AT&T said it isn’t limiting its fiber-to-the-premises deployment to 2 million homes. It plans to complete an initiative to expand its GigaPower fiber network in 25 major metropolitan areas nationwide, it wrote the FCC. The letter responded to the commission’s request for more information on AT&T’s fiber deployment plans (see 1411140058). The premise of the FCC’s Nov. 14 letter is incorrect, AT&T said. The telco can’t evaluate additional investment “beyond its existing commitments until the regulatory treatment of broadband service is clarified,” it said. The carrier provided responses including the total number of customer locations to which it plans to deploy fiber to the premises based on pre-transaction economics. AT&T said there are no documents relating to a request for data on limiting fiber deployment to 2 million homes.
C Spire introduced rolling data plans it said were aimed at saving customers money and eliminating surprise data overages. Three plans at $40, $55 and $65 a month offer 2 GB, 4 GB and 6 GB of rolling data, unlimited talk, text and photos, "along with automatic data overage protection and optional top-up data passes" on the company's mobile broadband network, C Spire said Wednesday in a news release. Customers can save any unused data for use in the next month, it said. The plans also can be used for device tethering and personal mobile hot spots, C Spire said.
AT&T asked the FCC to hold in abeyance its rulemaking petition to amend wireless communications service (WCS) rules for an air-to-ground business. AT&T decided this month to forego plans to enter the in-flight connectivity business (see 1411100041). It’s re-evaluating plans for use of its WCS C and D block licenses, it said in an ex parte filing posted Wednesday in RM-11731. Unless AT&T notifies the FCC before Feb. 12 that it wishes to further pursue the petition, the FCC “should consider this a request for dismissal of its petition and the related waiver requests as of that date,” it said.
IDC said the worldwide tablet market will see a “massive deceleration” in 2014, with growth braking to 7.2 percent, down from 52.5 percent last year. At the core of the slowdown is the expectation that 2014 will be the first full year of decline in Apple iPad shipments, IDC said Tuesday. The slowdown for the iPad along with the overall category isn't "a surprise,” said Ryan Reith, IDC program director, citing stretching tablet life cycles that resemble those of PCs more than smartphones. In the early stages of the tablet market, device life cycles were expected to mirror those of smartphones at two to three years, Reith said, but instead tablet owners are holding on to tablets typically for more than three or four years. The drivers of longer-than-expected tablet life cycles are legacy software support for older products -- especially within iOS -- and the increased use of smartphones for a variety of computing tasks, he said. In addition, shipments of 2-in-1 devices have been modest, despite advancements in the category, and are expected to reach 8.7 million units this year, accounting for just 4 percent of the combined tablet/2-in-1 market, Reith said. IDC attributed sluggishness in 2-in-1 products to “consumer hesitancy around the Windows 8 platform.” There’s “a lot of pressure on tablet prices,” said Jean Philippe Bouchard, IDC research director-tablets, noting “an influx of entry-level products" that "serves Android really well.” Tablet makers are trying to offset price pressure by focusing on "larger screens and cellular-enabled tablets,” Bouchard said. Factors that could affect upcoming tablet shipment totals include industry reaction to Windows 10, Google’s moves in the category with Android and Chrome OS and Apple's rumored product line expansion, he said. Android tablet/2-in-1 shipments for 2014 are estimated at 160 million, up 16 percent year-over-year, and will command nearly 68 percent of the market, IDC said. The iPad will account for 65 million shipments, down 13 percent, comprising 28 percent of the market, IDC said. Windows tablets tallied 11 million shipments for just under 5 percent market share, it said.
The J block of AWS-3 spectrum remains the most coveted after Day Nine of FCC auction bidding ended Tuesday, UBS analysts wrote investors Wednesday. The J block reached an average valuation of $2.65/MHz POP, they said in a research note. In the top 25 markets, the Chicago G and J blocks have the highest valuations at $6.28 and $6 respectively, they said. “Due to prior bid withdrawals, 20 bids do not have a provisional winning bid.” New York was the most active market, with bids rising 14 percent day over day, followed by 9 percent growth in San Juan, and 8 percent in Los Angeles, they said.
