CTIA and the national wireless carriers sounded a note of caution on the timetable proposed in a draft FCC order requiring that carriers be able to identify within 3 meters the vertical location, or z-axis, of wireless calls to 911. Commissioners are to vote Nov. 22 (see 1910290054). “Further testing is currently underway and planned during 2020 to better determine the extent to which ± 3 meters for 80 percent of wireless calls as measured in the 9-1-1 Location Accuracy Test Bed is achievable by April 2021,” CTIA said in docket 07-114, posted Wednesday. The draft “presumes that technologies studied in the earlier test campaigns … are technically feasible and commercially available to meet the Commission’s April 2021 benchmark because firmware or software upgrades could load these technologies onto existing wireless handsets.” It likely “overstates the extent to which these solutions are scalable and deployable by April 2021,” CTIA said. The group and members proposed technical changes to the rules. Instead of referring to an “z-axis capable device,” the FCC could cite “any device capable of measuring and reporting vertical location with a wireless 9-1-1 call without a hardware upgrade.” The association said the text should more accurately reflect “the cautionary views” of industry and public safety groups. CTIA and representatives from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon met with Public Safety Bureau staff. The International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Sheriffs' Association and National Association of State EMS Officials supported the FCC proposal Wednesday. Three meters "not only provides emergency responders with actionable location information, but it also gives the public greater assurance that when they dial 9-1-1 from their cell phones, emergency responders can find them more quickly," IAFC said.

LG's giving a 49-inch 4K smart TV to Sprint customers who lease an LG G8X ThinQ plus Dual Screen for $15 per month or an LG V50 ThinQ 5G for $19 per month, it said Monday. To get the limited-time deal, customers have to switch to Sprint or add a new line to an existing account, then register for the free TV before Dec. 19, said the carrier. The promo also includes a free second screen for the G8X ThinQ smartphone, currently on preorder and due in stores Friday, it said.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau approved a waiver T-Mobile sought (see 1910250027) of wireless emergency alert rules so it can do testing. A new geo-targeting requirement for WEA messages takes effect Nov. 30. T-Mobile asked to do “live testing of network and device geo-targeting capabilities” before the deadline. “The Commission has previously recognized that compliance with enhanced geotargeting necessitates testing, and we find that there is good cause to grant T-Mobile’s request for a waiver,” said a Friday order in docket 15-91: “We are persuaded that the means by which T-Mobile proposes to conduct its test would serve the public interest. T-Mobile’s test is narrowly designed to affect a limited subset of the public, while still providing T-Mobile with the data necessary to evaluate its implementation of enhanced geotargeting.”

Apple representatives met with FCC staff, at their request, on a proposed requirement carriers identify the vertical axis of wireless 911 calls. An order is set for a vote at the Nov. 19 commissioners’ meeting (see 1910290054). Apple “has and will continue to invest and innovate in technologies and approaches that provide our customers with devices that offer reliable and granular location accuracy, and reliable battery performance in the emergency situations,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 07-114. Emergency calling location capabilities “originated with permanently fixed landline telephones whose locations could be accurately conveyed” but wireless calls are “inherently probabilistic and can accurately be represented only with clear and non-zero uncertainties,” Apple said: Requirements “must reflect this fundamental distinction.” Apple said “vertical location capabilities must be implemented at large scale and under real-world operational constraints without negatively impacting the user.” Apple lawyers met FCC Chief Technology Officer Eric Burger and Public Safety Bureau staff.

The fight over the first responder market is heating up. AT&T unveiled pricing plans Wednesday, effective Sunday, including a 25 percent discount for first responders and their families on eligible wireless plans, including the new Unlimited Starter plan. Monday, T-Mobile launched “the best discount in wireless for first responders and their families, with 50 percent off family lines.”

