Sprint removed the 600 kbps limit on video streaming for its new "All-in" wireless plan in response to customer feedback, it said in a news release Tuesday. "We heard you loud and clear, and we are removing the 600 kbps limitation on streaming video," said CEO Marcelo Claure.

T-Mobile asked the FCC to modify TV incentive auction rules to provide an additional “trigger” under which “reserve” spectrum would be set aside for carriers without significant low-band spectrum in a market. Currently, the auction would have a two-stage trigger. The first occurs when proceeds in the top 40 partial economic areas (PEAs) exceed an average price of $1.25 MHz/POP, T-Mobile said, the second when the forward auction raises enough money to reimburse all broadcasters that surrender their spectrum and cover other remaining auction expenses, such as repacking. T-Mobile proposed a third trigger, which it describes as “simple fix” to guarantee that competitive carriers stay in the auction. Under the carrier's proposal, the first trigger remains the same but the second would be changed to offer an alternative mechanism -- also triggering the reserve when auction prices reach an average of $2 per MHz/POP in the top 40 PEAs. “The risk of the second trigger is that high clearing costs in the early rounds of bidding under a high clearing target create a ‘hangover effect’ for subsequent stages of the auction,” T-Mobile said in a filing posted Wednesday to docket 14-252. “If the initial spectrum-clearing target is high, the cost of clearing broadcast stations will be high, too. And if early-round bidding approaches, but does not reach, the reserve-creating trigger, those high bids will still hang over all subsequent stages of the auction even though the amount of spectrum available is less than in the initial stages.”

PCIA used its comments on the FCC’s pending wireless competition report to warn that federal, state and local obstacles to deploying wireless facilities remain. “The Commission should continue to examine its regulations to facilitate the rollout of wireless broadband and advise other agencies on key steps to success, especially for facilities deployed on federal lands,” PCIA said. Just reallocating more spectrum for licensed use is not an answer without better deployment, PCIA said. “New spectrum, a necessary but finite resource with extended lag time from purchase to deployment, cannot alone handle this surge in traffic; infrastructure providers and carriers must deploy new cell sites to deliver the increased capacity consumers demand,” the group said. Writers Guild of America, West warned that the U.S. market remains highly concentrated. “AT&T and Verizon retain duopoly control of the wireless market with 66 percent of subscribers and 73 percent of low- band spectrum,” the guild said. “Although these two companies control two-thirds of the wireless market they continue to acquire spectrum.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on Sprint's waiver request in docket 15-156 to permit 800 MHz wideband operations in parts of the Washington State National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee region before completion of the 800 MHz band reconfiguration in that region, said a public notice Wednesday. Sprint seeks to use the 866-869 MHz portion of the band for wideband operations in four out of the 34 counties comprising NPSPAC Region 43, where Sprint says the public safety licensees successfully completed their retunes, the PN said. Comments are due July 31, replies Aug. 17.

Test results by consultant V-Comm show major interference issues if white space devices and wireless mics are allowed to use the 600 MHz guard band or duplex gap after the TV incentive auction, said CTIA officials and representatives of member companies in a meeting with aides to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. According to an ex parte filing in docket 12-268, "CTIA explained the incentive auction represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Commission to make available much-needed spectrum for mobile broadband use and noted the wireless industry’s willingness to invest in spectrum rights so long as those spectrum rights are afforded the interference protections mandated by Congress in the 2012 Spectrum Act.” The industry representatives also stressed the need for the FCC “to increase out-of-band emission and frequency separation as outlined in V-COMM’s report,” the filing said. Carriers need certainty and the current rules "threaten to undermine the success of the incentive auction," CTIA said.

The 800 MHz rebanding is starting to see progress along the border with Mexico, the last area to be reconfigured and the “primary focus” of current retuning efforts, the 800 MHz Transition Administration (TA) said in its quarterly progress report to the FCC. The rebanding has been underway since 2004. As of March 31, 121 frequency reconfiguration agreements (FRAs) were submitted to the TA out of the 127 FRAs anticipated for Mexican border licensees, the TA said. As of March 31, “five licensees that had submitted cost estimates were negotiating their FRAs with Sprint,” the TA said. “In addition, Mexican border licensees and Sprint had entered into 38 Letter Agreements, which are short-form agreements that have been used in lieu of FRAs for certain reconfigurations with no costs or low costs.” In other areas, rebanding is nearly complete and there was relatively little activity, the TA said. For example, for Canadian border Stage 2 licensees retuned, reflashed or replaced about 250 radios in the first quarter, bringing the total retuned to 215,250 as of March 31.

TracFone agreed to put in place a mechanism allowing its handsets to be unlocked, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said Wednesday. A bureau investigation found that the company violated rules by improperly certifying that it would unlock phones for customers enrolled in the agency’s Lifeline program, the bureau said. “To settle this violation, the company has agreed to transition all its phones to be unlockable, thus allowing both Lifeline and non-Lifeline customers the freedom to choose to use their devices on other networks.” The bureau estimated that at least 8 million customers could benefit from the settlement. TracFone must notify customers by Sept. 1 about its new unlocking policy, the bureau said. “Unlocking of cell phones has been widely embraced by the wireless industry and by consumers across the country,” said bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc. “Today’s agreement ensures that millions of eligible TracFone customers will be able to use their phones on any compatible network they choose.” "TracFone is pleased to have worked closely with the FCC on the Consent Decree released today," the low-cost carrier said in an emailed comment. "Significantly, the Consent Decree contains no admission of liability and no monetary penalty. TracFone’s industry leading commitment to bring free unlockable phones to its Lifeline program and its further commitment to provide unlockable phones throughout its entire business line demonstrate TracFone’s continuing efforts to bring its customers the greatest value in the wireless industry."

The FCC Enforcement Bureau imposed a $4,800 fine on Custom Computers d.b.a. Winchester Wireless, a wireless ISP, for alleged unauthorized use of external amplifiers at its transmitter sites. “Unauthorized operations can result in harmful interference to licensed spectrum users and void the authority to operate without a license,” the bureau said Tuesday in an order. The bureau had proposed a $25,000 penalty, but said it agreed to reduce the fine “based on Winchester Wireless’s demonstrated inability to pay.” The company had no immediate comment.

Sprint began offering a monthly pricing plan that includes use of a smartphone and unlimited data, talk and text, its news release said Tuesday. The carrier said that the new All-In plan will cost consumers $80 per month: $20 to lease a smartphone and $60 for unlimited voice calls, texting and high-speed data, not including taxes, surcharges and a $36 one-time activation fee.

Sprint representatives asked the FCC to rethink TV incentive auction rules for reserve spectrum, set aside for carriers without a dominant low-band spectrum position in a market, in a series of meetings at the agency. The commission should allow eligible bidders to bid on reserve blocks from the start of the auction, Sprint said. “Triggering reserve block bidding only after the two-part ‘Final Stage Rule’ is met could undercut the full availability of reserve spectrum to reserve-eligible bidders, and thereby permit bidding strategies designed to prevent a greater distribution of low-band spectrum among competitive wireless broadband providers.” The filing was in docket 14-252.