Wireless Watch 634: The Path to 5G

Key Issues: The Path to 5G
5G standards work begins, but cellular players must fight for position 2

• 3GPP initiates 5G work, new and old firms play politics in study groups 3
• FCC promises 5G leadership, and cable will play a major role 5
• 5G is looming, but network innovations are needed far more urgently 8

Comment:

• Facebook F8: 10-year plan from AI Messenger to new RAN economics 12
• BlackBerry hardware future in doubt following phone death rumors 16
• Comcast hiring cellular team, but its timing may be off 18
• UK’s broadband players on tenterhooks as Hutchison/O2 row continues 20
• Indian operators seek to pre-empt Jio, but Telenor set to exit 23

M&A Watch:
Bosch joins Amazon and Microsoft in talks for Here stake 24
IoT Watch:
Sigfox expands in Middle East and Australia, LoRa in Europe 26
Mobile Apps and Content:
Apple finally set to bring WebRTC to Safari WebKit 28
WiFi Watch:
Scratch stops selling to new users – storm clouds ahead for WiFi-first? 29
Operator Watch:
Verizon looks to virtualization and IoT to boost wholesale revenues 30
Devices and Components:
OpenPower ahead of Qualcomm in bid for Google’s server favors 32