The FAA is preparing warnings to pilots and airlines about potential interference to aircraft safety systems from 5G in the C band, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Experts say the FAA is concerned about protecting radio altimeters, but C-band deployments are expected to start this year, as planned (see 2109200041). Verizon and AT&T executives confirmed that deployments are imminent, in recent calls with analysts. An FAA spokesperson said the agency is working with other agencies to ensure air safety. The FCC’s record-setting C-band auction offered licenses at 3.7-3.98 GHz; altimeters are at 4.2-4.4 GHz. “Upholding public safety is a top priority for the FCC under the law,” a spokesperson emailed: “We remain committed to ensuring air safety as the agency’s successful track record demonstrates, while moving forward with the deployment of new technologies.” 5G "networks using C-band spectrum operate safely and without causing harmful interference to aviation equipment,” emailed CTIA President Meredith Baker. “The evidence includes numerous active 5G networks using this spectrum band in 40 countries all over the world, as well as years of study and technical analysis by the FCC and international agencies, including material submitted by the aviation industry.” The C band is “critical to delivering 5G service,” Baker said.

AT&T criticized the latest comments from the Alarm Industry Communications Committee asking the FCC to reject the carrier's plan to shutter its 3G network starting Feb. 22 (see 2109150041). Granting the petition would “throw a monkey wrench into AT&T’s carefully planned 5G transition,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 21-304. “The Commission lacks statutory authority to delay AT&T’s 3G sunset,” the carrier said: “AICC’s rationales for delaying that sunset remain irreconcilable with the presumptively truthful assurances that its member companies have given investors about the business effects of COVID and the global microchip shortage.” Delay “would threaten AT&T’s network performance,” it said. AICC didn't comment.

TCL’s 20 XE prepaid smartphone goes on sale Friday at Metro by T-Mobile for $119 and will come soon to Boost Mobile, the company emailed Thursday. The phone has a 6.5-inch HD display, a 5,000-mAh battery with 18-watt fast charging and 13-megapixel triple camera with portrait depth and “super macro” mode. Coming in November to Verizon's Visible.com network is the 5G 20A for under $200. Features include a 6.5-inch HD display, dual speakers with high-res audio and 4,500 mAh battery, said TCL.

The NSA and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommended ways to prevent a malicious 5G cyberattack from compromising an entire network. Three more white papers are to come. “After the initial compromise of a network, attackers commonly pivot laterally by exploiting the availability of internal services, particularly looking for services that are unauthenticated,” Thursday's report said: “An attacker might use an initial position on a compromised virtual machine (VM) or container to access an application programming interface (API) or service endpoint that is not exposed externally. 5G cloud deployments will introduce more opportunities to move laterally.” Networks should assign unique, authenticated identities to all elements that communicate with other elements, the paper urged. Credential management is important, said NSA and CISA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. “Analytics for detecting potentially malicious resource access attempts should be deployed and run regularly,” they said: 5G cloud software should be kept “up-to-date and free from known vulnerabilities.”

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington warned of a spectrum crisis looming, in some of his most complete remarks yet on wireless, in a speech at the Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles. The 5G revolution “risks being stillborn,” he said, per written remarks posted Thursday: The crunch “is not, as some would have it, merely an inconvenience to certain narrow business interests. … It would be a tragedy if we were to squander this historic opportunity over lack of vision regarding mid-band spectrum.” Simington wants better federal coordination, echoing a theme of now-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “Better coordination, and stronger relationships among federal agencies, will ensure that agency efforts to identify mid-band spectrum for commercial use are harmoniously aligned and urgently pursued -- not conflicted and half-hearted,” he said. The success of the C-band auction shows the appetite for exclusive-use spectrum, Simington said. “Operators want to engineer at high power and for exclusive use, and manufacturers want to build equipment to operate likewise.” He said the U.S. should take the lead on spectrum harmonization at ITU. “We can't win 5G on our own; we need to win it together with our friends and allies by creating the best technology for the world market,” he said: “The time has passed in which America could look inward.”

Samsung Electronics and Ciena agreed to partner on a “combined 5G solution set” for rendering faster, “pre-validated” network deployments, they said Wednesday. The companies will collaborate on hardware and software for network operators “to support the increasing volume of 5G data traffic at the edge and within an increasingly distributed 5G architecture,” they said. It's an “end-to-end solution set” that includes Ciena’s xHaul routing and switching portfolio and its next-generation manage, control and plan domain controller, plus Samsung’s Core and radio access network portfolio, including virtualized RAN solutions, baseband units and radios.

Verizon is working with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to use its low earth orbit satellite network for cellular backhaul to extend Verizon’s 4G/LTE and 5G data networks. “The integration will leverage antenna development already in progress from the Project Kuiper team, and both engineering teams are now working together to define technical requirements to help extend fixed wireless coverage to rural and remote communities,” Verizon said Tuesday. New Street’s Philip Burnett said this helps Verizon reach as many as 7 million more people. “The value of the partnership may be more worthwhile for nascent enterprise opportunities,” he told investors: “We can think of various industrial enterprises -- from remote mines, to trucking companies (Verizon only covers 91% of US road miles) -- who may benefit from the ubiquitous connectivity.”

The wireless industry is “betting big” on the U.S. 5G future, CTIA President Meredith Baker told the start of the Mobile World Congress Los Angeles, livestreamed Tuesday. Baker recalled the CTIA conference 10 years ago: “The LTE versus WiMax debate was still alive, and we were awed by the new devices that 4G was offering." The big story was a phone that offered 12 Mbps: “We were bragging about how quickly 4G was deployed. It was the fastest transition ever. It pales in comparison to what is happening with 5G.” Baker said carriers need access to the C band starting in December for 5G to take off: “We need to replicate the expedited process that made the 3.45 [GHz] auction a reality this year. We need to know when the next licensed auction will be, and the one after that.” Wireless will make needed investments to “tackle climate change head on,” she said: “We will help reduce waste, reduce consumption and reduce costs.”

Rural Wireless Association officials told an FCC Public Safety Bureau staffer that smaller carriers are reluctant to install open radio access network technology as part of the agency’s rip-and-replace program. “RWA’s carrier members were optimistic about Open RAN’s potential for lower costs, increased security, and network visibility, but expressed reservations toward adopting Open RAN for the Reimbursement Program when none of the three nationwide providers -- AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon -- have adopted,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-63: “Absent major carrier adoption (and FCC support for Open RAN via a rulemaking), small and rural carriers cannot afford to expend human and capital resources to learn how to fully integrate Open RAN.” RWA warned carriers will need to shut parts of their Huawei and ZTE-equipped networks during testing. Jerry Tilley, Nemont chief operations officer, and John Nettles, Pine Belt Communications president, were on the call.

The next World Radiocommunication Conference is still on for Nov. 20-Dec. 15, 2023, the ITU confirmed Monday “following a consultation with the ITU Member States around the world.” The location will be either Abu Dhabi or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. “The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the essential nature of digital technologies and services," said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao: “Yet challenges persist in efforts to connect the other half of the world's population by 2030. ITU Member States will use WRC-23 to pave the way for new, more innovative ways to connect the world using both terrestrial and space-based communication technologies."