The FCC granted two waivers to allow wireless emergency alert (WEA) tests in Denver and Sonoma County, California. The Public Safety Bureau granted one Tuesday to the Sonoma County Fire and Emergency Services Department. The Sept. 12 test is a combined live emergency alert system and WEA test. “The purpose of the test is to ensure that emergency management officials in Sonoma County have a clear understanding of how alerts would perform in their varied topography,” the bureau said. The bureau Monday granted a similar waiver to the Denver Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, which sought the green light for a Sept. 5 WEA test (see 1807270013).

Mayors raised “deep concerns” with a 5G small-cells bill pending in Congress. The Streamlining the Rapid Evolution and Modernization of Leading-edge Infrastructure Necessary to Enhance Small Cell Deployment Act (S-3157) aims to ease barriers by implementing a “reasonable process and timeframe guidelines” for state and local consideration of small-cell applications (see 1807250056). The bill would let the federal government take broad swaths of local government land, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for states and cities, the mayors wrote in a Monday letter to Senate Commerce Committee leaders. “Local governments should have the time and flexibility to ensure that small cell wireless infrastructure is deployed, not just quickly, but safely and correctly in our communities.” The letter was signed by 24 mayors including from Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Louisville, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and San Francisco. In a Tuesday letter to the FCC in docket 17-79, Austin telecom officer Rondella Hawkins urged the agency to rethink pre-empting local authority. “The Commission appears to be on the cusp of a rulemaking that would cripple local government authority to manage valuable public property, protect public safety, preserve the aesthetic appeal of our communities, and protect the interest of other property owners.” Pace of small-cell application approval is quickening as Austin works with industry and other municipalities on best practices, Hawkins said.

Devices, applications and services with geolocation capabilities present “significant risk” to Defense Department personnel on and off duty, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a Friday memorandum prohibiting the use of geolocation features and functionality on devices in operational areas. Geolocation capabilities can expose personal information, locations, routines and numbers of DOD personnel, creating potential “unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission,” Shanahan said. Deployed personnel are in “operational areas,” and commanders will make a determination on other areas where the policy may apply, the memo said. Devices falling under the restriction are "physical fitness aids, applications in phones that track locations, and other devices and apps that pinpoint and track the location of individuals." Military personnel use devices and applications to track pace and run routes, which are stored and uploaded to central servers. That data, along with information on military operations, can be shared with third parties, including enemies, it warned.

No comments on 4.9 GHz spectrum filed by the top four wireless carriers is “a signal that there is no significant interest in the 4.9 GHz band for licensed commercial carrier operations,” the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council replied Monday in docket 07-100. As the FCC mulls possible sharing of the 4.9 GHz band with commercial users, NPSTC and other public safety users continued to argue the band isn’t as underutilized as the FCC thinks. "Usage is only now taking hold from the chaotic start,” said Los Angeles County. “Usage will continue to grow, particularly in light of the new types of sensors that are now becoming available in the marketplace.” The Government Wireless Technology & Communications Association, Denver, and San Bernardino County, California, agreed in a joint reply. "Simply counting the number of licensees in the database does not provide the Commission with a true picture of the scope of utilization of the 4.9 GHz band,” they said. “While such review may be appropriate where every license was issued for the same coverage area … and for the same bandwidth, or to the same type of entity, the fact is that the 4.9 GHz band is a hodgepodge of different licensing formats. … With licenses issued at the State, County and local levels, a single license could represent hundreds of users and dozens of uses.” The GWTCA group supported increasing usage by permitting utilities on the band: "Utility users have spectrum use remarkably similar to public safety users, and therefore make appropriate spectrum 'partners.'" In separate replies, groups representing utilities, railroads and the alarm industry raised their hands to gain access. The Wireless ISP Association said the FCC should give commercial users secondary access to the band. “Although some public safety commenters claim that public safety is making greater use of the band than the Commission acknowledges, they nevertheless concede that the current rules for the band are preventing greater, more effective use.” At its meeting Monday in Las Vegas, APCO urged the FCC to preserve the 4.9 GHz band for public safety use (see 1808060033).

