Wireless ISPs are expected to drive deployment of priority access licenses in the citizens broadband radio service band, likely being the first to deploy after the FCC finishes assigning licenses from the PAL auction that ended Aug. 25. Some larger auction bidders are starting to lay out plans. Experts and others said in interviews that auction winners will likely start to use their licenses in Q1, after the FCC finalizes channel assignments and conveys the licenses.

Dish Network will light up 5G in “some preliminary small markets” in 2021's first quarter, said Chairman Charlie Ergen on a Q3 investor call Friday. “It will be the third quarter before we have a major market up and running that the world can touch and feel a little bit,” he said. The disclosures set off a barrage of questions from analysts skeptical about Dish’s progress and its ability to meet its FCC obligations of bringing 5G to critical mass by June 2023.

T-Mobile has a buy one, get one free offer on the LG Wing 5G smartphone, arriving Nov. 6. The dual-screen phone works on 600 MHz and 2.5 GHz 5G spectrum, in addition to T-Mobile’s LTE network, said the company. It has a 6.8-inch, 2220 x 1080 main OLED display and a second 3.9-inch OLED screen, enabling two apps to run concurrently. A 64-megapixel camera headlines the triple camera array. The BOGO offer is available to new and existing customers for $41.67/month over 24 months, said the carrier.

Verizon is starting to fully deploy 5G and now covers more than 200 million people in the U.S., as broadband phone connections increased, said CEO Hans Vestberg said on a Q3 call Wednesday. it's the first of the major U.S. carriers to report. At a Competitive Carriers Association conference, T-Mobile President-Technology Neville Ray contrasted its approach to 5G with Verizon’s focus on high band.

The C-band auction and compensating satellite operators for leaving the spectrum are things the FCC could come to regret as a negative template for future spectrum auctions, said Philip Murphy, legislative director to House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. The auction starts Dec. 8.

T-Mobile is working to build up its 600 MHz portfolio, seeking regulatory approval for a lease with TStar, “a 600 MHz spectrum holder we previously identified as a potential target for T-Mobile,” LightShed’s Walter Piecyk told investors Thursday. “5G deployments on low-band spectrum provide T-Mobile subscribers with the broad ‘dedicated 5G coverage’ that its management team has been promoting,” the analyst wrote: “Unfortunately, T-Mobile’s low-band spectrum is not deep enough to deliver 5G speeds that are materially different than LTE, especially when they also plan to dedicate a portion to LTE.” This is T-Mobile’s third lease of 600 MHz spectrum, following leases from Dish Network and Columbia Capital, he said. It adds about 300 million MHz-POPs to the 2.3 billion MHz-POPs of 600 MHz spectrum T-Mobile previously leased, he said. At an estimated cost of $1.50 per MHz/POP, Piecyk said the annual cost to T-Mobile is about $300 million.

The FCC Wireless Bureau gave Pine Cellular an additional year to meet the tribal lands bidding credit construction requirements for a 600 MHz license in Texarkana, Texas, to serve Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma communities. The carrier had problems because it’s using Huawei equipment at the site, the bureau said. “Because Pine Cellular is prohibited from using USF funds to maintain, improve, modify, operate, manage, or otherwise support its Huawei equipment, it asserts that it cannot act without a significant cost burden until the Commission acts in the Supply Chain proceeding to establish a cost reimbursement program for USF recipients to replace equipment from covered companies,” said the Thursday order. “Pine Cellular is presented with limited options for network deployment to the Choctaw Nation communities: build out its existing Huawei network and try to prove it used non-USF funds (recognizing that it also may need to replace this network); or build out an expensive parallel network for which it has no guarantee of reimbursement.” The extension is through Jan. 9, 2022.

T-Mobile fired back at AT&T and Verizon for suggesting its spectrum holdings should be subject to the FCC spectrum screen relative to the C-band auction (see 2009180029). “Incredibly, last week the two behemoths, who dwarf T-Mobile in revenues and market cap, actually teamed up to petition the government to thwart T-Mobile’s competitive access to wireless spectrum,” blogged CEO Mike Sievert Tuesday. “AT&T and Verizon are facing real competition from a company that is committed to shaking up the status quo and bringing true choice to consumers.” T-Mobile said in a filing that neither has the standing to challenge its 600 MHz leases. “Verizon sat out the 600 MHz spectrum auction and AT&T sold its 600 MHz licenses to Columbia Capital,” T-Mobile said: “Their efforts to raise spectrum screen issues concerning T-Mobile’s acquisition of spectrum going forward are not really about the Columbia Capital leases or protecting the mobile wireless marketplace from excessive spectrum aggregation. Rather, they are efforts to slow down T-Mobile as a competitor and to game the upcoming C-band auction.” AT&T and Verizon didn't comment.

T-Mobile is likely to be the dominant bidder in a 2.5 GHz auction expected next year, as it fills out substantial holdings in the band. T-Mobile got the spectrum when it bought Sprint and said in August it’s adding the band to its network at 600-700 sites weekly (see 2008070026). T-Mobile asked last week to move forward on an auction next year. AT&T questioned whether T-Mobile’s holdings exceed the spectrum screen.

Dish Network got more time (see 2009110054) to meet the AWS-4, lower 700 MHz E block, AWS H block and 600 MHz license construction requirements that are part of its plans for a national 5G network. The FCC Wireless Bureau's order Friday said the license terms for AWS-4, lower 700 MHz E block and AWS H block licenses now run through June 14, 2023, and the company is obligated to provide 5G broadband service over them. It said by that 2023 buildout deadline, Dish must be offering 5G to at least 70% of the population in each economic area with respect to each AWS-4 and lower 700 MHz E block license, and to at least 75% of the population in each EA with respect to each AWS H Block license. It said the license term for Dish's 600 MHz licenses is unchanged from June 14, 2029, but the interim buildout deadline of June 14, 2023, is removed, and the final buildout deadline for it to offer 5G to at least 75% of the population in each partial economic area is moved up to June 14, 2025. There had been skepticism about Dish's ability to meet the old deadlines (see 1807100062), and the license modifications and construction deadline adjustments were proposed in October's T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish order (see 1911050016). The bureau said the waiver and extension grants and license modifications are conditioned on the company meeting the terms of the T-Mobile/Sprint/Dish order, including mandatory payments for not hitting deployment commitments. T-Mobile has since bought Dish. The new order dismissed as defective Rural Wireless Association and Communications Workers of America protests to the license proposals in the T-Mobile order. “RWA wishes Dish Godspeed in the deployment of its 5G network and hopes it will meet" buildout benchmarks "so there will be a 4th nationwide carrier on the scene by 2023,” emailed RWA Counsel Carri Bennet. “Our members look forward to working with Dish on ways to continue to serve rural Americans.” CWA didn't comment immediately, nor did Dish or T-Mobile.