Executives from Helium and cryptocurrency company Emrit predicted a bright future for decentralized wireless networks, during a webinar Monday. Helium’s centrally managed IoT network offers more than 800,000 IoT gateways in some 52,000 cities around the world. Speakers said PlanetWatch, Dimo and Pollen are offering similar networks. “It’s commercial hardware,” said Alvaro Gracia, partner, Helium Funds at Borderless Capital. “There’s no real estate costs because people are placing them on their premises,” he said: “The blockchain automation makes the whole backend model very efficient -- you don’t need accounting departments, you don’t need a lot of processes.” Helium and similar companies are addressing “a problem that the IoT industry has tried to solve for a very long time,” said Pradhyum Ramkumar, Emrit head-IoT and 5G. Sensor data usage on the Helium network is growing 70% every month, he said: “The proof is in the pudding.” People are "finally realizing that there is a great, very low cost [long range] network available,” he said. “Very little capital was deployed by Helium to do this” with the costs paid by hosts, who are reimbursed by users, he said. Helium “laid the groundwork,” being followed by competitors, said Ryan Derouin, Emrit head-commercial. One example of the kind of network being built is a local coffee shop using citizens broadband radio spectrum, he said. “People need data, they’re in there streaming data … and they need the access,” he said. “The coffee shops want to drive traffic.” Carriers “can’t put a tower every 50 feet” as the demand for data grows, he said.

The FCC should “act swiftly to authorize 5G operations” in the 12 GHz band, RS Access representatives said in a call with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “The engineering record is now complete with respect to the feasibility of 5G-[non-geostationary orbit] coexistence, and the Commission has the opportunity for a win/win whereby the 12 GHz band is unlocked for massive 5G opportunities while allowing for NGSO co-existence,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 20-443.

Hughes successfully demonstrated 5G satellite backhaul capabilities with its Jupiter System ground platform, it said Tuesday. It said it tested connecting 5G smartphones to the internet using its Jupiter System infrastructure, including a very small aperture gateway and high throughput satellite.

Inflation is running “at a faster clip” than AT&T expected, and is the biggest concern for the immediate future, AT&T Chief Financial Officer Pascal Desroches warned at a Credit Suisse financial conference Tuesday. Desroches said AT&T may have to consider raising prices for its service plans for a second time this year (see 2205030066). “We built in a fairly healthy level of inflationary expectations into our budget,” Desroches said: “With that said, it's running harder than we thought, and you saw one of the things that we did recently was to raise prices in response. … We're seeing inflation in labor, supplies, energy, transport.” The AT&T executive expressed optimism about the C-band, with the next phase of deployment looming. “Our network is reliable, consistent, and it's better than it's ever been and getting better every day,” he said. He noted the nearly $40 billion of mid-band spectrum the company bought in the 3.45 GHz and C-band auctions: “We expect to deploy that over the next 18 to 24 months and as we deploy, the network will only get better.” Churn was low during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many consumers benefited from stimulus payments, Desroches said. Churn could rise due to inflation, he said. “As I look at the inflationary expectation over the next several quarters, it's hard for me to envision that that's not going to impact the consumers negatively and that we and others will see some pressure,” he said. Wireless competition isn’t increasing, Desroches said. The market has “been competitive for some time” and “remains competitive,” he said. AT&T has been targeting segments of the population that are underserved, he said, citing FirstNet and outreach to Hispanics. “We are being very surgical,” he said. “We have stepped up our investment [in wireless] to match the competitors and that has helped enormously,” he said. Other markets are also growing, Desroches said: “You're seeing kids getting phones at an earlier age. You have older people getting phones that never had them. You're seeing all of a sudden a separation of your work life from your home life, so people [are] getting multiple devices.” New business formation has also been “really strong” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. AT&T recently eliminated HBO Max from its premium unlimited wireless plan as a free perk for new customers. Desroches said the carrier is trying out other included features, such as hot spot data, to bring in more customers. “It’s really not anything against HBO Max,” he said: “It’s us trying to drive deeper penetration to different portions of our customer base.”

GSMA and FC Barcelona signed an agreement Monday to collocate the Sports Tomorrow Congress at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona starting next year. “As data-powered, innovative sports technology continues to deliver insights with a profound impact on athletes’ performance and fan engagement, the relationship between sports and technology has expanded the sports industry market,” said a news release.

Qualcomm scored “significant” revenue and share gains from 5G millimeter wave in smartphones last year, reported Strategy Analytics Friday. “As the sole provider of mmW-enabled cellular phone chipsets throughout most of 2021, Qualcomm captured most of the additional value generated by 5G mmW components for phones with its mmW transceivers and transceiver modules,” said analyst Stephen Entwistle. MmWave “increased the market for radio transceivers in smartphones in 2021, with Qualcomm capturing most of the value,” said SA. “This did not go unnoticed by Qualcomm’s competitors Samsung and MediaTek.”

House Commerce Committee member Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., Tuesday emphasized the importance of addressing rumors about potential RF health effects of 5G and highlighting the technology’s benefits. “We’re going to do a better job of talking about why this next generation is so much better than that it’s not a threat to them,” Dingell during a Punchbowl News event. “We need to tell the benefits of why [5G] matters,” including “how it’s going to help the community more, how it’s going to give their children more access to broadband, how it’s going to help them in their businesses.” It’s “going to be 100 times faster than what they have right now,” Dingell said. She noted major car manufacturers are using 5G tech in their factories: “The use of this new technology increases the efficiency of production and reduces the emissions at that plant. As technology develops, it helps you do your business more efficiently and smartly,” including abating carbon dioxide emissions.

NTT DoCoMo and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone said Monday they’re working with vendors Fujitsu, NEC and Nokia on experimental trials ahead of the eventual launch of commercial 6G. “Launching the envisioned 6G services will require verification of numerous new mobile technologies, including those needed to newly use frequencies in the millimeter and sub-terahertz … bands, in addition to bands for existing 5G services,” the companies said. The trials will also test artificial intelligence-based wireless transmission methods. 6G will “greatly exceed the performance of 5G and simultaneously provide high-speed, large capacity, and low latency capabilities, use new high-frequency bands such as sub-terahertz bands above 100 GHz, expand communication coverage in the sky, at sea and in space, and enable both ultra-low-power consumption and low-cost communications,” they said. The companies predicted a 2030 time frame for 6G to start.

T-Mobile said Friday it turned on 5G voice-over-new-radio (VoNR) service in parts of Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City, with plans to expand to “many more areas” this year. “Standalone 5G is the future of wireless, and because it isn’t anchored to LTE, it will be capable of delivering a new level of performance with incredibly fast speeds, real-time responsiveness and massive connectivity,” said a news release: “Now that Standalone 5G is beginning to carry voice traffic with the launch of VoNR, all services are possible on 5G.” Initially the service works only for customers with Samsung Galaxy S21 5G smartphones.

T-Mobile has a “sizable lead on 5G performance” based on Q1 data from Speedtest Intelligence, but Verizon and AT&T also have advantages, Ookla said Wednesday. Verizon is catching up on speed as it deploys C band, and AT&T’s net postpaid adds “exceeded expectations, driven by stronger 4G/LTE performance relative to Verizon, coupled with wider 5G coverage and aggressive postpaid pricing.” Verizon could pull ahead, Ookla said. “Rising costs could well shift the competitive dynamic in Verizon’s favor,” the company said: “While the release of further C-band spectrum will shift this dynamic, that won’t happen until the end of 2023. In the meantime rising inflation will play a larger role, forcing operators to either consider raising prices or absorb additional costs.”