The FCC should investigate 4G LTE coverage claimed by Verizon and require the carrier to refile data to correct any overstatement, the Rural Wireless Association said in an informal request in docket 10-208. RWA last week applauded FCC Chairman Ajit Pai for circulating an order to extend by 90 days the window to file challenges to the eligibility map for the upcoming Mobility Fund II auction (see 1808030042). “Commission review of Verizon’s claimed coverage is critical,” RWA General Counsel Carri Bennet said Monday. “Our participating small rural carrier members estimate that it will cost them each $1 million dollars or more to complete the challenge process -- a figure that could be dramatically reduced and used for deployment of rural broadband services if Verizon’s reported coverage was accurate.” Verizon didn’t comment.

The FCC posted a public notice on 28 and 24 GHz auctions in docket 18-85 and in 14-177 a Further NPRM proposing a new approach on the 39 GHz band. Both were approved by commissioners 4-0 Thursday (see 1808020025). The only major change from drafts is the FCC now proposes to allow incumbents in the 39 GHz band to use vouchers to acquire new spectrum rights in any of the bands being auctioned. “Our goal is to facilitate the reconfiguration of existing 39 GHz spectrum holdings -- currently licensed in small spectrum block sizes and mismatched geographic areas -- into more contiguous swathes of spectrum that are conducive to wireless broadband deployment, including 5G services,” the FNPM said. “The reconfiguration of incumbent 39 GHz holdings would protect and enhance incumbents’ existing spectrum usage rights, and would increase opportunities for the Commission to offer new licenses for contiguous spectrum blocks at auction.”

T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Sprint “lingers in the backdrop,” but both carriers’ results (see 1808010066) “showed no sign of distractions,” Macquarie’s Amy Yang told investors. T-Mobile’s “share gains accelerated” while Sprint’s “network turnaround continued,” she said. “With both companies raising their outlook, the foundation for New T-Mobile is set. The combo is poised for 5G and prepared to disrupt broadband/video.” T-Mobile had a “solid” quarter, said Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche. The results show that T-Mobile would also be a strong contender as a stand-alone company, she said.

The Wi-Fi Alliance urged the FCC to release an NPRM on the 6 GHz band. The request came in a meeting with staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology. Chairman Ajit Pai told reporters Thursday the NPRM will be released by year-end. “The Wi-Fi Alliance continues to develop recommendations for technical parameters to govern the 6 GHz band that will satisfy the twin goals of maximizing the use of the band for unlicensed devices and protecting incumbent Fixed Satellite Service and Fixed Service operations,” said a filing in docket 17-183. The alliance expects to offer specific proposals on “the appropriate power limit for indoor-only devices, including an associated limit on antenna gain. ... Devices that meet these parameters [likely won't] require any automated frequency coordination,” outdoor power limits and installation and operation requirements for outdoor access points to protect FSS.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on the 45-day public trial of the Nominet UK TV white space database system. The trial ended July 26, OET said Wednesday in docket 04-186. “This database system is designed and intended to support the operation of low power unlicensed transmitting devices on unoccupied spectrum within the broadcast television bands, the 600 MHz service band, the 600 MHz duplex gap, and in channel 37.” Comments are due Aug. 16, replies Aug. 23.

Smartphone vendors shipped 342 million handsets globally in Q2, 1.8 percent fewer than the year-earlier quarter, said IDC Tuesday. It was the third straight quarter of such declines, the fourth ever, and the researcher believes it's "the result of churn in some highly penetrated markets, although many high growth markets still exist and should return smartphone shipments to overall growth.” Huawei's 41 percent increase to 54.2 million enabled it to leapfrog Apple into No. 2, behind Samsung, said IDC. It was the first quarter since 2010's Q2 in which Apple wasn't No. 1 or No. 2. IHS Markit had a nearly identical take.