Retiring the copper networks still used by millions of Americans will remove choice from the market, FCC acting General Counsel Jon Sallet said at a Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy event Wednesday. That’s why it’s so important to “learn” by having IP transition trials “before legal and policy decisions are made,” Sallet said. The agency has received two service experiments and nearly 1,000 expressions of interest in rural broadband experiments, he said, and the experiments will “enhance the ability of the commission, network providers, consumers, competitors and the public to monitor and measure the impact of change."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought stakeholders’ recommendations Wednesday on best practices it should include in its voluntary guidelines for technology meant to allow drivers safe and limited use of mobile devices while a vehicle is in motion. The guidelines, which NHTSA plans to propose later this year, are “Phase 2” of the agency’s plans to collaborate with stakeholders on distracted driving technology. NHTSA released its “Phase 1” guidelines last year, which focused on distraction mitigation related to devices built into a vehicle (http://1.usa.gov/1iBUXBV). The “Phase 3” guidelines would examine technology related to auditory and vocal interfaces, NHTSA said. A meeting Wednesday was the first in what NHTSA plans to be a series of input sessions, said acting NHTSA Administrator David Friedman. NHTSA is also seeking written comments on the guidelines, which stakeholders can submit until May 12, said a notice in the Federal Register (http://xrl.us/bqpmr4).

Small carriers largely welcomed the FCC’s proposal to dedicate at least some of the spectrum offered in the upcoming AWS-3 auction in the form of Cellular Market Area licenses, rather than much larger Economic Area (EA) licenses. Meanwhile, the major groups representing small carriers have worked out an agreement on Partial Economic Area (PEA) licensing, submitting a revised proposal to the FCC dividing the U.S. and its territories into 416 PEAs for the incentive TV auction.

Until a few weeks ago, Alabama customers could go to the Public Service Commission if they had a complaint about their phone bill or service, regardless of the technology involved or if it were bundled, and the PSC would look into it. But a law (http://bit.ly/PucWgY) signed Feb. 25 strips the commission of that ability. Now, when customers call the commission, the PSC will tell them to call the phone company.

The FCC seems poised to propose rules for broadcasters to help non-English language stations knocked off-air during emergencies transmit emergency alert system messages, said industry and other EAS observers. They said that the Public Safety Bureau issued a public notice now on a 2005 proposal for such a designated-hitter backup plan from groups including the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council is among indications FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wants to act. Wheeler, on the other hand, may not have made up his mind, and the item could also be used to surface industry opposition to requiring multilingual alerts by radio and TV stations, said an EAS expert. That view was in the minority among those we interviewed Wednesday.

House Communications Subcommittee Democrats refrained from backing draft legislation of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, reacting to a draft STELA updated text that subcommittee Republicans released last week and that earned support from both U.S. DBS companies, NAB and NCTA. Two major provisions have proven thorny, however, as witnesses and members stressed at a subcommittee STELA hearing Wednesday: The draft bill’s integration ban provision and language that would limit FCC actions on broadcaster sharing agreements until the agency completes its quadrennial review.

The mobile satellite services market is aiming to remain relevant and robust by continuing to innovate and use emerging technologies to meet customer needs. Making products that are more cost-effective and widely used and figuring out the path toward next-generation services and networks are challenges that must continue to be met, MSS executives said Wednesday at the Satellite 2014 conference in Washington.

CTIA supported arguments by United Healthcare Services that a company should not be held liable for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for autodialed and prerecorded calls after a wireless subscriber’s phone number has changed. United Healthcare had complained that sometimes a subscriber gives prior express consent for a company to make a call, but then the subscriber’s number is changed to another person’s phone. In February, the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment (http://bit.ly/1i6pAfm).

The European Parliament’s overwhelming vote to revamp data protection rules won cheers from consumers and telecom network operators, but jeers from Europe’s digital technology sector, digital rights activists and direct marketers Wednesday. Parliament members (MEPs) approved 621-10 a regulation aimed at strengthening personal data protections in the digital world, and 544-78 a non-binding resolution ending their a six-month probe into NSA mass surveillance. They also passed 371-276 a proposal to improve data privacy in the context of law enforcement and judicial matters. The draft data protection regulation should help Internet users by giving them a right to have personal information erased, setting new limits on profiling and requiring Internet companies seeking to process personal data to obtain freely given, well-informed, explicit consent from users, Parliament said.

Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son went directly to the public, bypassing federal regulators Tuesday to make his case that the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier needs to get bigger to compete with AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Sprint majority owner SoftBank has the technology to increase U.S. wireless broadband speeds but needs additional spectrum and infrastructure to do it, Son said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. SoftBank has run into early opposition from U.S. regulators to Sprint’s rumored interest in a Sprint/T-Mobile US merger. Son, who also leads SoftBank, did not specifically mention T-Mobile during his speech Tuesday. However, in an appearance on PBS’s Charlie Rose Monday night, he said explicitly he would still like to buy T-Mobile. Industry observers told us in interviews Tuesday they are skeptical that Son’s recent comments, meant to shift its argument for a T-Mobile deal, will sway regulators’ concerns.