T-Mobile representatives made their case for spectrum aggregation limits in the TV incentive auction, in a meeting with acting FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman. “The participants discussed the need for spectrum-aggregation limits, including the potential for weighting holdings in different bands to account for varying performance and competitive attributes associated with different frequencies,” said an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1hTMBSA). “The participants primarily focused on the differences between above- and below-1 GHz spectrum that are well established in the record."
Many industry comments on an FCC proposal to change its wireless tower siting rules, partly in response to the 2010 spectrum law, are “problematic,” said a filing by numerous cities and local government organizations (http://bit.ly/1oxdRr3). The wireless industry is seeking changes that would streamline rules, particularly for distributed antenna systems and small cells (CD March 7 p1). “Some commenters would allow local governments to protect against safety hazards recognized in particular ordinances (building codes) yet would mandate that local governments ignore safety hazards addressed elsewhere,” the cities said. “They also would apply Section 6409(a) [of the spectrum law] much more broadly than the statute permits, and call for a Section 6409(a) enforcement scheme that would present serious constitutional problems.” Comments show “near unanimity that Section 6409(a) does not apply to a state or local government acting in a proprietary capacity, and no comment demonstrates a need for the Commission to attempt to define what is and is not proprietary,” the filing said. The local governments also said “adopting the Commission’s proposed rules in their current form would have major adverse consequences for public safety, the environment, historical structures, and local communities -- consequences that Congress could not have intended. Although the industry’s comments seem to recognize that the proposed rules, read literally, would go too far, the industry’s solutions still result in many of the same problems.”
Unlicensed spectrum touches everyone’s life, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Friday, in remarks to Wi-Fi Forward, a group pressing for greater unlicensed use of the 5 GHz band. Rosenworcel noted estimates that residential Wi-Fi contributes $16-$37 billion to the U.S. economy every year. “It might have been the shiny new tablet or laptop you used to go online with Wi-Fi this morning,” Rosenworcel said. “Or maybe it was the old cordless phone you dusted off to make a quick call. It could have been the baby monitor you used overnight, or the television remote control you took in hand to turn on the news after you woke. Or perhaps it was the remote control you pressed to get out of the garage for your commute to work. It could have been the traffic application you checked on your smartphone before hitting the road. And it could have been the errand you ran at the store along the way, where RFID sensors help keep what you want on shelves and what you need in stock.” “Good spectrum policy” dictates that the U.S. allow for unlicensed and licensed spectrum to flourish, she said. Rosenworcel noted that she had just attended the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. “I was able to speak to representatives of the wireless industry from across the globe,” she said. “I got a good look at the future -- and I saw wireless technologies that amaze. Cars that warn you even before they break down. Wearables that monitor your health down to the microsecond. Systems that monitor crops and predict problems with livestock. These devices do not rely on a single spectrum band to function. Instead, they overcome spectral and physical challenges by moving from frequency to frequency, sometimes on spectrum that is licensed and sometimes on spectrum that is unlicensed.” Rosenworcel said she is supportive of an FCC order, teed up for the March 31 commission meeting, that would allow unlicensed use of the 5.1 GHz band, also known as the Unlicensed-National Information Infrastructure-1 (U-NII-1) band, harmonized with rules in place for other 5 GHz spectrum. “We can take the flexible Wi-Fi rules that have already been the script for an unlicensed success story in the 5.725-5.825 GHz band and expand them to the 5.15-5.25 GHz band,” she said. “If we do, we could effectively double unlicensed bandwidth in the 5 GHz band overnight. That will mean more unlicensed service -- and less congestion on licensed wireless networks."
Annual mobile app revenue in North America will exceed $27 billion by 2018, Parks Associates said Thursday. That rise in annual revenue will come mainly from in-app purchases and in-app advertising revenue, the research firm said. Mobile apps are also “transforming all aspects of the connected home, and the app in a smart home system will be prime real estate for communicating with subscribers and promoting new services and features,” said Parks President Stuart Sikes. Between 57 percent and 73 percent of likely smart home buyers are interested in purchasing upgrades or additional equipment through their smart home system app, the firm said.
