The Trump administration views development and deployment of 5G networks and other advanced communications and continued leadership in advancing cybersecurity and AI among its top research and development priorities for federal agencies to consider as they develop their FY 2020 budget proposals, said the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Science and Technology in a Tuesday memo. OMB and OSTP highlighted cybersecurity and quantum computing among the Trump administration's FY 2019 R&D priorities. The focus on deployment of 5G and other communications networks follows the January release of a leaked National Security Council draft memo that proposed nationalization (see 1801290034 and 1803210019). 5G and other advanced communications networks “will be critical to an increasingly connected society,” OMB and OSTP said. “Agencies should support the development and deployment of these networks, including by prioritizing R&D to manage spectrum, secure networks, and increase access to high-speed internet.” Autonomous vehicles, drones and other connected systems “rely heavily on robust and secure connectivity to provide novel, low-cost capabilities,” with additional R&D needed to “safely and efficiently” integrate them “onto our roadways and into the national airspace,” they said. “Agencies should prioritize R&D to lower barriers to the deployment of autonomous vehicles and to develop operating standards and a traffic management system” for drones. Agencies should invest in R&D on cybersecurity to protect U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including “prioritized investment” in AI, computing and cyber capabilities, OMB and OSTP said. “Advanced cyber capabilities at scale require investment in new computing and technology paradigms, including adaptive and automated defensive measures.”

Spectrum and 5G dominated a meeting Raymond James analysts had with Washington contacts, said a note to investors. “The need to keep the U.S. at the forefront of this global race for next generation networks is very strong from all angles of Washington, making 5G a very important policy goal of regulators and the administration.” Progress will take time, including opening the C-band, the note said. “The FCC is set to vote on pole attachment order later this week, however, actual rulemaking on state and local preemption is further out. We believe the progress made at the state level with various legislative actions has helped further the cause, but the FCC is keenly focused on this issue.”

T-Mobile and Sprint told the SEC discussions of their deal, announced at the end of April, got going once again March 26 and 27 during a meeting between representatives of T-Mobile and parent Deutsche Telekom and Sprint and parent SoftBank. The companies detailed the prolonged discussions in a Monday S-4 filing. Three other unidentified companies also had spoken to Sprint about a possible deal. T-Mobile could potentially pay Sprint up to $600 million if the agreement is terminated, the companies said. Even after the two called off a deal last November, some discussions continued. At the March meeting, “representatives of T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom indicated that they would be prepared to proceed with negotiations at an exchange ratio equivalent to 10 shares of Sprint common stock for each share of T-Mobile common stock,” they recounted. “Representatives of Sprint and SoftBank indicated that they would not continue discussions with T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom on that basis.” After more discussions, both sides settled on an exchange ratio equivalent to 9.75 shares of Sprint stock for each share of T-Mobile stock. DT made clear at the March meeting it would agree to a deal only if it became the controlling stockholder. T-Mobile's board signed off on the deal April 27. April 29, the day the deal was announced, “the Sprint board of directors unanimously determined that the business combination agreement and the transactions contemplated by the agreement were fair to, and in the best interests of, Sprint and its stockholders,” the filing said. That day, DT's board of management and, later, its supervisory board agreed. Risks include “the substantial risk that regulatory authorities might seek to impose conditions on or otherwise prevent or delay the merger, or impose restrictions or requirements on the operation of the businesses of the combined company.” Another risk for T-Mobile is “the substantial indebtedness of Sprint and the anticipated substantial indebtedness of the combined company following the closing of the transaction, as well as the type and terms of such indebtedness, and the risk that the combined company will be constrained by its need to, and may not be able to, meet its debt service obligations,” the filing said. Combining won’t be easy, the filing acknowledges. There's “the possibility that anticipated synergies and other benefits of the transaction might not be achieved in the time frame contemplated or at all, and the other numerous risks and uncertainties that could adversely affect the combined company’s operating performance and financial results.”

T-Mobile signed a $3.5 billion agreement with Nokia for “end-to-end” 5G technology, software and services, with a focus on 600 MHz and 28 GHz spectrum, the companies said Monday. “We are all in on 5G,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile chief technology officer. “Every dollar we spend is a 5G dollar, and our agreement with Nokia underscores the kind of investment we’re making to bring customers a mobile, nationwide 5G network.” T-Mobile is building out its network as it works toward buying Sprint (see 1807300006).

