Cochlear announced the Food and Drug Administration OK'd a behind-the-ear hearing implant sound processor made for the iPhone that lets users stream sound from a compatible iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to their Nucleus implant, via an app, said the company. Cochlear also is offering a Made for iPhone smart bimodal technology combining a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the other to provide synchronized streaming from compatible Apple devices.

T-Mobile raised questions about FCC wireless radio service overhaul proposals. Draft Section 1.949(d)(2) of the rules could be interpreted to require commercial service geographic licensees “may never fall below a final performance requirement in order to take advantage of the safe harbor renewal certification,” the carrier said. T-Mobile said it has a record of exceeding performance requirements after it starts to offer service. “Nevertheless, like all carriers, T-Mobile’s coverage, when considered on a license-by-license basis, may be interrupted in limited areas from time-to-time because of, for example, natural disasters,” the filing said. “Coverage levels for a particular license may temporarily drop below the level necessary to establish compliance with a final performance requirement even though coverage remains strong in the remainder of the market.” T-Mobile also objected to proposed rules that could prohibit licensees from providing the required certification and require submission of “an explanation of the circumstances preventing such a certification and why renewal of the subject license is in the public interest.” The Wireless Bureau launched the record refresh in May (see 1705020064). The filing in docket 10-112 reflects the carrier's discussions with Wireless Bureau staff. The Land Mobile Communications Council, meanwhile, sent a letter urging the FCC to include public safety in its category of licensees subject to the proposed rules on license renewal and discontinuance of operations.

AT&T generally supports Chairman Ajit Pai’s draft Mobility Fund II order and draft challenge process order, officials told aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Mike O’Rielly. Pai circulated the item July 13 for the commissioners' Aug. 3 meeting (see 1707130059). “Adopting, in part, the CTIA proposal to conduct a MFII-specific data collection and a concise targeted challenge process should help target the areas that truly need MFII support,” AT&T said in a filing Tuesday in docket 10-208. “Too many Americans in rural areas continue to have no or inadequate mobile wireless voice and broadband service. Targeting support to the areas that have proven to be uneconomic to serve without subsidy is the purpose of the Connect America Fund and AT&T urged the Commission to put the needs of rural consumers first.”

A federal appeals court found illegal T-Mobile’s workplace ban on photography and audio or video recording, but said three other employee-handbook rules flagged by the National Labor Relations Board don’t violate the National Labor Relations Act. The recording ban is too broad, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a Tuesday decision. “This ban is, by its own terms alone, stated so broadly that a reasonable employee, generally aware of employee rights, would interpret it to discourage protected concerted activity, such as even an off-duty employee photographing a wage schedule posted on a corporate bulletin board.” The three rules found by the court not to violate the act asked employees (1) to maintain a positive work environment, (2) not to argue, and to treat others with respect and demonstrate teamwork, and (3) not to access electronic information without approval. The NLRB had said all four rules discouraged unionizing. A “reasonable employee” would not interpret those three rules as discouraging unions, the court said. The company and board didn’t comment.

Corning views 5G as having great potential for the company, said CEO Wendell Weeks on a Wednesday earnings call. “If truly 5G as it is defined by the industry becomes the standard way to do wireless connectivity, then we are looking at a very significant secular driver of our product.” The migration to 5G “perhaps” will be the most significant development “that we have seen in our long and storied history in this business,” Weeks said. It's “too early to make a call on what exact architectures will be used,” he said. “The only question is the size, scale and timing of that momentum.” Weeks thinks “it’s easy to be confident long term” about the prospects for tax changes under the Trump administration. “The current tax policy of the United States is not stable over time,” said Weeks. He thinks bad tax policy "leads to things that are not good for our economy or jobs, and that ultimately that’s going to get fixed.” “What I am much less confident about is how the political math works in any given year, so I think calling timing on that one is above my paygrade."

The FCC imposed a $2.9 million fine against Dialing Services for allegedly making robocalls to wireless phones using artificial or prerecorded voice messages without the prior express consent of the called parties. Commissioner Mike O'Rielly dissented. FCC investigators determined in 2012 the company was responsible for more than 4.7 million calls to wireless phones over three months. “The calls were non-emergency communications and were made without the called parties’ prior consent, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act,” said a Wednesday order. O'Rielly questioned whether the FCC is punishing “a technology and its operator" rather than the actual originator of illegal robocalls. “After months of working on this case and hoping to reach common ground, we reached a point where additional edits and input weren’t getting us closer on a couple of key issues,” O’Rielly said. “Unfortunately, the item before us today is so lacking that I do not have sufficient confidence that the allegations are correct.” The order “opens a huge can of worms given that this same platform technology can be used for completely legitimate purposes and often is,” he said. Chairman Ajit Pai said he didn’t have similar qualms against fining a company that offers software-based robocalling service to third-party clients. “Make no mistake: Although it may not have physically placed the calls itself, Dialing Services was not the unwitting conduit or passive technical support service it claims to be,” Pai said. “One of the Company’s featured services is a spoofing functionality designed to provide deceptive information about a call’s originating point or to hide that information altogether.” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn supported the order, but didn't release a statement. The company didn't comment.

Smartphone sales growth in China reversed course in Q2, slipping 3 percent from Q2 2016 to 113 million shipments, Canalys Research reported. Xiaomi replaced Apple as No. 4, shipping just under 15 million phones, up 60 percent from Q2 2016. Samsung also had shipment declines. On the most recent earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook downplayed reports of a slowing China market.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved waiver requests by three winning bidders in the TV incentive auction who failed to timely file documents: Tradewinds Wireless, Nova Wireless and Pacific Comnex. All met a May 11 deadline for final payments for the spectrum, the order said Tuesday. “However, Pacific Comnex failed to timely file FCC Form 601 and FCC Form 602,” the bureau said. “Tradewinds and Nova timely filed their FCC Form 601 long-form applications, but failed to have a current FCC Form 602 on file with the Commission by the deadline.” The bureau said it's in the public interest to grant the waivers: “We give considerable weight to the applicants’ prior records of compliance in Auction 1002 and their prompt action to remedy their delinquencies.”

FirstNet shouldn't be allowed to impose additional conditions on states that opt out of connecting to FirstNet, Verizon wrote the FCC. “While FirstNet’s policies appear to accommodate core-to-core interconnection and roaming, the extent of FirstNet’s discretion to impose additional conditions renders uncertain the viability of such arrangements.” States should have as much flexibility as FirstNet did in selecting network partners, the carrier said. Verizon rival AT&T is the network's lead partner. “This flexibility must include the state’s and its partner’s authority to build and operate their own network core, which includes data centers and systems used to interconnect users to each other and to other public networks, as long as it is interoperable with FirstNet’s nationwide network,” Verizon said. It once was considered a contender for the contract. Monday's letter was posted in docket 16-269.

Global Q2 smartphone sales reached 347 million units, the second-highest, GfK reported Monday. North American smartphone sales rose 6 percent to 47.4 million from the year-ago quarter, and revenue jumped 15 percent to $18.7 billion, it said. GfK forecasts the region’s smartphone demand will rise 2 percent this year to 203 million units. Global Q2 smartphone market value grew 9 percent over Q2 2016 to $109 billion on higher average selling prices, it said. "Consumers are willing to pay more for their smartphone as they seek a better user experience,” said analyst Yotaro Noguchi. Despite high penetration, the research firm forecasts smartphone demand will see growth “as innovation from smartphone vendors keeps replacement cycles from lengthening."