The FCC would prefer that Sprint not propose a buy of T-Mobile, Credit Suisse analysts said in a research note Thursday, based on a “field trip” to meet with agency officials. “Our read is that the commission, or at least the majority, would rather not have to evaluate a potential transaction like Sprint/T-Mobile,” Credit Suisse said. “While the Democrat officers seemed quite satisfied with the current state of wireless competition, they were clear that any deal brought in front of them would get a fair evaluation and would be judged on its merits. The burden would seem to fall on the involved parties to convince the commission that it would be beneficial for consumers.”
New rules for level probing radars (LPRs) go into effect April 7. They were published Thursday in the Federal Register. The revised rules cover low-power radars that operate on an unlicensed basis in the 5.925-7.250, 24.05-29.00 and 75-85 GHz bands (http://1.usa.gov/NBTfmi).
AT&T will “probably” be able to close its buyout of Leap Wireless this month, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Thursday at a Morgan Stanley investor conference. The carriers are awaiting FCC approval of the deal, which industry observers say is likely to occur soon (CD March 4 p2). AT&T plans to bring Leap’s Cricket prepaid service nationwide “overnight” once the deal closes, Stephenson said. “We are going to be fairly aggressive here.” AT&T has said it will fold its existing Aio Wireless prepaid service into Leap’s Cricket service post-buyout. Leap’s AWS spectrum, meanwhile, “will pair very nicely with the Aloha transaction we just announced end of last year,” Stephenson said. “So we've got a very nice footprint at the AWS level.” AT&T said in January they would buy 49 AWS-1 licenses from Aloha Partners (CD Jan 8 p10). AT&T reported in two ex parte filings on additional discussions with FCC staff about the proposed deal. “In particular, we discussed rate plans that AT&T intends to offer upon launch of the New Cricket; AT&T’s spectrum holdings in various [markets]; AT&T’s LTE deployment; and AT&T’s plans to deploy Leap’s AWS and PCS spectrum to enhance AT&T’s LTE network,” said one of the filings (http://bit.ly/1cFOKNe). A second discussion focused on “Leap’s indirect, minority ownership interest in Flat Wireless,” a filing said (http://bit.ly/1gVzOx9).
The FCC set a comment deadline of April 4 on a rulemaking notice asking how the agency can ensure that wireless calls to 911 provide accurate location information to dispatchers. Replies are due May 5. The FCC approved the NPRM at its February meeting (CD Feb 21 p1). The comment deadline was set in a notice published in the Federal Register Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/1q6BF8S). The FCC “seeks comment on a proposed timeframe and several aspects of implementation of text-to-911 service, particularly relating to the technical ability of interconnected text providers to comply with a text-to-911 mandate,” the notice said. “Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on a proposal that text-to-911 capability should be made available by all text providers no later than December 31, 2014, and should be provided within a reasonable time after a [public safety answering point] has made a valid request for service, not to exceed six months.” The commission also asks for comments “on several issues that we anticipate will be part of the long-term evolution of text-to-911, though it does not propose to require their implementation by a date certain,” the notice said. Written comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act proposed information collection requirements are due at the Office of Management and Budget May 5, the FCC said.
SureCall, formerly Cellphone-Mate, said Wednesday its Flex2Go cellular booster kit for vehicles was certified by the FCC under the commission’s new cell booster standards. Flex2Go is the company’s first product to receive this FCC certification, SureCall said (http://bit.ly/1eWOyxW).
The FCC should move forward on real-party-in-interest disclosure requirements for all rulemaking proceedings as part of broader process reform, T-Mobile representatives said in meetings at the agency. “Requiring participants in rulemaking proceedings to disclose all real parties-in-interest will increase transparency, enhance accountability, and improve decision-making in proceedings before the Commission,” T-Mobile said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1f8SerJ). Representatives of the carrier met with David Goldman, aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel; Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly; and Diane Cornell, special counsel to Chairman Tom Wheeler.