Ericsson and LG renewed their global cross-license agreement on cellular standard-essential 2-4G patents, said Ericsson Monday. LG and Ericsson are leading contributors to those technologies and “are making significant investments” in 5G development, it said.

Verizon still sweeps mobile performance awards at the national level, “including the carrier's tenth straight outright win for overall performance,” RootMetrics reported Thursday. AT&T “remains a strong competitor at the national level” and was tied with Verizon on text performance, RootMetrics said. “Sprint showcases data speed and reliability improvements at the metro level,” the researcher said. “T-Mobile heats up the mobile competition across U.S. metros due to lightning-fast speeds while also increasing its state-level awards.” RootMetrics employees drove 227,689 miles, visited 8,068 indoor locations and did nearly 4 million tests.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, filed their Eliminate From Regulators Opportunities to Nationalize The Internet in Every Respect (E-Frontier) Act Monday in a bid to formally bar President Donald Trump's administration from proposing the U.S. build a national 5G network without authorization from Congress. The bill was filed months after a leaked National Security Council draft memo that proposed 5G nationalization because of concerns China could otherwise build a network. The memo drew derision (see 1801290034 and 1801300039). Cortez Masto and Cruz have since raised concerns about 5G nationalization, including during a June NTIA oversight hearing (see 1802120011 and 1806130095). “Partnering with the private sector is the best option we have for building the necessary infrastructure required to securely deploy and operate a nationalized 5G network,” Cortez Masto said. “We believe that the private sector is best positioned to build, deploy, and secure 5G networks,” Cruz said. “Our legislation would prevent massive government overreach in our private sector and assert the proper role of Congress in the decision making process.”

Qualcomm is sampling what it called the first fully integrated 5G New Radio millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-6-GHz RF modules for mobile devices. The QTM052 mmWave antenna module family and the QPM56xx sub-6-GHz RF module family pair with the company's Snapdragon X50 5G modem for modem-to-antenna capabilities across several bands, it said. To date, mmWave signals haven't been used for mobile communications due to technical and design challenges for materials, form factor, industrial design, thermals and regulatory requirements for radiated power that were seen as impractical for mobile devices and networks, said Qualcomm. The modem-to-antenna solutions, which span mmWave and sub-6 spectrum bands, make 5G smartphones ready for large-scale commercialization, said Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon, saying consumers can expect "gigabit-class Internet speeds with unprecedented responsiveness." The antenna modules support advanced beamforming, beamsteering and beamtracking technologies to improve the range and reliability of mmWave signals, and they integrate a 5G NR radio transceiver, power management chip, RF front-end components and phased antenna array, it said. Up to four QTM052 modules fit into a compact footprint designed for a smartphone, said the company. Handsets incorporating the modules could launch as early as first half 2019, Qualcomm said.

The wireless industry’s ability to deploy 5G and help the economy depends on industry having “reasonable” access to rights of way, CTIA said in comments posted Friday in FCC docket 17-79, with an Accenture study that lowering regulatory review timelines to speed deployment by 12 months would unleash an extra $100 billion in economic growth over the next three years. “Establish clear timelines for the entire local review process, with enforceable remedies, and ensure that fees charged by state and local governments are cost-based, non-discriminatory, and transparent,” the association asked. “Address specific types of regulations or requirements that have been identified as substantially delaying or deterring service, including denials of access to municipally-owned utility poles and other structures, requirements that all facilities along rights-of-way be underground, requirements to prove a service coverage gap or other business need, and subjective, unreasonable, or unpublished aesthetic restrictions or those that discriminate against wireless deployment.”

AT&T added Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina, and Oklahoma City to cities where it will introduce mobile 5G later this year. The others are Dallas, Atlanta and Waco, Texas. “We’re deliberately launching with a mix of big and mid-sized cities,” AT&T said Friday. “One competitor recently boasted ‘New York matters more than Waco’ when discussing their future plans. We politely disagree -- all Americans should have access to next-gen connectivity to avoid a new digital divide.”