More than 105 5G networks are deployed worldwide, said 5G Americas Thursday, based on a report by Rysavy Research. The report predicted “billions” of IoT devices will be deployed over the next decade. “Operators are transitioning to standalone architecture, lowering network latencies, improving coverage, addressing industrial IoT, and simplifying operations,” the report said. Beamforming and massive multiple-input and multiple-output "are enabling use of spectrum above 6 GHz, as well as improving performance in lower bands.”

An order reshaping how the 5.9 GHz band is allocated could slip from the FCC’s Oct. 27 meeting to the Nov. 18 meeting as the Office of Engineering and Technology works through technical details, industry and agency officials said. The later meeting would be after the election, but Chairman Ajit Pai has broad support for opening the band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use, and approval likely won’t be an issue, officials said. NTIA added a further wrinkle, proposing exclusion zones for the spectrum, in a letter to OET (see 2009090025).

APCO asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to stay the FCC’s April order allowing Wi-Fi and other unlicensed users to share the 6 GHz band (see 2004230059). “In adopting the Order establishing the new rules, the Commission sacrificed the reliability of the nation’s public safety systems to indulge the possibilities of faster WiFi routers and other devices,” APCO said in a Friday motion in docket 20-1272 (in Pacer). “Public safety agencies nationwide have used the 6 GHz band for decades to support mission-critical operations such as dispatching first responders and maintaining voice communications during emergencies,” APCO said: “Without immediate relief, untraceable and unrecallable unlicensed devices will flood the market before the holiday season. Interference from these devices will disrupt mission-critical public safety communications.”

The 2021 introduction of 5G functionality in Qualcomm’s 4 Series of Snapdragon processors will speed the mass scaling of entry-level 5G smartphones globally, said Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon in an opening IFA 2020 keynote Thursday. Amon spoke via prerecorded video before a physical audience in a Messe Berlin exhibition hall. The hybrid physical/virtual IFA 2020, the first tech trade show in the COVID-19 era with in-person attendance (see 2008310024), opened with the theme “Tech is Back.”

David Wells, senior adviser at the Department of Energy, slammed FCC actions opening the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and on Ligado during a Utilities Technology Council virtual conference Tuesday. Fred Moorefield, DOD deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications, said the interagency system worked until recent months. Utility executives said this week 6 GHz concerns aren’t going away (see 2008310049). In an unusual petition, NTIA asked the FCC to reconsider the Ligado order (see 2006120033).

Utilities remain worried about the pending rollout of Wi-Fi and other unlicensed in the 6 GHz band and worry about the difficulty of getting a handle on interference, executives said Monday during a Utilities Technology Council virtual conference. The FCC approved unlicensed use of the band in April with further changes expected (see 2008200040).

NCTA and other Wi-Fi advocates told aides to the three Republican FCC commissioners an “updated and expanded” technical analysis by CableLabs shows the agency can safely make further changes to its 6 GHz rules. “We discussed the importance of authorizing low power indoor unlicensed operations in the band at 8 dBm/MHz power spectral density to ensure that new 6 GHz Wi-Fi devices can efficiently utilize the significant new bandwidth to deliver next-generation multi-gigabit Wi-Fi with the whole-home coverage and throughput Wi-Fi consumers experience and expect today,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 18-295: “We appreciate the Commission’s need to take a conservative approach in unleashing expansive new Wi-Fi bandwidth, given the important incumbents operating in the band, and have completed additional, more comprehensive technical work to respond to its concerns and conclusively show that the Commission can create substantially more value and significantly reduce consumer costs for Wi-Fi without compromising critical incumbent protections.” Representatives of CableLabs, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Enterprises and Midcontinent Communications participated in the calls. The same parties spoke with the aides about the importance of an FCC vote reallocating part of the 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi, said a filing in docket 19-138. The spectrum is “key to delivering gigabit Wi-Fi and much-needed unlicensed capacity to American consumers in the very near term,” they said.

The FCC’s May order reallocating a 6 GHz swath of spectrum in 900 MHz for broadband could be a game changer for utilities (see 2005130057), speakers said Wednesday at IWCE. Most are still watching, they said. On another panel, experts said despite the growth of FirstNet many public safety agencies remain committed to land-mobile radio (LMR).

APCO, the Utilities Technology Council, the Edison Electric Institute and other 6 GHz incumbents offered baseline principles for the multistakeholder group that will oversee interference issues in the band, in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. FCC commissioners approved the 6 GHz order 5-0 in April despite incumbent concerns (see 2004230059). “Even having declined to establish rules on these significant issues, however, the FCC has an important role to play,” the filing said. The group should focus on low-power indoor device testing, in addition to automated frequency coordination (AFC), they said: “The goal should be to prevent interference from occurring, rather than reducing the occurrence of interference to some arbitrary level and remedying instances of interference after the fact through laborious, time-consuming, and expensive methods.” They asked for a focus on “the accuracy of the underlying data and the protocols for AFC, including security protocols.” The multistakeholder group's recommendations “should become binding and enforceable,” the incumbents said. It's activities and decisions “should be transparent and consensus-driven. Meetings should be scheduled in advance and conducted openly with an agenda and minutes that list the participants and describe the issues to be addressed and the decisions that were reached during the meetings.” Others signing included the American Public Power Association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

High-tech companies spoke with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff on Wireless Research Center of North Carolina studies on the interference risk posed by body-worn devices. The companies presented “measurements of signal attenuation caused by the human body related to proposed very-low-power device operation in the 6 GHz band and the difference between far-field body loss and on-body link loss measurements,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-295. The FCC is considering changes to accommodate use of the devices (see 2007280033). Representatives of Broadcom, Cisco, Facebook, Google, Intel, NXP Semiconductors and Qualcomm were on the call. The Wi-Fi Alliance sought action in a call with an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “The Commission’s action opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed operations has strengthened U.S. technological leadership while also prompting other countries to take similar actions,” the alliance said.