HTC is leading a global accelerator program called Vive X targeted at virtual reality startups, said the company Tuesday. The program is designed to support the VR ecosystem by providing expertise, access to advanced VR technology, financial backing, mentorship and go-to market support, HTC said. Vive X will launch in Beijing, Taipei and San Francisco and roll out to other worldwide hubs in the future, it said. Vive X will pilot next month in Beijing, when selected startups from around Asia are invited to apply for the program. Companies from any industry that are creating content, tools, applications and accessories for the VR ecosystem can apply, it said.

Global Tel*Link representatives laid out potential problems of managed access systems (MAS) in prisons, in a meeting with Nicholas Degani, aide to FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. The systems are one response to combating contraband cellphones, a Pai priority (see 1604070055). Managed access systems are “plagued by an overly complicated and lengthy process for licensing to operate in a non-commercial setting, and staggering costs to deploy and operate,” GTL said. “Depending on the size of the facility, the number of sites within a facility complex, the characterization of the surrounding geography from a topographical and urban versus rural standpoint, the architectural structure of the facility, and the ongoing system maintenance and software upgrades, costs to deploy can start at $1.5 million or more per customer. This does not include any of the regulatory costs for authority to operate such systems.” Funding is critical, the company said. “GTL suggested possible models for funding such as the E911 cost recovery mechanism or direct state efforts like those undertaken by the State of Maryland to deploy MAS at two facilities,” said the filing in docket 13-111.

Communicating in noisy and active environments was a key challenge during a test of an LTE public safety network at a rodeo in Houston, said a FirstNet blog post Tuesday. The test was done by Texas and Harris County, one of five “early builder” public safety LTE network projects. FirstNet has a spectrum manager lease agreement with each project to provide early access the public safety spectrum in the 700 MHz band. Public safety officials did the test at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at NRG Stadium. The March 1-20 event had about 2.48 million visitors, with 75,508 on the most-attended day. Festival noise was a challenge, said Lynn Bashaw, FirstNet director-network operations. “For example, voice communications were severely impacted during the concerts and in the carnival ride areas,” he said. “In addition, when responders are working an incident, they must be able to communicate without holding a device and selecting features. Much work remains to optimize the performance, usability, and reliability of these mobile devices and accessories for use in a noisy and active public safety environment.” For the test, multiple vendors provided more than 90 handheld mobile devices to about 60 users out of about 600 public safety staff, Bashaw said. Public safety used push-to-talk and situational awareness applications, as well as tethering to laptops, he said. Harris County hasn’t finished its Band 14 LTE network for public safety, so the team rolled out a cell on wheels with a 100-foot mast, and installed three Band 14 LTE nodes at key locations around the venue and two low-power nodes for in-building coverage inside the facility hosting the command center, he said.

The FCC needs to ask some key questions in an expected public notice to refresh the record on dedicated short-range communications systems in the 5.9 GHz band, said the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Association of Global Automakers and Cisco in meetings at the FCC. The FCC is examining sharing the band between Wi-Fi and dedicated DSRC systems aimed at preventing road accidents (see 1602050048). “Addressing questions such as whether a sharing proposal would require DSRC to use 20 MHz, as opposed to the current 10 MHz, channels is critical to developing a robust record that will allow the Commission to make well-reasoned decisions in this proceeding and allow stakeholders to plan effectively as a result,” the three said. “We discussed the potential consequences of the Commission’s recent decision to modify aspects of its 2014 decision to allow higher out-of-band emissions into the DSRC band from U-NII devices operating in the 5725-5850 MHz band,” the filing said. “Allowing higher OOBEs into the DSRC band from U-NII devices operating in the 5725-5850 MHz band will significantly increase the potential for harmful interference to DSRC operations.” The filing, in docket 13-49, reported on eighth-floor meetings with aides to the commissioners and with the Office of Engineering and Technology.

