The International Trade Commission said it’s ending a Section 337 Tariff Act investigation into patent infringement claims involving smartphones imported by HTC, with a finding of no violation, reversing an earlier finding by an ITC administrative law judge, said a notice from the agency scheduled for Thursday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1ddIdzk). The judge had found the HTC Vivid and Droid Incredible 4G LTE infringed patents on electronic imaging devices held by FlashPoint. FlashPoint licenses those technologies to Apple and Motorola Mobility, which Google has agreed to sell to Lenovo. After a review, the commission found the Vivid and Droid phones didn’t actually infringe the FlashPoint patents, and ended the proceeding. The investigation had been ongoing since June 2012.
The FCC should adopt “decisive” rules that implement and enforce Section 6409(a) of the of the 2012 spectrum law, PCIA’s government affairs staff told members of the FCC Wireless Bureau in a meeting Friday (http://bit.ly/1hCBTOL). The FCC has been seeking to clarify the section, which allowed for federal governance of state and local reviews of eligible requests for modification of existing wireless towers or base stations (CD Oct 29 p15). Specific rules that “define statutory terms and specify application procedures, timelines, and remedies consistent with congressional intent will promote predictability, remove uncertainty, and avoid unnecessary and costly litigation,” PCIA said in an ex parte filing released Wednesday. As the FCC defines what constitutes a modification that will “Substantially Change the Physical Dimensions,” it should apply the 2001 Collocation Programmatic Agreement’s test with modifications that will reflect the 2004 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, PCIA said. The commission should also “tie” the baseline tower size to a structure’s last zoning approval or the date the FCC instituted rules, depending on which is later. The FCC should approve all eligible “legal, non-conforming structures” within 45 days “without exception and without discretionary review,” but jurisdictions may still require adherence to building codes, PCIA said. The group also urged the FCC to implement Section 332(c)(7) and the Shot Clock, arguing that the group’s members “continue to experience undue delay as a result of additional information requests and moratoria.” To prevent backup, the FCC must establish a “floor” for application readiness, PCIA said. The group also requested the FCC streamline its environmental and historic review process for distributed antenna systems and small cells by “categorically” excluding facilities that meet a tech-neutral, volume-based definition.
The FCC Wireless Bureau extended by one week the deadlines for initial and reply comments on ClearRF’s request for a determination of equivalent protection. The cell-signal booster maker argues that its ClearRF Model Number WRE2710 “provides equivalent protections to the Commission’s Network Protection Standard even though it does not meet the technical standards” in the agency’s rules, the bureau said (http://fcc.us/1ePvrSu). CTIA sought the extra time “to allow for a thorough technical evaluation of ClearRF’s assertions,” the bureau said. Comments now are due March 27, replies April 3.
The newly formed Dynamic Spectrum Alliance pressed the FCC to make room for both licensed and unlicensed spectrum above and below 1 GHz (http://bit.ly/1gy1Tsa). “Enabling access to both licensed and unlicensed spectrum is key to meeting increasing spectrum demands,” the group commented to the agency (http://bit.ly/1eOTDof). “In the past, such a balanced approach has fueled the wireless economy, benefiting consumers, innovators, and investors alike. Exclusive access to licensed spectrum has enabled wireless carriers to make large-scale, long-term investments in their networks and to strengthen their competitive positions. Shared access to unlicensed spectrum has enabled wireless carriers to offload both traffic and costs onto Wi-Fi networks, massively increasing available bandwidth and productivity.” The new group’s charter members include representatives from BSkyB, Google and Microsoft, with promoters including Facebook and advisers including Texas Instruments (http://bit.ly/1p8jOuL).
With the FCC’s signoff Thursday (CD March 14 p5), AT&T said its buy of Leap Wireless and its Cricket brand is now complete. “In the coming weeks, Cricket will be integrated with AT&T’s existing operations to create the new Cricket,” AT&T said in a news release (http://soc.att.com/1im20fl). “The new Cricket will shake up the no-contract segment with a combination of simple, low-cost rate plans; a terrific lineup of smartphones; and a great network experience. The new Cricket will have access to AT&T’s nationwide 4G LTE network covering nearly 280 million people. AT&T will gain access to Cricket’s distribution channels and will be able to expand Cricket’s presence to additional U.S. cities."
Cantor Telecom urged the FCC to approve rules that would allow the trading of spectrum rights in the 3.5 GHz band to maximize sharing. The firm is the telecom arm of Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services firm. The FCC has been examining whether the 3.5 GHz band can be used to promote use of small cells and sharing. Cantor said the FCC should think about allowing the establishment of an “electronic marketplace” by an experienced broker. “Cantor Telecom believes the adoption and use of a spectrum exchange through which future Priority and General Users in this band could trade and exchange spectrum based upon their needs at any given time would improve access,” Cantor said in a filing at the commission (http://bit.ly/1gqVNOD). “This type of exchange would significantly increase the liquidity of the spectrum, benefitting carriers as well as consumers ... by reducing costs and increasing the flexibility of use. Such an exchange would also support the Commission’s goal of maximizing the use of spectrum for the development of mobile broadband services."
Oceus Networks believes a bi-directional sharing framework on the 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands that provides access to military users “could fulfill training requirements on remote bases and ranges with limited impact to auction revenues,” CEO Douglas Smith and other company representatives told Renee Gregory, aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, during a meeting Tuesday. Oceus customers, which include the military, first responders and critical infrastructure companies, have become interested in 4G LTE, and have identified a need for spectrum that would support 4G LTE, Oceus counsel Jay Chauhan said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1qA1WMP).
NCTA continued to urge the FCC to move forward with an order permitting unlicensed national information infrastructure in the 5 GHz band. NCTA also stressed the importance to outdoor Wi-Fi systems of FCC rules that permit 1-watt outdoor access points in U-NII-1, it said in an ex parte filing in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1nnxpmz). NCTA was at odds with Globalstar over rule changes allowing access of additional unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band (CD March 3 p10). Globalstar said NCTA’s proposal of antenna requirements this month is a step toward resolving technical issues (CD March 10 p10). The filing recounts a meeting with NCTA, its members Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, and staff from Commissioner Ajit Pai’s office.
T-Mobile urged the FCC to adopt parties-in-interest disclosure requirements as part of process reform. In a filing at the agency Wednesday, T-Mobile said the “common sense, narrowly-defined” rules previously proposed by T-Mobile “are in keeping with the disclosure rules used for both corporate parties and amici curiae appearing in the Supreme Court of the United States and in the federal courts of appeal, and adopting such rules would promote transparency, encourage public confidence, and enhance agency decision-making” (http://bit.ly/1esCVL8). T-Mobile said its proposal would require only: “(1) disclosure of contributors that fund advocacy or support a significant portion of the filer’s budget, as well as any single entity or group of entities that accounts for more than 1/3 of the filer’s annual U.S. sales; (2) disclosure of contributors to third parties who author filed work product; and (3) disclosure of the filer’s association members and/or management team.”
The International Trade Commission ended an investigation of Nokia’s patent complaint against HTC, ITC said in a notice slated for Thursday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1iBhvOK). The companies settled the patent dispute Feb. 7 (CD Feb 12 p13), ITC said: “There is no evidence that the proposed settlement will be contrary to the public interest.”