The FCC is seeking comment on Verizon's proposed buy of XO Communications and its fiber assets from XO Holdings, said a public notice Tuesday in docket 16-70. Petitions to deny and other comments are due by May 12, with oppositions to petitions and other reply comments due May 27, the PN said. It noted the applicants say their deal won't cause any material adverse harms to consumers or competition (see 1603070041 and 1603220063), but some parties have said the transaction could raise concerns (see 1602220071). The FCC also established a pleading cycle on an application from Verizon Wireless to lease spectrum from NextLink Wireless under 93 local multipoint distribution service (LMDS) and nine 39 GHz licenses. Verizon said it wants to use the spectrum for research, development and early testing of 5G products and services, said a Wireless Bureau public notice. The companies also said in their application that Verizon Wireless has an option to buy from XO Holdings, NextLink’s parent, all of the issued and outstanding limited liability company interests in NextLink. But the companies say Verizon Wireless isn't currently exercising the option, the notice said. “The Applicants state that the lease agreement would authorize Verizon Wireless to use all of Nextlink’s LMDS and 39 GHz spectrum, except for discrete spectrum and geographic areas that are subject to existing leases to third parties or to contractual requirements to reserve spectrum for the use of third parties,” the FCC said. “Under the lease agreement, Nextlink also would lease any Restricted Spectrum to Verizon Wireless when it is no longer subject to a third-party commitment.” Petitions to deny are due at the FCC May 3, oppositions May 13, and replies May 20. Verizon said in its application to buy XO that it sees the deal as tied to the rapid expansion of data usage. “Verizon’s network densification requires deploying additional small cells, distributed antenna systems, in-building systems, and macro cells in capacity constrained areas like urban areas and large public venues,” Verizon said. “These cells enhance the quality and reliability of its existing wireless network, and will also help lay the groundwork for the evolution to 5G technologies, which will rely heavily on small cells.” Verizon wants to position itself as the industry leader as 5G rolls out in coming years (see 1602240021).

Most U.S. consumers are skeptical of the cost and utility of the IoT, said IDC Monday, citing findings from a survey it will discuss on a webcast April 21. But network entertainment applications are a “stepping stone” to a broader IoT experience, said IDC. Some 28 percent of people who own a home network stream online videos to their TVs and are “much more likely to express high interest in and adoption of home IoT applications than other home network owners,” it said. One out of five people who use home automation, monitoring and control devices say their home IoT applications solved a problem they didn't know they had, IDC said. "The long-run impact of the Internet of Things will be broader and deeper than we imagine right now, but the industry is still in the early stages of developing the vision and conveying it to consumers," said Jonathan Gaw, research manager, IDC's IoT consumer program. Some are confused about what constitutes the IoT, said AT&T last week, while Verizon said the IoT is going mainstream (see 1604080039).

The FCC dismissed a pole attachment enforcement proceeding between Charter Communications and Georgia Power, the Enforcement Bureau said in an order Monday. Charter and the utility company said last month they had settled the dispute (see 1603290022).

NSA appointed Rebecca Richards, civil liberties and privacy director, to also be its first transparency officer, the agency said in a news release Monday. NSA said the appointment reflects a commitment to the recently established "Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the Intelligence Community," which is intended to make information publicly available unless disclosure would harm national security. Richards will sit on the Intelligence Transparency Council, which is a new forum where the intelligence community "will develop a strategic, coordinated, and proactive approach to increased transparency," NSA said. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper formalized the council a week ago to help advise him on the implementation of the principles.

FirstNet extended from May 13 until May 31 the deadline for companies, or groups of companies, to submit proposals for partnering with the authority to build the national broadband network for first responders. This was the second delay -- the original deadline was April 29 (see 1602190058). FirstNet released its request for proposals Jan. 13 (see 1601130046). “Our decision to extend the deadline for final proposals was driven by both the volume and nature of the capability statements as well as requests for extensions we’ve received from interested parties,” FirstNet CEO Mike Poth said in a news release. “We believe this date affords prospective offerors the opportunity to fine tune their proposals and finalize any teaming arrangements and/or subcontractors, and we remain on track to award by November 1.”

The FCC needs input on how to deliver an earthquake early warning (EEW) to the public in under three seconds using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), a public notice said Friday. The commission has until Sept. 18 to deliver a report on “the regulatory and statutory framework” for delivering such warnings, under the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act. To put together the report, the commission is seeking comment on the technical aspects of IPAWS and other systems that could deliver an EEW in under three seconds, plus information on geo-targeted alerts, possible costs, and what statutes and regulations should be considered. Comments on the PN are due May 9, replies June 8.

Correction: The group that lobbied the FCC on toll-free numbers was the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (see 1604060048).

DOJ said in a filing it will continue trying to force Apple to help the government open a locked iPhone seized in a New York drug investigation. "The government's application is not moot and the government continues to require Apple's assistance in accessing the data that it is authorized to search by warrant," U.S. Attorney Robert Capers wrote (in Pacer) Friday to Magistrate Judge Margo Brodie in New York's Eastern District. About a month ago, the government resubmitted its application after a decision by Magistrate Judge James Orenstein, who ruled in favor of Apple in February, denying the U.S. government's motion to force the company to help it break into the iPhone in the drug case. Orenstein said the "government's interpretation of the breadth of authority the [All Writs Act] confers on courts of limited jurisdiction thus raises serious doubts about how such a statute could withstand constitutional scrutiny under the separation-of-powers doctrine" (see 1603010013).

A draft order to approve a proposed service agreement for Telcordia/iconectiv as the next local number portability administrator (LNPA) circulated at the FCC last week, according to the agency's circulation list updated Friday and an agency official. The agreement was negotiated with North American Portability Management, the industry consortium the FCC tasked with overseeing the planned LNPA transition from Neustar to Telcordia. The FCC also circulated a draft order that an agency official said would require outage reporting for undersea cables, growing out of an NPRM adopted in September (see 1509170047).

FTC will host a one-day conference June 15 in Chicago to help companies, especially startups and small- and medium-sized ones, get a leg up on securing their products, services and networks, the commission said in a news release Thursday. It's the FTC's fourth such Start with Security event, with other workshops hosted in Austin, San Francisco and Seattle (see 1602090057). Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen will open the event, which is co-sponsored by the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. No agenda was released.