T-Mobile’s colorful CEO John Legere is trying to game the system in seeking more reserve spectrum, available to T-Mobile and other competitive carriers, in the TV incentive auction, said Gus Hurwitz, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute’s Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy. T-Mobile has accelerated its lobbying to get the FCC to change the auction rules, Hurwitz said in a blog post Wednesday. But “bad things can happen when regulators try to manipulate markets, even when that manipulation is based on pressure from market participants themselves,” he said. “No matter how well-intentioned Legere’s desire for more spectrum may be -- and I do think that he is both well intentioned and rather engaging in his advocacy -- efforts to weigh the scales in favor of preferred winners often yield unintended -- and undesired -- outcomes.”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler assured the Department of Labor that the FCC remains focused on curbing deaths and injuries of workers who climb communications towers. Wheeler said in a letter Monday to the department that the FCC is submitting for the record the video of October’s joint FCC/Occupational Safety and Health Administration workshop on tower safety (see 1410140172). There were 25 fatal accidents involving communication tower workers in 2013 and 2014, Wheeler wrote. “These fatalities are unacceptable,” he said. “I strongly encourage the entire industry to implement innovative policies from top to bottom to identify and address specific risks, both ongoing and job-specific, to reduce the number of fatalities. The United States is the world leader in the deployment of next generation wireless networks, and we must also be a leader in the safe deployment of those networks.” The video of the workshop is to be posted in docket OSHA-2014-0018.

Alleged abuses of the designated entity (DE) program in the AWS-3 auction shouldn't be used as an excuse to gut the program, U.S. Cellular officials said in a meeting with Brendan Carr, aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai. Some concerns about that auction, Auction 97, have little to do with the DE program itself, U.S. Cellular said. “In addition to being far lower in dollar amounts than the Auction 97 bidding credits alleged to be abusive, the unreasonably low caps proposed by some commenters would effectively prevent DEs from competing for spectrum in heavily-populated markets,” the carrier said. “Even if a DE is not focused on the largest markets, the proposed caps would significantly restrict the number of licenses it could acquire.” A proposal by AT&T and rural carriers would cap bidding credits at $10 million per bidder, U.S. Cellular noted (see 1505110048). In the AWS-3 auction, licenses covering “even many mid-sized markets” individually sold for more than $40 million, the carrier said. “The proposed caps would prevent a DE from operating with sufficient scale to sustain itself in the industry, let alone become a viable competitive threat to the currently dominant carriers. We also explained that a bidding credit cap very well could prevent DEs from acquiring even a limited number of small-market licenses because such a cap would make it very difficult to obtain any level of financing.” The filing was posted Tuesday in docket 14-170.

Sprint said it became the first national carrier to offer an add-on plan making it easier for subscribers to call Cuba. For $10 per month, customers can add Sprint Cuba 20 Plus to their plan and get 20 minutes of monthly calling to Cuba. Additional minutes are 70 cents each. The plan also includes calling or texting to Mexico or Canada at no additional charge and discounted calling to 180 other countries, Sprint said Monday.

Since January, AT&T signed IoT agreements with more than 136 companies in various industries, it said Monday in a news release. AT&T’s network had almost 22 million IoT connected devices as of March 31, it said. More than 945,000 devices connected during Q1, a 70 percent jump over the same quarter in 2014. “Companies and consumers are embracing the connected world,” AT&T said. “They want solutions from connected cars to wearable devices (like smartwatches), to tools that help cities (like [monitoring of] energy grids, streetlights and irrigation pipes).”