Huawei’s gain in the China market in Q3 was Apple’s pain, reported Canalys Wednesday. Huawei sold 41 million smartphones in China in Q3 vs. 25 million in the year-ago quarter, while iPhone sales tumbled 28 percent to 5.1 million. Numbers 2-4 vendors Vivo, Oppo and Xiaomi also saw phone sales fall 23, 20 and 33 percent as the China market declined overall by 3 percent year on year, Canalys said. Huawei’s dominant position gives it “a lot of power to negotiate with the supply chain and to increase its wallet share within channel partners,” said analyst Nicole Peng. The company can consolidate its dominance further amid the 5G network rollout due to tight operator relationships in 5G network deployment and control over key components such as local network-compatible 5G chipsets compared with local peers, Peng said. Apple held its position in fifth on an immediate boost from iPhone 11 launches in September, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Q3 shipments, said analyst Louis Liu, saying the U.S. firm is “more prepared than previous years to face strong headwinds in China.” Camera improvements in iPhone 11 models "proved desirable to Chinese consumers," Liu said, and a lower launch price of iPhone 11, coupled with a more flexible channel margin structure for local distribution, "were critical market stimuli for Apple." But Apple faces a challenge as Chinese vendors and operators are set to drive heavy marketing and promotions around 5G in the next two quarters, Liu said, which could "steal its thunder.” Vivo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Samsung have launched 5G-capable smartphones between $500 and $1,000, with more products likely to follow in Q4, said the analyst, but Canalys expects 5G device prices to fall rapidly to attract mass market consumers, “causing first-mover advantage in 5G to diminish in next to no time.”

Nov. 8 is launch for LG's G8X ThinQ smartphone, with preorders slated for Friday. Sprint said Tuesday carrier switchers are eligible to buy the phone for $15 a month. Current customers can get the phone for that price if they’re upgrade-eligible or if they add a service line. Customers can get a free LG Dual Screen by mail-in rebate. AT&T is offering the $780 smartphone for free -- and tossing in a free LG Dual Screen on preorders -- for enrolling a new line on eligible plans; credits are applied after 30 payments, it said. The 6.4-inch smartphone has an OLED screen and three cameras and allows users to work off two screens simultaneously.

IPhone weighted average retail prices continue falling, reported Consumer Intelligence Research Partners analyst Mike Levin Thursday. CIRP pegged the U.S. WARP at $783, down from $808 in the June quarter and off a peak $839 in the December quarter. The $699 iPhone 11 accounted for half the sales of the trio of 11 series iPhones launched in Apple’s fiscal Q4 ended Sept. 28. Combined with the iPhone XR (36 percent of quarterly sales) -- similarly positioned a year ago in the X series lineup, but at $749 -- the two accounted for almost half of U.S. iPhone sales, CIRP said. The $999 iPhone 11 Pro and $1,099 11 Pro Max (10 percent), and their 2018 X series counterparts XS and XS Max were 21 percent of sales. The XR and 11 dominated sales “at the expense of the more costly XS and XS Max, and 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max models,” said Levin, noting the lower $50 starting price for this year’s lineup is “a change for Apple.” CIRP surveyed 500 U.S. Apple customers July-September.

Low-cost 4G smartphones and “smart feature phones” will be “key” in the “global drive to connect the unconnected,” said Strategy Analytics Thursday: “One of the most important trends ... in the handset industry today is the rapidly falling price of 4G smartphones and feature phones.” It estimates 4G handsets will be a third of feature phones and 75 percent of “ultra-low-cost” smartphones sold in 2024. Speeding 4G "migration and adoption" in developing markets will benefit operators "in terms of network efficiencies and spectrum re-farming," while also benefiting societies in bridging "the digital divide," said SA.

The Competitive Carriers Association told the FCC most members under waiver are working on real-time text as a substitute for the traditional text telephony (TTY) services used by those with hearing or speech disabilities. Commissioners approved an order on a common standard in 2016 (see 1612150048). “Based on currently available technology and network architecture, CCA’s members continue to work diligently and make significant investments” here, it reported Friday in docket 15-178. “A carrier’s ability to achieve RTT deployment and comply” with the added mandates “is largely dependent on other participants in the wireless ecosystem,” the association said.