The Commerce Department reported on efforts to clear the AWS-3 band, in a first report released Tuesday. The department also updated clearance results for the AWS-1 band, sold by the FCC in a 2006 auction. Ten years later, work remains. All 12 federal agencies with operations in the AWS-1 bands said “they have ceased operations of their systems in the 1710-1755 MHz band, where required to do so, clearing the way for commercial licensees,” Commerce said. Six agencies -- the departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, Tennessee Valley Authority and Postal Service -- “completed their relocation efforts and achieved comparable capability of systems by relocating to new frequency assignments or by utilizing alternative technology.” Other agencies are still working with industry to clear spectrum, the report said. The Treasury Department said it expects to “achieve comparable capability in 2016 as it procures the necessary video surveillance equipment from the manufacturer,” Commerce said. The departments of Defense, Interior and Justice said "they now expect to complete efforts to achieve comparable capability in 2017,” Commerce said. Slowing progress were “various civil construction and contractor delays for the DOD, administrative delays for the DOJ, and obtaining enhanced security at specific locations for the DOI,” the report said. The departments of Energy and Homeland Security also expect to wrap up their moves in 2017, the report said. In 2015, the eligible federal agencies spent $138 million on the AWS-1 transition, with total expenditures so far of $1.3 billion, the report said. It warned that clearing the AWS-3 spectrum is expected to take almost a decade, without delays. “While it is early in the transition period, affected federal agencies report that they are adhering to the original approved transition timelines and cost estimates for the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands,” Commerce said. Last year, federal agencies spent $5.534 million to clear the 1695-1710 MHz band and $25.238 million to clear the 1755-1780 MHz band, the report said. “For the 1755-1780 MHz band, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Treasury, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States Capitol Police reported that they have transitioned from using the spectrum,” Commerce said. “Full transition from the spectrum for the remaining agencies is projected for 2025.” The record-setting AWS-3 auction ended in January 2015, after 341 bidding rounds, with almost $45 billion in provisionally winning bids (see 1501290059).

AT&T and Globecomm are jointly launching a new cellular/satellite connectivity network aimed at IoT applications, AT&T said in a release Monday. It said the joint network will have IoT devices operate on mobile data when a signal is available, and switch to satellite when cell service is unavailable. AT&T IoT Solutions Vice President Mike Troiano called it "a one-stop shop for IoT connectivity."

The FCC needs to move as quickly as possible to repack the broadcast band after the TV incentive auction, T-Mobile officials said in meetings at the FCC. The meetings, with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins, Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and others, also involved T-Mobile’s broader regulatory agenda, said the carrier in a filing in docket 14-28. “We discussed the importance of LTE-U, T-Mobile’s plans for testing the technology and the need for the Commission to ensure that testing and authorization of equipment is not unnecessarily delayed. We discussed T-Mobile’s interest in, and activities in support of, 5G technology and the need for the Commission to move forward with making spectrum available in the millimeter wave bands.”

An FCC draft order would address an application for review of a Wireline Bureau decision that denied a U.S. Cellular request for a waiver of a 2008 high-cost USF support filing deadline, said an agency spokesman Monday. He didn't say what action the draft order would take but noted the docket is 08-71. The FCC's list of items on circulation, which was updated Friday, indicated the draft order circulated among commissioners Tuesday. U.S. Cellular representatives didn't comment.

The FCC approved rules designed to guard against interference to public safety communications in the 800 MHz National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) band. The order confirms the emission mask for digital transmissions in the NPSPAC band. The FCC also specified analog FM as the standard emission for use on all interoperability channels in the spectrum. “We lessen the possibility that first responders will encounter harmful interference in the NPSPAC band and provide certainty to manufacturers concerning the capabilities required of radios used for interoperable communications,” the FCC said. It said the rule changes adopted “provide certainty to public safety entities, Regional Planning Committees (RPCs), equipment manufacturers and equipment testing laboratories and will ensure that licensed facilities operate under uniform technical parameters to maintain the existing interference environment in the NPSPAC band and promote interoperability.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly approved part of the order, but concurred on other parts because of concerns the FCC was imposing a technology mandate. The order mandates all public safety radios operating on the 800 MHz, VHF and UHF mutual aid and interoperability bands “must have analog FM capability,” he said. “While I understand the pursuit of interoperability on interoperability channels, industry, despite not having a technology requirement, has adopted FM analog as the de facto standard in these bands. Therefore, this requirement seems unnecessary.” O’Rielly said it was “ridiculous in today’s digital world to be requiring that devices have less efficient, analog technology.” O’Rielly also questioned whether the FCC is doing adequate cost-benefit analysis before handing down a mandate. “As long as the Commission continues to shirk its obligations, I reiterate my plea to stakeholders that they inform our analysis by providing data about the cost savings of their proposals or the possible costs of Commission rules,” he said. The report and order was approved by the commission last week and released Monday.

Acer unveiled a broad 2016 lineup of devices in New York as CEO Jason Chen ushered in the age of “Beingware,” part of the company’s transformation to next-generation electronics, in what Chen dubbed the “post-smartphone” era. Products include a cycling computer that will upload video clips, social media via app, a fitness tracker with double the battery life of previous trackers, and the $250 5.5-inch Liquid Zest Plus smartphone. The phone's 5000 mAh battery is said to last as long as two days. The Chromebook 15, Acer’s first under Google’s Chrome for Work initiative, is the first notebook PC to use customizable Vibrant Gorilla Glass, which Corning announced last week. Acer bowed what it called a portable desktop gaming PC that can handle virtual reality gaming. Acer is “ready for VR,” Chen said, saying the company is the only PC maker to support four VR standards.