In US regulatory news, the Federal Communications Commission proposed to make 100 megahertz of mid-band spectrum in the 3.45-3.55 GHz band available for 5G deployment across the contiguous United States. The FCC also adopted an order that shifts most access charges for toll free or 8YY calls to a bill-and-keep system to address arbitrage and fraud undermining the intercarrier compensation system supporting toll free calling. This month, the agency also announced 386 qualified applicants for phase one of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund auction and adopted rules creating the 5G Fund for Rural America, which will distribute up to $9 billion over the next decade to bring 5G wireless broadband connectivity to rural America.

IoT News

SHV Energy chose IoT connectivity from Orange Business Services to deploy smart telemetry and meters on its gas tanks across Europe and the US. Orange also announced that it has been selected by Japan’s KDDI to provide a customized IoT platform for Japanese automotive manufacturers Toyota and Mazda. The platform will allow them to offer connected car capabilities in their vehicles sold across Europe. Schneider Electric and Orange announced the first deployment of indoor 5G in the industrial sector in France on experimental frequencies as part of a trial.

Senet announced that it has been issued two US patents for cloud-based IoT network architecture and advanced service delivery. The new patents are intended to protect the work Senet is doing to facilitate the deployment of flexible, cost-efficient, and targeted Low Power Wide Area Network connectivity to instrument the physical world in support of the rapidly growing IoT solutions market.

Nokia also announced that it has been selected by Philippines-based telecommunications and digital services company Smart, a subsidiary of PLDT, to launch IoT services nationwide.

Merger and acquisition news

Merger and acquisition activity in the broadband market remains robust in response to surging data traffic and demand, according to a new report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange that assesses the broadband investment market, including valuations, target companies, market catalysts, risks and the impact COVID-19 could have on new sources of government funding. And, last but not least, SAP announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Emarsys, a leading omnichannel customer engagement platform provider.

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