The FCC should consider raising to 25 percent the 15 percent bidding credit for small carriers proposed by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler as part of designated entity (DE) rules set for a vote at the July 16 FCC meeting (see 1506250057), representatives of the Rural-26 DE Coalition told aides to Wheeler. Among those at the meeting was Michael Hagg, CEO of Horry Telephone Co-op, said a filing in docket 12-268. The proposed 15 percent credit “still gives spectrum speculators with shell DEs backed by deep-pocketed companies a financial advantage over legitimate facilities-based small telecommunications providers,” the coalition said. “In order to level the playing field, and reduce the incentive for arbitrage and abuse, Rural-26 urged the Commission to adopt a 25 percent non-revenue-based rural communications company bidding credit in addition to a 25 percent revenue-based small business bidding credit.” Equal, noncumulative bidding credits would “close the gap between large and small auction participants and further the comprehensive goal to minimize opportunities to abuse the DE program,” the group said.

The Competitive Carriers Association, joined by Dish Network, Sprint and T-Mobile, met with FCC Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Mike O’Rielly to explain why the FCC should mandate a 40 MHz spectrum reserve, or 50 percent of what is auctioned, as it takes up incentive auction rules. The reserve spectrum is set aside for carriers without significant low-band holdings in a particular market. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed instead that the rules keep the 30 MHz reserve approved by the FCC last year (see 1506250057). “The spectrum reserve is the only competitive safeguard still under consideration to prevent AT&T and Verizon from using the 600 MHz auction to further consolidate their already considerable low-band spectrum holdings,” said a filing by the competitive carriers in docket 12-268. “In addition, AT&T or Verizon are reserve eligible in most of the country, including 74 percent of the nation’s geography and 40 percent of the [POPs].” CCA supports any proposal that would address concerns about the current trigger for determining when the reserve kicks in, CCA said. The currently proposed trigger “opens opportunities for gaming if the Commission pursues high clearing targets -- with attendant high clearing costs -- at the outset of the auction, but later falls back to a lower clearing target with lower clearing costs during a subsequent round,” CCA said.

Time Warner Cable must pay a Texas woman $229,500 for 153 automated calls it made to Araceli King's cellphone number meant for someone else, said a Tuesday decision from the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The calls started in July 2013 and continued until August 2014, several months after King filed the lawsuit against TWC, said Jenny DeFrancisco, of Lemberg Law in Connecticut. More than 70 calls were placed after the lawsuit was filed, which the decision said are "particularly egregious violations of the TCPA [Telephone Consumer Protection Act] and indicate TWC simply did not take this lawsuit seriously." The FCC adopted a proposal to protect consumers against unwanted robocalls and spam texts less than a month ago (see 1506180046). One section of the proposal said reassigned numbers aren't loopholes in the law; if a phone number has been reassigned, companies must stop calling the number after one call, said the FCC. Lawyers for TWC said they're reviewing the decision before determining how to proceed and therefore didn't offer a comment Wednesday. DeFrancisco said her firm frequently represents consumers in TCPA cases, especially in the past few years when technology has gotten more sophisticated. While she is not sure if the decision will necessarily deter other companies from doing the same thing, DeFrancisco said she hopes it helps. "There's plenty of class-action suits out there for violations of this statute," she said. "We're hopeful that [the FCC's changes are] going to strengthen the consumers position under this statute. ... I think it's a great day to be a consumer -- it's really a great decision."

The Nuclear Energy Institute and some of its big members met with aides to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to discuss the uncertainty about Telex equipment used in nuclear power plants, given the pending TV incentive auction. The Telex equipment uses TV spectrum, they said in an ex parte filing in docket 12-268. “The representatives emphasized the special challenges nuclear plants continue to face when providing reliable communications services inside and around nuclear plants’ containment buildings, and the ability of Telex equipment to provide clear, hands-free communications,” the filing said. Nuclear operators have looked into more than 30 alternatives to Telex equipment in various bands and none proved viable, the nuclear representatives said. “Until suitable alternatives can be developed and tested, the plants will need to use Telex equipment that is highly effective, reliable, reduces worker exposure to radiation and generally improves safe operation of nuclear plants,” they said. “The representatives explained that because there are only 99 nuclear plants at 62 locations around the country, the plants do not comprise a large enough market for manufacturers to develop comparable equipment in other bands just for their needs.”

AT&T offered insights into its LTE buildout strategy in a letter filed at the FCC. AT&T said it decided to “unredact” information in a previous filing on various proposed spectrum transactions, including its buy of lower 700 MHz band licenses in California from Club 42 (see 1506030033). AT&T “typically” launches LTE in a 5 x 5 MHz configuration where only a single 12 MHz block of lower 700 MHz B or C block spectrum is available, “and will launch LTE in a 10 x 10 MHz configuration in areas where both the Lower 700 MHz B and C Blocks are available,” AT&T said. Where lower 700 MHz spectrum is available and has been deployed for LTE, “AT&T will deploy AWS-1 spectrum to provide additional LTE capacity,” it said. “AT&T also has deployed LTE on cellular and PCS spectrum in a few places. Where Lower 700 MHz spectrum is not available, AT&T’s initial LTE deployments will use AWS-1 spectrum and/or other spectrum bands. This spectrum deployment strategy may vary in individual areas based on the spectrum holdings and other local variables.” AT&T made the filing Tuesday in a number of dockets, including 14-145.

