What 5G will mean for smaller, rural carriers remains unclear. At the Competitive Carriers Association conference last week in Providence, Rhode Island, attendees told us there are more questions than answers. A recurring theme was members will concentrate for now on 4G LTE, which has a long runway ahead.

With rival estimates of cost and feasibility of fiber distribution to replace satellite C-band use before the FCC, experts told us there are issues about how fast such fiber could go up and about ongoing expenses. Being switched to fiber could force many small cable operators out of business, some fear.

After years of work, the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band appears ready to open for business, as early as next month, FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly told us. O’Rielly predicted an FCC decision soon on the C band, and said the agency may not need to review CBS' buy of Viacom. O’Rielly insisted relations have improved among commissioners.

While an FCC proposal is still taking shape, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is telling industry officials he wants at least 300 MHz of C-band spectrum allocated for 5G. Pai also appears to be leaning toward an FCC auction rather than a private sale to allocate the licenses, industry officials said. The C-Band Alliance plan for clearing the band has dominated discussions. Last week, the FCC took reply comments on alternate proposals (see 1908150042). Again, comments were sharply divided. Pai said last month the FCC should have “results to show” on the C band in the fall (see 1907050024). The FCC and CBA didn't comment.

AT&T hasn’t stated a position on T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint, but the company is pushing forward on 5G and ready to pick up customers who will inevitably leave the combined company, said Chief Financial Officer John Stephens at an Oppenheimer conference Tuesday. Stephens said there are many unknowns, including whether the states will prevail in their lawsuit to block the deal (see 1907260071). In 2011, AT&T tried but dropped plans to buy T-Mobile.

With DOJ's justification for approving T-Mobile/Sprint largely hinging on Dish Network's ability to become a national wireless player (see 1907260071), wireless industry watchers tell us that whether Dish can pull that off is a big question mark. "Wireless is a very tough business to get right -- many companies have tried and failed," said wireless analyst Jeff Kagan.

Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray dove deep on T-Mobile’s 5G spectrum strategy, during a call with analysts Friday as it got the federal antitrust nod to buy Sprint (see 1907260071). The goal is combining low-, mid- and high-band spectrum, he said: “That’s absolutely critical for the type of 5G service that customers can use on a ubiquitous basis. … You need all of those elements.” T-Mobile is mostly invested in the 24 GHz band but has built out 28 GHz licenses and is the first U.S. carrier with millimeter-wave coverage maps, he said. “You can absolutely use millimeter-wave where there are large concentrations of people, where the population exists,” but not to serve the whole country, Ray said. T-Mobile covers 150 million POPs with 600 MHz spectrum, up 50 percent in one quarter, he said. “We are going to bring large, very large-scale coverage on 5G to the U.S. this year, and nationwide as we move into 2020.” The company doesn’t “trash” viability of high-band spectrum, said CEO John Legere. “We have made fun of a millimeter-wave only strategy -- it won’t work.” High-band across the U.S. would cost $1.5 trillion to build, he said.

After a prolonged negotiation, DOJ reached agreement with T-Mobile/Sprint and Dish Network (see 1907260021). Justice got five attorneys general onboard from states that hadn't tried to block the multibillion dollar transaction. Industry officials said getting some support from states was important to the department and delayed an announcement by a day, though opposing states are expected to continue their lawsuit in federal court in New York. The California Public Utilities Commission also hasn't approved the deal. DOJ’s consent decree with the companies did little to mollify most critics.

T-Mobile/Sprint delayed an expected announcement (see 1907240062) of a deal with Dish Network Thursday. T-Mobile issued a news release less than an hour before a Q2 call with its CEO John Legere and others, saying the call was delayed. T-Mobile was ready to go and the holdup likely came from DOJ, which appears to be looking for state support, industry officials said. The deal with Dish was intended to address Justice interest in creating a fourth national wireless carrier to replace Sprint. Dish closed at $39.17, down 5.75 percent.

Qualcomm Technologies and Ericsson said they achieved the world’s first low-band 5G data session using a commercial modem. The test took place in in T-Mobile’s lab in Bellevue, Washington, using the 600 MHz band, the spectrum T-Mobile bought in the TV incentive auction and plans to use to deploy 5G nationwide. “This is a key step toward achieving our vision of 5G for All,” said Neville Ray, T-Mobile chief technology officer, Thursday. “If regulators approve our merger with Sprint, we’ll have the crucial mid-band spectrum and resources needed to supercharge our network and deliver broad AND deep, transformational 5G across the U.S.”