A North Carolina jury's conviction of a prison inmate of using a contraband cellphone to order the kidnapping of a prosecutor’s father shows why the FCC needs to act, Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a statement Wednesday. Kevin Melton, a leader in the United Blood Nation gang, “coordinated the abduction by sending more than 120 text messages and placing numerous phone calls to gang members from the Polk Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina,” Pai said. “This horrific incident is just one example of how innocent Americans across our country are being victimized by prison inmates using contraband cellphones. And it highlights the need for the FCC to take immediate action to combat this problem.” Pai has highlighted the issue repeatedly, including at a field hearing in South Carolina in April (see 1604060058).

Global revenue from automotive telematics systems will grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 19 percent, to $4.2 billion by the end of 2021, IHS said in a Tuesday forecast. CE-based telematic solutions will make up nearly 30 percent of the market in 2021, IHS said. “Currently, CE telematics leads the global automotive telematics market since it is a relatively low-cost solution and available in a wide range of vehicles,” it said. “More cars of the future will feature multiple connections for a variety of applications and services.” The telematics supply chain “will see amazing growth and innovation through the end of the decade, as more vehicles debut new connected solutions that make use of embedded modules, while at the same time enabling consumers to fully leverage their mobile devices,” IHS said. Telematics systems “are a major factor in changing the automobile from a collection of analog control systems to a fully networked and connected digital car, where software-defined functionality can be remotely changed, corrected and updated,” it said. “Telematics systems also add connectivity-based applications that make the average car safer and more fuel efficient, as well as help to correct common driver errors. As a result, telematics can bring many benefits to various parties including consumers, auto manufacturers, dealers, communities, and more.”

The FCC Enforcement Bureau approved a consent decree resolving its investigation of whether Icom America imported and sold marine radios in the U.S. that didn't include required public safety features. The rules require marine radios to “include the full range of features recommended by the Radiocommunication Sector of the International Telecommunication Union to enhance emergency and safety-of-life communications from and between maritime vessels,” the bureau said in an order. Icom “admits that, by failing to include these features, its radios did not comply with the Commission’s rules,” the bureau said. Icom agreed to pay a $20,000 civil penalty and implement a compliance plan to prevent future violations, the bureau said. Icom didn't comment.

The FCC should keep carriers from buying up licenses for all high-frequency spectrum it will make available, just as it imposes restrictions in other bands, T-Mobile said in a filing. But the company said the FCC need not add the high-band spectrum in the current mobile broadband spectrum screen. T-Mobile reported on a meeting with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology in a filing in docket 14-177. “The higher frequency and large bandwidth of the spectrum under consideration in this proceeding will provide greater capacity over a smaller cell compared to lower bands and warrants a screen to help ensure a competitive environment,” T-Mobile said. “However, given the relatively large amount of high-band spectrum under consideration, including millimeter wave spectrum in an overall mobile broadband screen will inappropriately skew aggregation metrics for lower bands, allowing licensees to aggregate a large amount of low- or mid-band spectrum without triggering a screen diluted by including over three gigahertz of high-band spectrum.” T-Mobile said it favors larger license sizes than the county-based licensing proposed by the FCC.

The FCC will provide the opportunity for a single practice auction and hold one mock auction before the forward part of the TV incentive auction, the Incentive Auction Task Force and Wireless Bureau said in a public notice in docket 12-268 Tuesday. More information will be released in a notice after the July 1 deadline for receipt of upfront payments, the PN said. “The practice and mock auctions will allow qualified bidders to become familiar with the Auction System and to ask Commission auction and technical support staff questions about the system and auction conduct,” it said. “The Task Force and Bureau strongly recommend that all qualified bidders participate in the practice and mock auctions for the forward auction.” The practice sessions will start no earlier than 15 business days after release of the qualified bidders PN, the FCC said. “To allow qualified bidders to experience the transition to the spectrum reserve split … we will set a hypothetical benchmark price and hypothetical clearing costs at a relatively low amount, which will ensure satisfaction of a hypothetical final stage rule within a few rounds of bidding,” the FCC said. “After the split has occurred, bidding will continue for at least one round to allow bidders to familiarize themselves with bidding after the split.”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and staff met with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich and others at the company’s headquarters in Santa Clara, California, last week to discuss high-frequency spectrum, said a filing posted Saturday in docket 14-177. “Intel representatives restated many of the positions set out in Intel’s comment and reply comment filed in the above referenced proceeding. In particular, they voiced strong support for expeditious action on the FCC’s proposed 5G mmWave allocations, emphasizing that granting 5G full access to the 28, 37-40 and 64-71 GHz bands would spur development in the U.S and other countries.”

CTIA and some members took their opposition to too much experimentation in high-frequency spectrum to the FCC (see 1606170050). The association reported on a meeting with staff from the Wireless and International bureaus and Office of Engineering and Technology. “Given the importance of these bands to support next-generation wireless products and services, as well as the nascence of the technologies at issue, the Commission should not undermine innovation by adopting unproven sharing frameworks for these bands,” CTIA said in a Monday filing in docket 14-177. “Such regulatory experiments have the potential to introduce uncertainty and prevent licensees from using their spectrum when and where they need it.” AT&T, Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung and Sprint were represented at the meeting.

The FCC should “provide flexibility for wireless providers and equipment manufacturers to develop and implement the necessary network and handset standards and capabilities to support" the transition from the text telephone (TTY) technology to real-time text (RTT), CTIA said during a panel at the M-Enabling Summit in Arlington, Virginia, recounted a filing posted Friday in docket 16-145. As deaf, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired consumers “increasingly adopt innovative wireless services, including Text-To-911, CTIA said it supports the Commission affirming the wireless industry’s ability to transition toward solutions like real-time, which may better meet the needs of today’s consumers." The FCC approved an NPRM on the transition at its April 28 meeting (see 1604280055).

The Obama administration is about halfway to meeting its target of providing 500 megahertz of additional spectrum for broadband in 10 years, said an interim progress report released by NTIA Friday. It covers FY 2015, which ended Sept. 30. The 245 MHz of spectrum repositioned for wireless broadband is exactly the same figure offered by NTIA a year ago in a blog post by Associate Administrator Paige Atkins (see 1507080035). Activities since the last progress report in July 2015 “have focused on making spectrum already studied available for commercial wireless services, and on continuing studies of additional spectrum toward meeting our 500 megahertz goal,” the report said. NTIA lists 140 megahertz of spectrum from federal or shared bands and 105 megahertz from non-federal bands. The administration set the 10-year target in 2010.

The FCC should impose simple licensing rules for high-frequency bands targeted for 5G, said CTIA President Meredith Baker and executives from Verizon and T-Mobile on a CTIA video released Friday. “For us to succeed, we’re going to need simple rules,” Baker says on the video. “It’s not time to experiment with new spectrum sharing.” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler promised in May the FCC will vote on final rules opening some high-frequency bands for 5G at its July meeting (see 1605030056). New America’s Open Technology Institute and Public Knowledge, in particular, argued the agency should extend sharing rules developed for the 3.5 GHz band to some of the spectrum the agency is examining for 5G (see 1603010017). The 44-second video was posted on YouTube.