The FCC Wireless Bureau said it's accepting applications to modify existing licenses in the 39 GHz band. “The Bureau is accepting these modification applications to facilitate the efficient use by existing 39 GHz licensees of the millimeter wave spectrum” for 5G, the IoT and “other advanced spectrum-based services” before an auction of new licenses for flexible use in the band, said a Thursday public notice in docket 18-619. Nothing the bureau is doing “prejudges the proposals pending before the Commission regarding the assignment of licenses for, or access to, the 39 GHz band,” staff said. The FCC hasn't set a date for a 39 GHz auction. "We emphasize that -- for purposes of streamlined processing -- licensees may only request modifications that reflect the amount of their existing holdings, i.e., they cannot apply for modifications to their licenses that cover more MHz-Pops within each [market] than what they currently hold in the 39 GHz band," the bureau said.

The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) urged the FCC not to change rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band to take spectrum away from the general authorized access tier or approve priority access licenses larger than counties. “It is likely that many users will rely on both PAL and GAA spectrum,” the group said. “The current PAL rules allow rural and small ISPs, individual business facilities and venues, and public-purpose networks -- including schools, libraries, college campuses and municipal services -- to leverage access to both interference-protected and GAA spectrum.” PISC met with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr, said a filing in docket 17-258.

South Korea is poised to jump into the mid-band fray with auction of 3.5 GHz spectrum for 5G starting Friday, as the FCC is working toward finalizing revised rules. CTIA is asking the FCC to move quickly to free more mid-band spectrum. “The wireless spectrum being auctioned by South Korea’s government will be available for commercial use by December of this year,” CTIA said. “Recent research commissioned by CTIA revealed that the U.S. ranks sixth out of 10 lead nations studied in terms of mid-band spectrum availability. China ranked first.” The association noted Spain plans a mid-band auction in July, and Australia and Italy plan to launch mid-band auctions in coming months. The FCC didn't comment. “The leadership of the United States is not guaranteed -- especially when you consider that the FCC is timidly moving to auction spectrum for 5G one band at a time instead of boldly all together," responded Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. "It also has yet to put on a public calendar just when additional airwaves will be made available. These are confusing signals to send to the marketplace. We need to fix them.”

A 3rd Generation Partnership Project plenary meeting approved completion of release 15 5G stand-alone (SA) new radio standards, NTT DoCoMo said Thursday in a release listing AT&T, Dish Network, LG, Panasonic, Qualcomm, Verizon, ZTE and many others. The group approved specifications for non-stand-alone (NSA) operation in December. “The whole industry is taking the final sprint towards 5G commercialization,” the company said. “Completion of SA specifications which complements the NSA specifications, not only gives 5G NR the ability of independent deployment, but also brings a brand new end-to-end network architecture.” This is key to deployment of 5G, said Asha Keddy, Intel vice president-Technology, Systems Architecture & Client Group: “Industry has not just taken more steps to advance the future of 5G, but has gone from a walk to a jog to a run, and is now in a full-blown sprint to commercialization.”

The Aerospace Industries Association petition for technical and operational rules for using the 5030-5091 MHz band for unmanned aircraft systems controls can't be the basis for an NPRM, CTIA replied in RM-11798. In April, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on the petition. Initial comments were mixed (see 1805300049). CTIA saw general consensus. “Commenters agree that the AIA Petition lacks clarity and cannot be acted upon,” CTIA said. “A diverse set of UAS stakeholders, from those with interests in small UAS, to large stratospheric platforms, to AIA members themselves, are puzzled by the ambiguity.” CTIA disputed Boeing statements no bands other than 5030-5091 MHz are available for control-non-payload communications: “Many other spectrum bands are suitable for UAS command and control functions, including the commercial wireless bands that enable 4G LTE and 5G.” AeroVironment, which makes small UAS for DOD and other customers, disagreed. In the initial comment round, six of eight commenters supported releasing an NPRM, the company said. “Within the rulemaking process, opposition to, or alternatives for, committing 5030-5091 MHz to safety or regularity of flight can be debated in detail,” AeroVironment said. AIA asked the FCC to act on the NPRM, saying it has "no expectation” the band is the only one that would be used by UAS. “A variety of spectrum bands and frequency assignment mechanisms are currently being contemplated for different UAS use cases,” the group said. “The participation of multiple industry stakeholders serves to reinforce the view that the time is right for the FCC to act.” Rockwell Collins "fully agrees" with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon seeking prompt action.

