The FCC Wireless Bureau seeks comments by Sept. 21 on a petition for rulemaking filed by M2M Spectrum Networks to allow use of 900 MHz business/industrial/land transportation (B/ILT) channels to provide for-profit service to B/ILT eligibles, a public notice said. Replies are due Oct. 6, the notice said. Commenters that support permitting for-profit service to third-party B/ILT eligibles on 900 MHz B/ILT channels should discuss whether the proposed rule amendment is the best approach, or whether other or additional rule changes should be made, such as redesignating the 900 MHz B/ILT channels as general category channels, the notice said.

Agri-Valley Communications objects to the FCC's request to disclose numbering resource utilization and forecast reports and local number portability data as part of the transfer of licenses of AVC subsidiaries to AT&T, the company said in a filing in docket 15-181 (see 1508120048). The company doesn't want the information released to any person or entity under any circumstances, the filing said.

Cisco reported some progress in industry efforts to allow sharing of the 5850-5925 MHz band between unlicensed wireless users and automaker incumbents. Cisco updated FCC officials last week on its "proof of concept testing" to detect dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) devices that automakers are planning to deploy in the spectrum. "Cisco noted that its technology has been reliably able to listen for DSRC signals at a -95dBm level, which is the first step in ensuring that unlicensed users of the bands can detect DSRC," Cisco said in an ex parte filing posted Monday in FCC docket 13-49. "Lab work is proceeding to demonstrate that unlicensed use can be stopped when DSRC signals are present." Cisco said it believes "personal portable devices would likely require on-board mitigation capabilities."

Nokia representatives had a call with FCC officials to explain the company’s pursuit of changes to technical rules for the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 12-354. Nokia filed a petition for reconsideration on the rules in July. Among changes Nokia sought is a longer time period for devices using the band to stop operating or shift to another frequency if they detect the presence of a federal system also using the spectrum. Nokia said the rate at which configuration changes can be made “is generally proportional to the number of cells requiring reconfiguration.” A network with hundreds of cells would require far longer than 60 seconds, Nokia said, recommending the new time limit be set at 10 minutes. Nokia also recommended the rules impose maximum power limits based on only equivalent isotropically radiated power rather than both EIRP and conducted output power. Nokia also sought higher power limits to make more deployments “practical.”

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology sought comment on a waiver request by John Deere to permit the use of a TV white space (TVWS) device manufactured by Koos. Deere asked for a waiver to permit operation of fixed TVWS devices installed on non-fixed, off-road agricultural equipment, including tractors, self-propelled harvesting machines and sprayers, OET said Friday. “The TV white space device would transmit real-time crop and equipment data as the agricultural equipment moves across a field and share that data via radio links with other machines equipped with TV white space devices on the farmland and/or with the farmhouse,” OET said. “Deere requests that the devices installed on the farm equipment be permitted to operate at the higher power levels permitted for fixed equipment as opposed to the lower power levels required for personal/portable operation.” Comments are due Sept. 21, replies Oct. 6, in docket 15-184.

Consumer Watchdog asked the California Department of Motor Vehicles to amend its autonomous vehicle regulation to require police to investigate any crashes of robot cars being tested on public roads, a CW news release said Thursday. “Robot car accident reports are prepared and filed by the company doing the testing,” Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson wrote in a letter to DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. “Relying solely on the word of the testing company is not adequate to protect the legitimate public interest in ensuring robot cars are tested safely.” The DMV also should require any data and video gathered by a robot car before and during a crash to be provided to the department, CW said. After personally identifying information is redacted, the video and data should be released to the public, it said. CW has been criticizing Google over the safety of autonomous cars (see 1406110040), with the company saying it's open to releasing driverless car accident reports (see 1506030036).

TracFone General Counsel Richard Salzman said the carrier is concerned about the use of a voucher system and the proposed transfer of Lifeline eligibility verification to a third party in the FCC’s revised Lifeline rules, in a meeting with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 11-42. It said Salzman met with Clyburn at the Technology Policy Institute's Forum in Aspen, Colorado.

Wireless mic users “must prepare to dance a spectrum hokey-pokey to adjust to spectrum reductions [and] new operating rules” from the FCC, said Fletcher Heald lawyer Laura Stefani Wednesday on the firm’s blog. Broadcasters, professional wireless mic operators and frequency planners are all gearing up for Pope Francis’ September visit to the U.S., she said. “They’ve got to figure out how many wireless mics will be needed to stage, cover and record the various events … and then they’ve got to figure out how to coordinate the spectrum necessary to make sure all those mics serve their various purposes,” she said. “The FCC has just [made] their jobs even harder.” The FCC approved new wireless mic rules as part of a series of items approved at its Aug. 6 meeting (see 1508060050).

Sprint plans to “densify and increase” the number of cell sites on the 2.5 GHz, 1.9 GHz and 800 MHz spectrum it owns, Chief Technology Officer John Saw said in a blog post. “This will include adding thousands of new macro sites to expand coverage, and it will include a continued expansion of our 2.5 GHz LTE footprint,” Saw wrote. “As we continue to improve on our LTE coverage with techniques like carrier aggregation and beamforming, our customers in metro markets will soon see significantly improved data speeds and performance.” Sprint also plans to deploy “tens of thousands” of small cells, Saw said Tuesday. “Small cells offer a number of advantages, including increased capacity and more efficient throughput which enables customers to send and receive data at faster rates,” he said. “And they will allow us to add capacity in targeted high-traffic areas, as well as extend better service in hard to reach locations and indoor sites.” Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said Wednesday in a research note that the blog post is important to understanding Sprint’s strategy. “While this rollout will be more than the 3-5 markets that used to be spoken about -- we do believe S's strategy will be to go narrow and very deep in the metro US markets that show the highest data usage,” she wrote. “The focus will be more on fattening the capacity pipe in markets where this demand is being seen. Sprint's deep spectrum position puts it in a position to do this.”

Neil Cox, a technology executive from Illinois, and Edward Horowitz, a venture capitalist from New York, were named to the FirstNet board Wednesday by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. They replace Tim Bryan, CEO of the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, and Frank Plastina, a telecom executive from North Carolina, who didn't seek another term. Houston Mayor Annise Parker (D) and Kevin McGinnis, CEO of North East Mobile Health Services in Maine, got new three-year terms. Plastina served only a year on the board. Parker was named to the board a year ago. “I am confident that the FirstNet Board has the right mix of individuals with varied experiences in public safety, telecommunications, finance and state and local government to effectively oversee the FirstNet organization as it plans for the deployment of this historic network,” said NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. Monday, FirstNet said its board approved the hire of its first CEO, while moving the acting executive director to the new post of president (see 1508170033).