With the 5G transition in the past year evolving “from hype to reality,” Israeli networking equipment vendor Ceragon Networks is working with operators to push 5G “from initial trials into the field,” said CEO Ira Palti on a Q4 call Monday. “This is what we have been waiting for and are very excited to develop.” Adoption of open radio access networks is “picking up speed,” said Palti. ORAN lets operators “integrate specialist solutions for each network domain from different vendors,” he said. “The market is becoming more democratized, which plays to our favor.” The transition from 4G to 5G “is creating a huge change in the way networks are designed,” he said. "We help operators achieve an evolutionary approach. We provide a wireless-based backhaul network that is supporting 4G networks and that can be upgraded cost effectively to 5G.” Ceragon claims “major tier 1 operators” in North America, Europe and Southeast Asia as “recently acquired” customers, he said.

Nokia representatives cited the importance of open radio access networks in a call with acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, said a filing Friday in docket 18-89. Reps recommended the government “do more than fund basic research by investing in testbeds” as “testbeds can simulate real-world network deployment scenarios wherein issues like performance and security can be studied across the types of scenarios that will be encountered when O-RAN is introduced into previously deployed, multi-generation networks.” Rosenworcel backs ORAN for 5G security (see 2009140054).

T-Mobile had industry-leading postpaid net phone adds of 1.6 million in Q4, with 5.5 million in all of 2020, said a Thursday release. The carrier projected it will have to spend as much as $3 billion before taxes combining its stores, employees and infrastructure with those of Sprint, which it acquired last year. Integration costs were about $1.9 billion last year. Some 25 percent of Sprint postpaid customer traffic has been moved to the T-Mobile network. Year-over-year income was flat at $750 million on revenue of $20.3 billion. T-Mobile’s Ultra Capacity 5G now covers 106 million people, is projected to cover 200 million people nationwide by year-end. “If we play our cards right, T-Mobile is positioned to stay ahead in the 5G race for years to come,” said CEO Mike Sievert in a call with analysts. Officials said addressing Sprint’s high churn rate will take some time. “T-Mobile has a powerful advantage, and they mean to use it,” New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors: “The only challenge we see is that, if AT&T continues to give away free iPhones to retain customers (and Verizon gets more aggressive) they may dampen switching.” T-Mobile stock closed down 4.1% Friday to $125.28.

Global open radio access network revenue for 5G and other technologies will grow by a double-digit percentage in the next six years, reported Dell'Oro Group Friday. Cumulative ORAN investments in hardware, software and firmware, excluding services, are projected to approach $10 billion 2020-25. The conversation “has clearly changed over the past six months," said analyst Stefan Pongratz. It’s no longer a question if ORAN will happen, but when, he said: “The question now is more on the timing and the scope.”

The U.S. lags behind on mid-band spectrum for 5G and needs to have a 3.45-3.55 GHz auction, CTIA officials told an aide to FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The C-Band auction was powerful evidence of the need for licensed, exclusive-use mid-band spectrum for 5G, and auctioning the 100 megahertz of spectrum at 3.45-3.55 GHz under a substantially similar framework is critical for the development of 5G in the U.S.,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 18-122.

Though COVID-19 community spread “exposed the vulnerability of dense urban clusters,” those same so-called “microcities” as engines of tech and economic growth “will remain unchallenged,” reported ABI Research Thursday. The estimated 13,000 microcities globally “will remain hotbeds for urban technology innovation,” said analyst Dominique Bonte. Smart cameras, digital signage, private Wi-Fi networks and 5G connectivity typify the “common technologies deployed” across most microcities, she said. “They allow addressing specific challenges related to people flow management, access and security, overall customer experience, and environmental impact while generating cost savings through maximizing operational efficiencies.”

Product development in Nokia’s 5G network business is “delivering in a pretty promising manner,” said CEO Pekka Lundmark on a Q4 call. The company plans to increase its R&D investment “to make sure that we repeat the success of 4G also in 5G,” he said. Nokia has 90% success converting 4G network contracts to 5G, excluding China, he said. “We have currently 195 commercial 5G engagements,” including 45 “live 5G networks” and deployments that have progressed to “paid trials,” he said. Lundmark estimated Nokia’s 5G network market share was 27%-28% at the end of 2020 and will fall slightly to 25%-27% by Dec. 31: “Not that dramatic, but still there is a small drop.” For 2020, “we cannot be happy” that sales for the Nokia group declined 4% on a “constant currency” basis, despite a 19% increase in North America, he said. Sales in Europe, its No. 2 market, rose 2% in constant currency, he said. The stock closed 7% lower Thursday at $4.37.

Global smartphone sales to end users will reach 1.5 billion handsets this year, an 11.4% increase from 2020, reported Gartner Wednesday. “The combination of delayed smartphone replacements and the availability of lower end 5G smartphones are poised to increase smartphone sales in 2021,” said Gartner. It expects 2021 smartphone sales to be close to those of 2019, after sales declined 10.5% in 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, it said. Gartner forecasts sales of 5G smartphones will total 538.53 million units in 2021, for a 35% share of the market, it said. It estimates 213.26 million 5G smartphones were sold in 2020, for a 15.5% market share.

5G deployment will add roughly $1.5 trillion to U.S. GDP and create some 4.5 million jobs over the next decade, said a CTIA filing on a report posted Wednesday in FCC docket 19-348. The report said “5G networks, fueled by billions of capital investment and powered by licensed spectrum, will enable new services and applications and spur new entrepreneurs who will grow and reshape our economy.”

TCL’s 10 5G UW smartphone is available on prepaid plans at Walmart ($299) and Verizon ($399), TCL said Monday. Verizon plans start at $40 monthly and can be lowered by up $15 through autopay and loyalty discounts, TCL said. The 6.5-inch phone is built on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 765G processor and has a 48-megapixel main camera.