Amazon is continuing its price-cutting attack with its Fire franchise as the holiday season officially kicks in. After enticing Prime customers with a $19 deal for the $39 Fire TV Stick, it whacked the investment in a Fire Phone to $199 unlocked, after launching it in June for $649 unlocked, or $199 with a two-year AT&T contract. In the Kindle line, Amazon is offering a limited-time deal on the 6-inch e-reader, cutting the price from $139 to $99, including six months of “unlimited reading.” Amazon’s vault of Amazon Unlimited content -- 700,000 books and audio books -- is available to members for $9.99 per month.
Higher valuations for spectrum in the AWS-3 auction 97 suggest that the broadcast incentive auction could be even more expensive, UBS analysts said. AT&T and Verizon could each spend $10 billion to $15 billion in Auction 97, the analysts said in a research note Tuesday. The valuations could encourage more broadcasters to participate by increasing available proceeds, they said. "This would also fully fund construction of the FirstNet public safety network, which would be good for towers." Following day eight bids Monday, the top 25 markets, including Chicago, New York and Washington, commanded an average price of $3.85/MHz POP for paired spectrum, UBS analysts said.
T-Mobile's request for declaratory ruling on data roaming would be unlikely to survive appellate review if granted, AT&T said. For 2014, the average rate paid by AT&T through August is higher than T-Mobile's projected average rate for 2014, AT&T said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 05-265. The rates AT&T offered to T-Mobile for LTE roaming "compare favorably with T-Mobile's projected average 2014 rates," it said. "These facts indicate that AT&T has offered data roaming to T-Mobile on commercially reasonable terms." Adopting T-Mobile's request that the commercial reasonableness of roaming rates be determined by measuring them against "benchmarks" drawn from rates applicable to other services "would amount to common carrier rate regulation, which is prohibited by the Communications Act," it said. The filing recounts a meeting with staff from the FCC Office of General Counsel.
The FCC Public Safety Bureau granted waivers to wireless companies for the period of time between April 7, 2012, and the date that the petitioners were able to provide wireless emergency alert (WEA) messages. The petitions were jointly filed by Northeast Communications, Thumb Cellular and other wireless entities, the bureau said in an order. Commercial mobile service providers were to have had the capability to receive and transmit WEA alerts to their subscribers consistent with their elections by that date, it said. Petitioners’ failure to meet the deadline “resulted largely from circumstances beyond their control,” the bureau said. Some parties experienced delays with their third-party providers, and in receiving an executed memorandum of agreement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it said.
T-Mobile agreed with the FCC Monday to disclose more accurate information to consumers who check their mobile broadband speeds on the carrier’s network after they’ve reached their monthly data cap. Some applications that measure mobile broadband speeds currently tell T-Mobile subscribers the full network’s speed instead of the speed of their personal mobile broadband connection after subscribers hit their data caps and begin to experience throttling. T-Mobile agreed to begin automatically sending text messages to subscribers who reach their data caps linking to an application that will provide accurate speed measurements. The carrier also agreed to modify its existing text messages to subscribers who hit their data caps to clarify the accuracy of speed tests under throttling conditions and provide a button on customers’ smartphones linking to speed tests that will provide accurate information on throttled speed measurements. T-Mobile also agreed to modify its website disclosures to clarify its policies on speed test applications. “The additional disclosures we’re providing to consumers on this issue will be sure to prevent any confusion and are another solid Un-carrier move,” said Andy Levin, T-Mobile senior vice president-government affairs, in a statement. T-Mobile subscribers “need this information to fully understand what they are getting with their broadband service,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a news release. The FCC has been investigating the top four U.S. wireless carriers’ throttling policies (see 1408120057). Public Knowledge is “encouraged that the FCC and T-Mobile were able to come to an agreement that increases transparency for T-Mobile’s customers,” said Vice President Michael Weinberg in a statement. “However, we remain concerned that T-Mobile continues to prevent its subscribers from using the speed test application of their choice. … If T-Mobile is truly confident that they are managing their network responsibly, Public Knowledge hopes that they will free their subscribers to test their network connection with an application that they trust, not one that was pre-approved by T-Mobile.”