Makers of RF devices can still put on traditional FCC logos, even though the regulator last month agreed to allow e-labeling as part of an overhaul of Part 2 equipment authorization rules (see 1707130032), an official said Thursday. Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and Rashmi Doshi, chief of the FCC Lab, appeared on a Telecommunications Industry Association webinar. Doshi said e-labeling isn't a mandate. The order goes to some length to recognize that “the FCC logo is useful, even though we felt that making it mandatory was too much of a burden,” Doshi said. The label is widely recognized outside the U.S., he said. The Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative are working with other countries on common approaches to e-labeling, Doshi said. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has scheduled a conference on the topic for next month, he said. “We’ve already talked to Canada on some of the things that they’re doing.” Knapp said the U.S. is at the “forefront” internationally. “When I go to places like Europe or Asia, we’re always trying to inform people about what we’ve done in the hope that they will follow,” Knapp said. Analysis of RF devices is becoming more complicated, with systems on the market with multiple radios that are software controlled, Knapp said. “The balancing we’re trying to achieve is that you still meet the technical requirements, but you’re not doing 2,000 tests so that by the time you’re done the product is outdated,” Knapp said. “That really is the challenge.”

Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is available (see here) to Galaxy S8 and S8+ U.S. owners, after reported problems managing big data. On the reason for the delay, a spokesman emailed us: "To ensure we were able to meet consumers’ expectations with Bixby, we launched an early access preview (EAP) in June, to help us better understand and enrich the Bixby experience. Within just a few days of the EAP, Samsung saw over 100K users sign-up for the Samsung Bixby EAP on Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+." Those numbers exceeded expectations, and the interactions with Bixby, which generated more than 4 million commands, "informed the continuous improvements to get us ready for launch," he said.

Consumer technology sales are on track for 3.2 percent growth this year to $321 billion, CTA reported Wednesday. CTA projects drones, OLED TV and virtual reality (VR) technology will each cross $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2017. Among emerging technologies, wearables -- including fitness trackers, other health and fitness devices, hearables, over-the-counter hearing devices and smartwatches -- are expected to see 9 percent revenue growth to 48 million units, ringing up $5.6 billion. Smart home products are forecast to grow 48 percent to $3.3 billion. Sales of digital assistant devices are expected to spike 53 percent to 11 million units, pulling in $1.3 billion, while mobile VR headsets are forecast to surge 79 percent to 5.3 million units, generating $1.3 billion, said CTA. Sales of drones under about one-half pound -- FAA cutoff for mandatory drone registration -- are projected to grow 40 percent, reaching 3.4 million units with $1.1 billion revenue. In maturing categories, smartphones may advance 3 percent to 185 million shipments, totaling $55.6 billion.

AT&T Wednesday encouraged other states to join Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Virginia and Wyoming in opting in to FirstNet. “States and territories have until mid-December to make their final decisions,” said a news release. “But the sooner a decision is made, the sooner FirstNet and AT&T can deliver specialized services to their public safety community.”

The FCC Incentive Auction Task Force and Wireless Bureau approved 105 licenses purchased in the TV incentive auction by 15 mostly regional carriers. In June, the FCC approved 2,317 licenses, mostly by bigger players (see 1706140048). Carolina West Wireless, Cellular South, CT Cube and NE Colorado Cellular were among companies with licenses that got the OK. Most of the licenses approved Wednesday cover smaller, often rural markets.

The FCC Wireless Bureau Wednesday sought comment on a WiMAX Forum petition for service rules for the aeronautical mobile airport communications system (AeroMACS). The forum proposed that AeroMACS spectrum be shared between federal and nongovernment users under a memorandum of agreement to be negotiated between the NTIA, on behalf of federal users, and a private entity to be designated by the FCC. The spectrum is in the 5000-5030 MHz and 5091-5150 MHz bands. “Proposed uses include air traffic management, including air traffic control; aeronautical operations communications; and communications related to airport operations, safety, and security,” a bureau notice said. “Non-Federal users may include airport owners and operators, airline carriers, aeronautical communications network providers (ACNPs), and other entities that engage in airport communications relating to safety and regularity of flight.” Comments are due Aug. 18, replies Sept. 5, in RM-11793.

With an eye on small cells, Crown Castle struck a deal to buy Lightower from Berkshire Partners, Pamlico Capital and other investors for $7.1 billion in cash. Lightower has an "attractive fiber footprint,” Crown Castle CEO Jay Brown said in a Tuesday news release. “Lightower’s dense fiber footprint is well-located in top metro markets in the Northeast and is well-positioned to facilitate small cell deployments by our customers.” Lightower brings with it 32,000 route miles of fiber, located primarily in top-tier markets including New York, Boston and Philadelphia, Crown Castle said, noting that the buy will double its fiber footprint. Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said in a Wednesday note to investors many view Lightower as the ''crown jewel'' in the private fiber space. Crown Castle said the deal is subject to state and federal regulatory approvals, including by the FCC.

FirstNet asked the FCC to tweak its rules on states opting out to require that opt-out state networks be able to support multiple access point names (APNs) “to ensure both interoperability and public safety custom usage.” FirstNet said it had made this recommendation to the FCC but it wasn’t part of the rules, approved by commissioners in June (see 1706190072). “The FirstNet solution incorporates the use of general, specific, and custom APNs,” the network commented in docket 16-269. “While APN interoperability is primarily between the User Equipment and the Core Network, support of multiple APNs in a device will also require the device to interoperate with the [network] in order to set up multiple default and dedicated bearers based on supported APNs.” C Spire told the FCC NTIA shouldn't be allowed to do a second interoperability analysis of state opt-out plans beyond what is done by the FCC. “NTIA’s role is to ensure the viability of state plans by evaluating opt-out states’, and their respective partner’s, long-term ability to execute the plan each opt-out state submits. This NTIA evaluation is not an opportunity to second guess the Commission’s interoperability decision.” C Spire suggested some states may be inclined to rely on local providers for a network rather than the national FirstNet. “In rural states, like Mississippi, this is not a mere theoretical concern,” the Mississippi-based carrier said. Rivada Networks, pursuing contracts with opt-out states, also said the FCC shouldn't allow a second interoperability analysis by NTIA. “FirstNet’s reservation of the right to impose new, undisclosed interoperability requirements ‘as part of NTIA’s review and/or in FirstNet’s network policies’ is troubling, and inconsistent with the statutory framework,” Rivada commented.

IEEE published the 802.11ah-2016 standard amendment, providing for an extended range wireless local area network in the sub-1 GHz band, it announced Tuesday. IEEE 802.11ah-2016 is said to lower propagation loss through free space, walls and other obstructions, and offers a networking alternative to the congested 2.4 GHz and shorter-range 5 GHz bands. It defines a narrow-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing physical layer operating in the license-exempt bands below 1 GHz, making it suitable for applications in IoT, smart appliances, wearables, smart grid and healthcare, said the standards group.

Officials with the 911 National Emergency Address Database, an independent entity established by CTIA, explained the basics on NEAD and its privacy and security plan in a meeting with staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau and Office of General Counsel. NEAD representatives last week “discussed how the Plan was developed and designed consistent with the requirements and spirit” of rules, said a filing Tuesday in docket 07-114. “The NEAD Platform has been designed and will be operated in a manner intended to protect individuals’ private information and address cybersecurity concerns,” it said. “An internal operational process will be implemented to assess, audit, and determine compliance with applicable privacy and data security requirements on an ongoing basis.”