A coalition of wireless mic "stakeholders" explained the unique needs of wireless microphone users for reliable low-band spectrum. A “suite” of UHF spectrum must remain available for the devices after the TV incentive auction, the stakeholders said in a meeting with FCC officials, said an ex parte filing. The coalition argued that wireless mics “must work flawlessly without interruption during performance times and demand for channels may change in an instant” so mics differ from white spaces devices. The regulation should also be different, the stakeholders said. Wireless mic makers Sennheiser and Shure and various user groups attended the meeting. “Wireless microphone use is varied and not static, and the required number of channels in any one location at any one time cannot easily be predicted,” the filing said. “For example, one reality TV series uses 64 microphone channels, regional theaters use 30-35 channels for musical productions, and adjacent theaters on just one block of Broadway collectively use over 200 channels during performance times, while 1300 wireless microphones operate within an eight block radius. Similarly, a convention center may have an event that requires tens of microphone channels one week, but 400 microphone channels the following week, depending on the requirements of the particular conference.” The filing was posted Friday in docket 12-268.

The Wireless Medical Telemetry Service Coalition questioned arguments by Google that low-power unlicensed devices can operate within 200 meters of any WMTS facility’s perimeter without causing harmful interference. Google made its argument in a May 22 filing. Google said its tests demonstrated unlicensed devices can safely use the duplex gap and guard bands, as well as Channel 37, after the TV incentive auction (see 1505260046). WMTS systems, operating in Channel 37 spectrum, “are the backbone of life-saving healthcare monitoring systems for critically ill patients and cannot tolerate harmful interference,” the coalition said. “Google has not provided even a scintilla of evidence of how it has determined what constitutes a ‘real world’ or ‘typical’ hospital construction or WMTS system operating environment,” the coalition said. “Google does criticize the tests conducted by GE Healthcare and Comsearch at an actual hospital in the Washington, D.C., area, suggesting that it does ‘not necessarily reflect a real-world environment.’ But Google provides no basis for arguing that an actual hospital located within a short drive from FCC headquarters is not a ‘real-world’ environment.” The coalition said it met with Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and other FCC staffers. The filing was posted in docket 14-165.

Low-cost Android tablets are eating into Apple’s leading share of the tablet market as aggressive PC brand strategies are squeezing overall tablet pricing, said a Friday report from Futuresource. The launch of lower priced iPads contributed to a dramatic drop in the average price of tablets since they hit the market in 2010, it said. Some emerging markets saw growth as high as 30 percent last year, but worldwide tablet revenue growth will continue to slow as “consumer sales plateau and retail prices continue a steady decline from 2014,” it said. Enterprise sales will become an increasingly important driver of demand, said the researcher, especially in developed markets. Workplace tablet use has been driven by “bring your own device” trends, and tablets are being used in a complementary role rather than as a PC replacement, said analyst Simon Bryant. Issues of security and untested apps on tablets that previously suppressed enterprise demand have largely been addressed, and many tablets pack the same level of security as laptops, he said.

Much more work remains to find the spectrum the wireless industry needs to meet growing demand, said Kara Romagnino, CTIA director-regulatory affairs, Friday in a blog post. CTIA is encouraged by the launch of the Broadband Opportunity Council, which looks at federal efforts to speed deployment of broadband, Romagnino said. “Federal agencies can -- among other things -- work to improve their spectrum usage in order to free up additional capacity for providing wireless broadband service; coordinate multi-agency activities and improve cross-agency processes; remove barriers to broadband deployment on federal and Tribal lands; and encourage growth of federal mobile wireless platforms, mobile health applications and mobile learning applications,” she said.

As the FCC takes up Lifeline reform, it mustn't ignore the important role played by wireless carriers in the USF program, CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a letter to the agency members posted Friday in docket 11-42. “Thirty years after its creation, Lifeline has evolved to reflect the increasing role of wireless as the primary means of communications for millions of low-income and diverse, underserved communities,” Baker wrote. “In the decade since wireless entered the Lifeline program, the telephone subscribership gap between low-income and all households was cut nearly in half, representing over 3 million low-income consumers.” CTIA is also committed to helping clean up the Lifeline program, further making it “more efficient, accountable, and effective,” she said. “Ensuring the fiscal integrity of the Lifeline program is a high priority because wireless carriers and their consumers make up over 44 percent of the contribution base of the Commission’s Universal Service programs.”