AT&T warned the FCC that without changes to its designated entity rules, bidders could continue to game the system in future auctions, in comments filed Thursday at the FCC. On Monday, AT&T and small carriers, proposed revisions to the DE program (see 1505110048). The AWS-3 auction raised new questions about the DE program as a result of Dish Network’s use of two DEs to attempt to buy $13.3 billion worth of licenses for $10 billion (see 1501300051), which Dish has repeatedly defended as being within FCC rules. “It is clear that these rules are no longer serving their intended purpose -- to benefit true small businesses to ensure diversity in spectrum ownership,” AT&T said. “Without major reform of the DE rules, such gamesmanship could be repeated in future auctions. AT&T believes that the Commission should adopt changes aimed at ensuring that designated entity benefits inure only to true small businesses and new entrants.” The rules the FCC developed should be “clear, readily understood, easy to administer, and free from loopholes that jeopardize auction integrity,” the carrier said. The filing was made in docket 14-70.

FirstNet held an industry day Thursday in Reston, Virginia, at which staff sought to answer basic questions from public safety officials and others involved in the launch of the network. “This is a great day for FirstNet because we’re continuing to progress on our strategic road map,” said acting Executive Director TJ Kennedy. The most important thing is to focus on FirstNet’s mission of building a national broadband network for first responders, he said. “It’s the most important thing at every step through this process, no matter where you fit.” It’s easy to “get hung up” on the details and whether FirstNet “is the perfect solution” for everyone, Kennedy said. The goal has to be that when “significant” incidents occur, like the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, “we have the capacity and we have the capability to ensure that the prioritized traffic of public safety is able to get through,” he said. FirstNet wants feedback on how to make its proposal better and to launch a network that public safety can afford, he said. “We are looking for solution-oriented discussion.” Kennedy emphasized that the goal remains “nationwide” coverage. “We need to meet public safety requirements,” he said. “I say this in almost every talk I go to -- priority and preemption during emergencies for public safety. We need to make sure that it works when and where public safety needs it to work.” The network has to be resilient and reliable, but also affordable, he said. “There’s an important balance there.” The network has to be built to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards, but upgradable as technology advances, he said. “We are not looking to do something customized and one-off that would prevent that from happening,” Kennedy said. FirstNet will continue to seek comment after its pending request for proposals process is completed, through the deployment of a network, he said. Kennedy also spoke in a C-SPAN interview about the network's prospects, and said it may never reach the most remote U.S. areas (see 1505130055). Kennedy said in a news release after the event that FirstNet is pleased with the attendance in person and online. “It shows there is a great deal of interest from market participants and the public safety community in establishing the best possible network for public safety," he said.

There’s “plenty to like” about the Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, but “surprisingly, these phones don't score as highly as their top-ranked predecessor,” the Galaxy S5, said ratings by Consumer Reports. "Samsung has pulled an about-face on the Galaxy S line's anti-iPhone persona.” The S6 models are “significantly more Apple-like than previous models” and these modifications “actually hurt these devices” in CR ratings, it said. The publication, affiliated with Consumers Union, cited the newer models' nonremovable batteries, and unlike its predecessor models, lack of memory-expansion slots and of water resistance. Samsung representatives didn’t comment.

Sprint began offering the budget-friendly LG G Stylo smartphone Wednesday. Sprint’s Boost Mobile will sell the phone in metallic silver for $199.99 in a no-contract plan starting at $30 per month for 2 GB data for customers who also sign up for an automatic billing plan, said the carrier in a news release. Beginning June 7, the phone will be available for $199 on Sprint Prepaid with monthly billing starting at $35 for 1 GB of data and no credit check or long-term commitment required. The LG G Stylo has a 5.7-inch touch screen with Corning Gorilla Glass, 8-megapixel rear and 5-megapixel front cameras, QuickMemo drawing feature using supplied stylus, Android 5.0 and a 1.2-GHz quad-core processor, said Sprint.

A group of startup companies urged the FCC to modify rules for the TV incentive auction by increasing the amount of reserve spectrum to be sold to 40 MHz. Carriers with more than 45 MHz of low-band spectrum in a market will be restricted to buying only unreserved spectrum under rules approved last year (see 1405160030). “We are entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, and innovators,” the Wednesday letter said. “Through the incentive auction, we have a rare opportunity to increase innovation and investment in U.S. mobile broadband by allowing multiple new competitive carriers to access the spectrum they need to compete with the dominant incumbents.” Startups signing the letter were 1226 Digital, 1991 Management Co., Bassline, Bento for Business, Biggerpan, Bizzy, Castr, Consumerproof, Convo, Darwin Reactive, Dialect, Electric Imp, Fligoo, Fytns, Hattery Labs, InMarkit, Keen IO, Metapattern, Neighborland, Olio Devices, Pick1, Plickers, Poacht, ReaMetrix, Skuchain, SportsFeed, Tab, Tahoe Mountain Lab and Zenput.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a recently filed supplement to a November petition by the Enterprise Wireless Alliance and Pacific DataVision proposing a rulemaking to create a private enterprise broadband allocation in the 900 MHz band (see 1411190068). “The Supplement sets forth specific technical rules for operation in the broadband segment, such as emission mask and antenna height and power limits,” the bureau said Wednesday. “The draft proposed rules also prescribe a relocation process that is similar to the procedure that the Commission adopted in the 800 MHz proceeding.” Comments are due June 20, replies July 14. EWA and Pacific DataVision proposed rules for the allocation May 3 in a filing in RM-11738

