Apple settled an FTC complaint that the company let children spend millions of dollars on in-app purchases without parental consent, said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez during a Wednesday news conference. CEO Tim Cook said the complaint “smacked of double jeopardy” since the company had already faced a civil lawsuit over the issue and taken steps to address it. Industry representatives said in interviews that the FTC’s actions simply push Apple to adhere to existing industry best practices. But privacy advocates and some lawmakers applauded the action, saying it raised awareness about a growing issue of concern as children spend more time with mobile apps.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler backs a draft proposal to authorize cellphone use on airplanes in-flight, in prepared testimony for a Thursday House Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing. “I do not want the person in the seat next to me yapping at 35,000 feet any more than anyone else,” Wheeler plans to tell Congress (http://1.usa.gov/1bWwJOQ). “But we are not the Federal Courtesy Commission.”

The FCC established a pleading schedule Wednesday on Verizon Wireless’s proposed buy of AWS-1 licenses from Stelera Wireless, which filed for Chapter 11 bamkruptcy relief in July. The deal would give Verizon 10-40 megahertz of spectrum in 114 counties covering parts or all of 19 cellular market areas in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and Texas, the Wireless Bureau said. “Post- transaction, Verizon Wireless would hold 87-132 megahertz of spectrum in these CMAs, 20-50 megahertz of which is AWS-1 spectrum,” said a public notice (http://bit.ly/1aq6QDH). “According to the Applicants, the proposed assignments will serve the public interest because they will provide Verizon Wireless with additional spectrum capacity, which will enable it to meet the demands of its customers for Long-Term Evolution in the markets.” Petitions to deny are due Nov. 27, oppositions Dec. 9 and replies Dec. 16.

NAB views reply comments by CTIA on proposed rules for an auction of AWS-3 spectrum as all the assurance it needs CTIA is no longer pushing to reallocate 15 MHz of Broadcast Auxiliary Service spectrum for wireless broadband, Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan told us Tuesday. As a result, broadcaster discussions with the Department of Defense on possible sharing in the BAS band are back on, Kaplan said.

Beleaguered Alaskan telco Adak Eagle Enterprises, whose requests for waiver of the FCC’s new Universal Service Fund rules have been roundly denied by the Wireline and Wireless bureaus (CD July 17 p14), pleaded with the commission to reconsider. In a filing Wednesday the company and subsidiary Windy City Cellular characterized themselves as “tiny companies that worked tirelessly against the odds” to offer phone service in the Alaskan wilderness “when no one else would” (http://bit.ly/1hcWStf). They urged the agency to stop its ceaseless requests for more supplemental information, which have ravaged the carriers: “The FCC is now on the verge of completely destroying the companies.” The Alaskan congressional delegation sent a letter to acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn last week warning of the harm that could befall the Adak community if the commission lets its decision stand.

There’s no stopping the transition to IP-enabled services, and the FCC needs to step up its game, AT&T Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs James Cicconi plans to tell the House Communications Subcommittee Wednesday. According to written testimony (http://1.usa.gov/16sWLlM), he will emphasize consumer demand for wireless and IP-enabled services, which he will tie to the virtues of the IP transition that AT&T has urged the FCC to focus on. Stakeholders will debate before the subcommittee what principles and timeline should accompany this transition.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Telecommunications Services approved the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials’ solution to “electronically triage” emergency medical dispatch (EMD) calls, said Smart Horizons and APCO in a news release Wednesday (http://yhoo.it/1fZZEUu). It said APCO’s 9-1-1 Adviser, developed in partnership with Smart Horizons, will serve public safety answering points in the state with EMD, law enforcement, fire and missing and exploited children guidecard sets.

Wireless carriers urged the FCC to proceed with caution as it considers rules requiring better location accuracy for 911 calls coming from wireless devices indoors. The carriers, responding to a Sept. 9 FCC public notice, said they have a good track record of trying to make call location as accurate as possible. An FCC workshop on the topic is slated for Wednesday. Public safety groups want the FCC to take more steps to require better indoor reliability for wireless calls to 911 (CD Sept 26 p19).

The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials urged the FCC to act to improve location accuracy for wireless calls to 911, in response to Sept. 9 FCC public notice. The issue is the topic of an Oct. 2 workshop at the commission. “APCO has frequently urged the Commission, wireless carriers, and location technology providers that improvements must be made in location accuracy for 9-1-1 calls made from indoor locations,” the group said, saying it plans to take part in the Oct. 2 workshop. “More and more American homes are ‘cutting the cord’ and relying exclusively on wireless devices for all of their voice communications. Recent data suggests that nearly a third of U.S. households may no longer have wireline service.” The “predominant” technology for most of the calls is Assisted GPS (A-GPS) APCO said (http://bit.ly/18q16aO). “However, as the technology implies, A-GPS relies in large part on having direct line-of-sight for GPS signals, which do not penetrate buildings well in most cases,” the group said. “Thus, it is indisputable that a wireless 9-1-1 call from an indoor location will generally provide significantly less accurate location information than a call from an outdoor location.” The International Association of Chiefs of Police (http://bit.ly/1bGg95g) said the commission’s Communication Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council has looked at “evolving indoor location accuracy technologies,” which “represent a significant advancement and offers consumers and first responders a valuable tool to improve the capabilities of our nation’s public safety system.” The International Association of Fire Chiefs said it’s time for the FCC to update its wireless location accuracy rules. “Currently, the FCC’s rules establish an automated location information and accuracy standard for PSAP calls and contacts, including those initiated using wireless handsets outdoors, but not for wireless calls initiated indoors,” the group said (http://bit.ly/17139nd). “The majority of emergency calls placed to Emergency 911 are made from indoors and large and growing shares of emergency calls are made from wireless communication devices."

Nearly six weeks after the FCC voted 2-1 to reduce interstate prison calling rates (CD Aug 12 p1), the text of the order hasn’t been released. A decade after a Washington, D.C., grandmother asked the commission to lower rates to prisons, the industry continues to wait. Prison phone providers and prisoners’ rights groups say they can do little but speculate -- and worry. Prisoners and their families worry about continued injustices as they decide between talking to a loved one and paying the rent. Prisoners’ rights attorneys are waiting for federal leadership to help guide state commissions on their own intrastate ratemaking. And the nation’s No. 2 U.S. inmate calling service provider carries on uneasily, fearing federal overreach and preparing to file a lawsuit against the commission.