Nokia added its voice to the growing chorus of handset makers that oppose a possible FCC mandate for ATSC 3.0 reception in smartphones, though the commission hasn't proposed one. “Such a mandate would present technical challenges and disserve the public interest,” said Nokia in a letter posted Friday in docket 16-142. Nokia, which sold its smartphone business to Microsoft, joins Ericsson and Motorola in arguing that 3.0 reception in smartphones is a bad idea because it would require handset form-factor changes that consumers would reject or would degrade cellular coverage performance (see 1709150039 and 1709130050). T-Mobile was the first to cite its opposition, alleging Sinclair is oversimplifying the complexities of building 3.0 into smartphones, and a mandate wouldn't serve the public interest (see 1709120020). Sinclair denies seeking a mandate but said overcoming complexities of 3.0 in smartphones is a worthy challenge. The FCC has a self-imposed deadline of a 2017 order authorizing 3.0 as a final voluntary standard (see 1702230060). Nokia is “actively working with several carriers to supply equipment for expeditious deployment of networks” supporting the 600 MHz band, the company wrote. For smartphones to receive 3.0, they would need to operate at “additional frequencies, possibly as low as 470 MHz,” Nokia said. If the same antenna is used to receive 3.0 signals in the 470-608 MHz band in addition to the 600 MHz band, “antenna performance is likely to degrade,” it said. “This antenna performance degradation can directly translate into significant loss in the coverage benefit typically provided by these lower frequencies.” Whatever “limited physical space” exists in a smartphone “should be available for more valuable uses than ATSC 3.0,” such as MIMO operation, for which there exists “very valid business justification,” said the company. “A new antenna design” will be needed, it said. “The ATSC 3.0 chip will also need to be accommodated on the device next to the cellular circuitry. The ATSC 3.0 receiver chain will need to be isolated from the cellular receiver chain to mitigate any interference issues.”

Motorola Mobility “overstates the complexities" associated with building ATSC 3.0 reception into smartphones (see 1709130050), said Robert Folliard, chairman of the Advanced TV Broadcasting Alliance of low-power TV interests. Folliard’s group is urging the FCC to require ATSC 3.0 reception in smartphones when 3.0 broadcasts become available to 25 percent of the U.S. population. Motorola said that policy position has the company “concerned” because mandating 3.0 smartphone functionality “without regard to consumer demand is not in the public interest,” and would involve “significant technical challenges and limitations.” But Folliard thinks “many of the same issues identified by Motorola are ones that carriers must solve in order to take advantage of the 600 MHz spectrum recently purchased in the auction,” he told us Wednesday. “Regardless, the challenge is worth unraveling since the upside to consumers is so high.”

Apple’s endorsement of the Qi wireless charging standard in its iPhone 8 and X announcements Tuesday (see 1709120062) is “huge” for the wireless charging industry, engineering consultant LeRoy Johnson told us Wednesday. After Apple’s entry into the Wireless Power Consortium in February, there were questions whether Apple would use Qi or a “variation” of Qi, said Johnson. The confirmation of full Qi compatibility on next-generation iPhones opens the door for a broad wireless charging infrastructure, said Johnson. Apple’s adoption “is going to make people start demanding it, asking for it at their desk at work, in their cupholders in cars, on nightstands,” he said. Johnson believes the infrastructure will build quickly in public spaces. There’s an installed base of some 90 smartphone models with Qi built in, said Johnson.

Building ATSC 3.0 functionality into smartphones takes more than just fast-tracking development of receiver chipsets, said T-Mobile in a “technical white paper” filed Monday at the FCC in docket 16-142. It takes aim at Sinclair plans to have 3.0 chipsets ready for commercialization in smartphones in time for the 2018 holiday selling season (see 1705210001). Sinclair's response is "we're not naive enough to believe you hand somebody a chip and suddenly you’ve got ATSC 3.0 on that phone,” Mark Aitken, Sinclair vice president-advanced technology, told us Tuesday.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said he will propose by year-end to open additional high-frequency bands for 5G, building on the 28, 37 and 39 GHz reallocated last year (see 1607140052). Pai was among the first speakers Tuesday at GSMA’s first Mobile World Congress Americas, co-hosted by CTIA in San Francisco. Much of his speech focused on his usual big themes, including tackling the digital divide and eliminating unnecessary regulation.

Verizon is committed to building its own dedicated public safety network, but doesn’t see itself as a competitor to FirstNet/AT&T, a Verizon official told members of the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council Wednesday. NPSTC members told us the group is open-minded on the role Verizon could play. Meanwhile, an AT&T official said it plans to build out FirstNet’s dedicated 700 MHz band.

T-Mobile Thursday unveiled the first smartphone with a chip that supports the 600 MHz spectrum it bought in the TV incentive auction -- the LG V30. T-Mobile also said it has deployed 600 MHz in a second market, Scarborough, Maine. Earlier this month, the carrier deployed the TV spectrum in Cheyenne, Wyoming (see 1708160038). T-Mobile also said it's using new Ericsson radio equipment that supports both LTE and 5G. “We’re lighting up our new super spectrum for LTE and laying the foundation for 5G so fast we’re making the other guys’ heads spin -- and with the LG V30, everything is coming together in record time,” said T-Mobile CEO John Legere in a news release. AT&T and Verizon also said they plan to offer the new smartphone (see here and here).

A combined Sinclair/Tribune will use its increased leverage over the repacking to force wireless carriers to incorporate ATSC 3.0 technology into handsets, said T-Mobile and the Competitive Carriers Association in replies posted in FCC docket 17-179 Wednesday. “If Sinclair is allowed to proceed with its acquisition of Tribune, Sinclair’s attempt to force inefficient, costly behavior from wireless carriers and their customers is likely to succeed,” CCA said.

The Samsung Galaxy Note8 launches Sept. 15 on the T-Mobile network, the carrier said Wednesday. (See a separate report about the Note8 launch in today's issue of this publication.) But the phone won't come with a chip allowing the use of the 600 MHz spectrum T-Mobile bought in the TV incentive auction, a spokesman said, saying Samsung will have a handset available by year-end that does. "When you put the Note8 on the T-Mobile network, it’s like putting a world-class racecar on a brand new, state-of-the-art racetrack -- it’s straight up incredible,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a news release.

Public interest groups charged Tuesday that a Verizon plan to divide its unlimited offering into three separate plans raises net neutrality concerns. Verizon said it's now offering three different unlimited plans -- Go Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited and Business Unlimited. The groups said the plan shows why the FCC shouldn't roll back open internet rules approved two years ago under former Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1707180009).