The FirstNet board and the board's committees scheduled a combined meeting Wednesday, says Thursday's Federal Register. The meeting will be open to the public via teleconference and WebEx only, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. EDT, FirstNet said.

Futuresource expects Apple to continue to hold the “pole position” in the wireless headphone category, said the researcher Wednesday. Wireless had 31 percent of all in-ear product revenue in Q1, said Futuresource. “Apple AirPods maintained their dominance of the true wireless scene, compelling competitors to introduce lower-priced products” below $150 at retail, it said. The overall headphones market totaled 79.1 million units globally in Q1, with retail revenue topping $4 billion, it said. “Brands are “enthusiastically” adding features to their headphone models, and that helped drive in a 17 percent rise in average selling price in Q1 from the same quarter a year earlier, said Futuresource: “Across all categories, the highest price increase is in over-ear products, due to the impact of noise-cancelling and wireless technologies.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau sought comment Wednesday on how well the voluntary wireless resiliency framework proposed by CTIA and the major wireless carriers in 2016 is working. The FCC approved the framework in a December 2016 order (see 1612210008). At the time, some parties expressed concerns a voluntary approach wasn’t strong enough. “Our goal is to ensure that this voluntary industry commitment to promote resilient wireless communications and situational awareness during disasters is robust and effective,” the bureau said in a public notice. “The Bureau seeks public comment on potential methods of measuring the effectiveness of the Framework, determining the extent of the Framework’s use, and further promoting awareness of the Framework. We also seek comment on ways to further facilitate improvements to the Framework, including by soliciting voluntary commitments from backhaul providers to address processes and best practices for information sharing for network restoration and coordination during disasters.” Comments are due July 16, replies July 31, in docket 11-60.

High-tech companies proposed a mitigation strategy to address concerns about interference in the 6 GHz band to protect incumbents while opened for unlicensed use. “We propose that the Commission adopt a robust framework for preventing harmful interference to FS [fixed service] incumbents,” the companies said in docket 17-183. The framework should include “comprehensive ex ante interference protection through an automated frequency coordination process” and a “remediation tool to assure incumbents that, in the highly unlikely event that they experience harmful interference from a 6 GHz … device despite automated frequency coordination, the interference can be stopped and prevented from recurring.” The framework will protect fixed satellite service operators through antenna pointing rules, the companies said. Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm and Ruckus Networks signed. “Our companies’ understanding of the dynamics present in the 6 GHz band has benefited greatly from this record, and from our exchanges directly with incumbents,” they said. “We appreciate their good faith efforts to work collectively to find a way to improve broadband access for more Americans while avoiding harmful interference.” Meanwhile, Verizon reported meeting Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology staff where it “reiterated its conditional support for unlicensed use of the 5.925-6.425 GHz band, as long as the Commission adopts rules that protect the tens of thousands of existing microwave links and future microwave deployments in the band.”

The “colossal” IoT opportunity will drive wireless technologies to 55 percent of connectivity IC shipments this year, said IHS Markit Tuesday. “Massive IoT use cases requiring long battery life, deep coverage and mobility are fueling demand for cellular and low-power wireless.” Bluetooth and Zigbee are “entrenched in the home automation and consumer electronics segments,” and wireless in future years also will have “a huge impact on industries such as healthcare,” it said. IHS pegs 5G as the top wireless technology to watch, it said. “The move to 5G will trigger significant investment across the value chain from 2020 to 2030, with $2.4 trillion in capital expenditures during this time frame,” it said. The first 5G deployments will address enhanced broadband use cases, “but industry, not humans, will be the chief 5G driver,” it said. “Most growth in new subscriber connections will come from industrial use cases rather than consumer markets.”