The U.S. will have more than 50 5G cities at this time next year but to get there will require speeding up siting and help from the FCC, CTIA President Meredith Baker said Wednesday at the Mobile World Congress event in Los Angeles. The agency needs to reallocate more spectrum for broadband, she said. Commissioners are set to take up the next big wireless infrastructure order at their Sept. 26 meeting (see 1809050029). It's raising local concerns (see 1809110030).

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Congress, not states, must tackle privacy and net neutrality laws. State privacy laws are a problem for everyone, including AT&T, Facebook and Google, he told a Goldman Sachs conference Wednesday. “I don’t even know how we operate” under different laws, he said. “It needs to happen at the federal level,” he said. “Congress needs to step up.”

Dutch IoT satellite startup Magnitude Space wants to put up a 24-satellite low earth orbit mobile satellite system constellation. In an FCC International Bureau petition for U.S. market access Monday, Magnitude's Hiber said the first two satellites are scheduled for launch in October and November, with the constellation to reach full size over five years. It said a third satellite is under construction, and beyond that the company is exploring the use of smaller satellites for its buildout. It said the constellation will be part of a low-power global area network, Hiberband, providing global connectivity and IoT devices. It said the constellation -- orbiting at roughly 600 km -- will be tied to earth stations around the globe and to ground stations in Norway and the Netherlands. The company plans to use service links in the 399.9-400.05 MHz band for uplinks 400.15-401 MHz band for downlinks and feeder links in the 2200-2290 MHz band when satellites are directly over the ground stations, and not in or near the U.S. Hiber told the bureau that while Orbcomm is authorized to operate on a primary basis in parts of the 400.15-401 MHz band, sharing shouldn't be a problem because Hiber satellites only transmit to earth stations in short bursts when the satellite is directly overhead. Orbcomm didn't comment Tuesday.

Sennheiser is asking the FCC to start allowing low-power auxiliary stations, including wireless mics, to use more bandwidth in the TV bands and 600 MHz duplex gap when they employ new technology. In a petition posted Friday, Sennheiser said existing wireless mic technology lets engineers use at most 12 such devices in a 6 MHz channel, but it and other manufacturers are developing wireless multichannel audio systems (WMAS) that combine the signals from multiple devices into a 6 MHz channel instead of giving each its own separate frequency segment. It said spreading each connected device across the full channel width, WMAS allows denser use of the channel by ending the problem of multiple receivers picking up adjacent frequencies. The company asked for amendment of a Section 74.861(e)(5) rule on low-power auxiliary stations so it defines WMAS and allows WMAS system use of 6 MHz of bandwidth when providing the same or better spectrum efficiency as conventional single-channel systems.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on the 45-day public trial of the Nominet UK TV white space database system. The trial ended July 26, OET said Wednesday in docket 04-186. “This database system is designed and intended to support the operation of low power unlicensed transmitting devices on unoccupied spectrum within the broadcast television bands, the 600 MHz service band, the 600 MHz duplex gap, and in channel 37.” Comments are due Aug. 16, replies Aug. 23.

Despite Sprint complaints about its future as a stand-alone company if takeover by T-Mobile falls through (see 1806270068), the carrier said Wednesday it's on track to offer 5G in the first half of next year. Sprint also reported generally positive results in the quarter ended June 30. Sprint had postpaid net adds of 123,000 for its 12th consecutive quarter of growth. The company had profit of $176 million, its third profitable quarter in a row, and operating income of $815 million. Revenue was $8.13 billion. T-Mobile also reported, saying it had the best Q2 in company history.

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).

T-Mobile and CBS Television Stations said Monday they reached a deal for early repack of WLNY-TV, clearing the 600 MHz spectrum in Long Island, New York, and the surrounding area a year ahead of next year’s deadline. WLNY moved to its new frequency earlier this month, they said. “Partnering with WLNY allows us to clear spectrum and bring 600 MHz LTE to customers in New York City as quickly as possible,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile chief technology officer. “The T-Mobile team is deploying 600 MHz LTE across the country at record pace, and we’re laying the foundation for 5G in NYC by deploying 600 MHz with 5G-ready gear.” T-Mobile bought the license in the TV incentive auction.

Competition between wireless carriers is likely to increase in the second half of 2018, Macquarie Research’s Amy Yong told investors Thursday. “AT&T will likely leverage its new assets to offer better bundles, while T-Mobile/Sprint could offer promos to showcase their consumer-friendly nature,” Yong said. Verizon, which will soon have a new CEO in Hans Vestberg, will likely take “a fresh approach” to competition, she said. Yong predicted T-Mobile will continue to make investments in its networks as it waits for regulators on the Sprint deal. “T-Mobile is balancing standalone network investments while trying not to compromise deal synergies,” she said.” We expect it will continue its 5G efforts in its 600 MHz footprint, which should fit nicely with Sprint’s 2.5 GHz spectrum efforts.”

Bidirectional sharing of commercial spectrum for federal users to have access to commercial spectrum has emerged as a Trump administration focus. Proposals remain controversial for carriers.