The AWS-3 auction is over but “the heavy lifting” is just getting started as industry and the government work to clear the spectrum bought in the auction, said Paige Atkins, NTIA associate administrator for spectrum management, at the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee meeting (see 1505120040) Tuesday. Relocation could take up to 10 years, she said: “We expect significant sharing to occur in the interim and a lot of coordination and collaboration to occur during that time.” Atkins said the Competitive Carriers Association and CTIA will host an AWS-3 government and information exchange June 4, which will be open to winning bidders in the auction. “This is to begin the informal dialogue around expectations, processes and tools that will facilitate the transition,” she said, noting it will be similar to coordination after the 2008 AWS-1 auction. NTIA and the Institute of Telecommunications Sciences (ITS) are expanding their spectrum monitoring pilot in the 3.5 GHz band, spectrum set aside for shared use, Atkins said. They're working with federal agencies to host four additional sensors and potentially expand coverage beyond 3.5 GHz, she said. ITS, in collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is also developing a measured spectrum occupancy database, she said. “That’s intended to make the sensor data available on a near real-time basis to support policy planning, engineering, and eventually, potentially, dynamic sharing.” Spectrum for international mobile telecom (IMT) is the top priority of the U.S. at the World Radiocommunications Conference later this year, Atkins said. “Go figure,” she said. “The challenge for mobile broadband services is the same internationally as nationally,” she said: “The most suitable bands are already being used by other services for things like broadcasting” and satellite links. The U.S. focus is on sharing, she said. The U.S. supports sharing in the 3.5 GHz band, the 600 MHz spectrum being offered in the TV incentive auction and the L band, at 1424-1518 MHz, which the U.S. supports but doesn't plan to implement here, she said. The second priority is spectrum for beyond-line-of sight command and control link for unmanned aircraft systems. A likely topic of the WRC in 2019 is a look at the use of bands above 6 GHz, she said.

Integrated Device Technology (IDT) announced a collaboration with Blu Wireless Technology to demonstrate integrated wireless charging with 60 GHz WiGig data transmission. The combination is said to enable consumers to charge phones and tablets while streaming video to TVs and PCs without the need for power cords or cables. In a news release, IDT said the combination will enable consumers to charge their phones while streaming “the highest quality 4K HD video and photos” wirelessly to their televisions and computers using the 60 GHz band to deliver 7 GHz bandwidth. As an example, IDT said consumers will be able to wirelessly charge their devices while cordlessly transmitting “uncompressed video of 1080p directly to their HDTV.” Questions to the company on the quality of 4K transmission versus uncompressed 1080p weren’t answered by deadline. WiGig technology uses the 60 GHz band to deliver 7 GHz bandwidth, said IDT. Using WiGig, a synchronization of data on a portable device that today would take two hours and use up nearly a third of a battery’s charge could be completed with WiGig in 45 seconds, while consuming 2 percent of a battery charge, it said. IDT’s semiconductors are enabling wireless charging today in smartphones, accessories, wearables and furniture, it said.

An amendment to the Federal Table of Frequency Allocations covering fixed and mobile applications in the 2025-2110 MHz band took effect Tuesday, said a notice in the Federal Register, also Tuesday. Release of the notice was on hold pending the close of the AWS-3 auction satisfaction of a joint certification requirement in Section 1062(b)(1)(B) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, the FCC said. Under a deal between the Department of Defense and NAB in 2013 (see 1311260054), DOD agreed to partially vacate the 1755-1780 MHz band and move operations to the 2025-2110 MHz band. The former band was part of the spectrum sold in the AWS-3 auction.

Reform is "essential" for the FCC’s designated entity (DE) rules (see 1505110048), AT&T said on a call with FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman and others at the commission last week to explain its proposal, made along with smaller carriers, for a rethink of the rules. Officials said "we believed a new approach should be considered -- one that would assure policymakers and taxpayers alike that auction subsidies will be directed to true small communications businesses and rural telephone companies,” said a filing on the call, posted by the FCC Tuesday in docket 14-170. “We also explained that while any new program should support new entrants, such support must be sufficiently defined so as to not invite big business dollars and deep pocketed investors to stand behind newly formed [DEs] in a play for unmerited financial advantage.”