The FCC released an order Wednesday making changes to its Part 5 Experimental Radio Service (ERS) rules, which were updated in a May 2013 order. The FCC agreed to modify the rules, “consistent with past practice,” to allow conventional ERS licensees and compliance testing licensees to use the bands exclusively allocated to the passive services in limited circumstances. The FCC also decided some cost recovery is allowed for the testing and operation of experimental medical devices in clinical medical trials that take place under the agency’s market trial rules, and added a definition of “emergency notification providers” to the rules to clarify that all participants in the Emergency Alert System (EAS) are such providers. But the agency declined to expand the eligibility for medical testing licenses. Medical device maker Medtronic had asked the FCC to expand the definition beyond healthcare facilities of who's eligible for a medical testing license. “In particular, Medtronic argues that expanding the eligibility to device manufacturers would level the playing field under the rules since the line between device manufacturers and health care facilities is blurring as healthcare providers are among those who develop medical devices,” the agency said. The FCC said it considered this request but found “good reason” to deny it. “The Commission limited the eligibility and scope of a medical testing license to hospitals and health care institutions to address their particular needs in conducting multiple clinical trials, both within their institutions and at defined geographic areas beyond their facilities that will be monitored by the licensee,” the agency said. “The Commission’s primary concern in authorizing experimentation with [radio frequency] RF devices is to ensure that the devices do not cause harmful interference to authorized users of the spectrum and that the devices do not enter into commerce prior to Commission certification,” the agency said. “A Part 5 licensee is the party that we hold responsible for the proper operation of the experimental RF devices to avoid harmful interference to authorized spectrum users and to take corrective action as necessary.” Expanding eligibility to hold a license could “create confusion in determining who is responsible for the proper operation of the experimental RF devices to avoid harmful interference to other spectrum users and to take corrective action as necessary,” the FCC said. Companies like Medtronic still have other options, including obtaining a conventional experimental license to conduct a test, the agency said. Medtronic asked the FCC to change the rules in a 2013 petition. In restricting who's eligible, the FCC is out of sync with Food and Drug Administration rules, the company said. “By barring a significant portion of the medical community involved in clinical trials from obtaining medical testing licenses, the ERS Order reflects a misunderstanding of the process of medical device development, arbitrarily imposes additional costs and burdens on entities that sponsor or conduct clinical trials but do not meet the Commission’s narrow definition of ‘health care facility,’ and discourages the very innovation it seeks to encourage,” Medtronic said at the time.

The Obama administration is almost halfway to meeting its target of providing 500 MHz of additional spectrum for broadband in 10 years, NTIA Associate Administrator Paige Atkins said Wednesday in a blog post. The target was set in 2010. “I’m happy to report that we are making steady progress toward meeting the President’s 500 megahertz goal,” Atkins wrote. “In the last five years, NTIA and the FCC have repurposed 245 megahertz of spectrum that will enable the deployment of licensed and unlicensed broadband technologies.” Atkins included among the administration’s accomplishments the spectrum sold in the AWS-3 auction and the 3.5 GHz shared spectrum band. “While we’re on track to achieve the President’s goal, we recognize there is still much work to do,” she said. “The next opportunity to generate additional spectrum for wireless broadband will come early next year with the FCC’s planned launch of the first-ever spectrum incentive auction.” Finding spectrum for broadband is “a process that only increases in difficulty,” she said. “However, we are confident that our recent collaborative efforts have laid a foundation for us to build upon and charted a course for producing additional success stories.” NTIA “is a bit aggressive in its accounting,” CTIA Executive Vice President Brad Gillen said in an emailed response. “For example, it’s premature to count the 3.5 GHz spectrum given the substantial questions that still remain about the framework for its use,” Gillen said. He also questioned whether the 10 MHz of Wireless Communications Service guard band can be counted for broadband use. “None of that takes away from the Administration’s significant efforts to get as far as we have in five years,” he said. “It is undeniable that NTIA has been instrumental in making valuable finite spectrum available for commercial wireless service providers."

The TV incentive auction will require “entirely new bidding software, as well as the release of new file formats, sample data, and other information to potential bidders” and the FCC needs to provide as much information as possible to potential bidders, Verizon officials said in a meeting with FCC officials. The information should be made available as early as possible and in as much detail as possible, Verizon said: “We also noted the benefits to potential bidders and the Commission of holding multiple bidding seminars and providing detailed information early on, well before applications are due.” Verizon on Tuesday filed a notice on the meeting in docket 12-268.

T-Mobile representatives cautioned about an FCC proposal to put the brakes on joint bidding arrangements in the TV incentive auction (see 1506250057). FCC Wireless Bureau staff “explained their recommendations … to limit joint bidding arrangements among nationwide carriers as well as among nationwide and non-nationwide carriers in the upcoming 600 MHz auction,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 14-170. “T-Mobile cautioned against adoption of overly broad and ambiguous joint bidding restrictions that could have unintended negative consequences for a robust auction by limiting the ability of smaller bidders to raise capital against well-heeled dominant carriers.”

Sprint’s decision last week to remove the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video, in response to customer complaints (see 1507010011), shows the market works, said Gus Hurwitz of the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy, in a blog post. But Hurwitz questioned whether Sprint’s proposal was really better for consumers than AT&T's and Verizon’s attempts to control use of their networks. “On its face, Sprint’s policy seems fairer,” he wrote. “It applies to everyone, and it’s a simple, bright-line rule. Verizon and AT&T’s plans, on the other hand, are unpredictable and target only specific users under specific conditions. From another perspective, however, Sprint’s rule merely harms everyone equally. AT&T and Verizon’s rules are permissive: they allow users access to as much bandwidth as is available, so long as it doesn’t harm other users by slowing down the network for others.” But the FCC has clamped down on both AT&T and Verizon for their policies, including a proposed $100 million fine against AT&T, Hurwitz said.