base in claiming (see 1808130041) high fees delayed investments there in wireless infrastructure. “Lincoln’s ex parte is factually inaccurate and purposefully misleading. In our Aug. 6th ex parte, we clearly state that ‘AT&T has paused its deployment plans,’” a spokesperson emailed. “We are not making deployment a priority in Nebraska and are instead focusing on cities like Des Moines because of favorable, and reasonable, small cell policies that benefit consumers. ... Lincoln’s decision to charge $1,995 per small cell attachment is driving away investment and depriving its residents of next generation technologies.” Monday, the city didn’t comment.