Mobile Future said Friday the FCC made the right call in an order on privacy rules after the 2016 rules were overturned through a Congressional Review Act resolution (see 1706290069). “This guidance reaffirms FCC oversight of broadband privacy while it sorts out issues associated with the classification of broadband services, and before jurisdiction can be returned to where it belongs: the FTC,” the group said in a statement by Chief Public Policy Adviser Robert McDowell. “It is crucial that internet service providers’ broadband privacy policies continue to reflect the key principles of transparency, consumer choice, and consumer security that form the foundation of the FTC’s longstanding privacy framework.”

Correctional authorities were in Washington last week for a series of meetings about contraband cellphones in prisons, a current focus of the FCC (see 1706200057). Tony Parker, Tennessee Department of Corrections commissioner, tweeted Thursday: “Good day in DC meeting with DOJ and FCC to discuss contraband cell phones in our prisons.” The Association of State Correctional Administrators tweeted about a meeting with Chairman Ajit Pai but had not made an ex parte filing on the meeting.

NTIA will hold a July 18 "virtual meeting of a multistakeholder process on Internet of Things Security Upgradability and Patching," its fourth in a series, said a notice to be published in the Federal Register Friday. The meeting will be 2-4:30 p.m. (EDT), the notice said.

AT&T said FirstNet CEO Mike Poth is right that AT&T is fully committed to FirstNet. Poth spoke at the FirstNet Board meeting Wednesday (see 1706280029). “This is more than a telecommunications network, it’s an ever-evolving ecosystem of life-saving tools to help first responders protect themselves, their communities and the nation," a spokesman said. “We’re 100 percent committed to the mission, and we’ll continue to move quickly to deliver the first-of-its-kind solution that public safety has fought for. You don’t put a brand like ours behind something this big and this important if you’re not committed to getting it right and delivering something really special for public safety.”

As the FCC continues its look at sharing between Wi-Fi and automotive safety in the 5.9 GHz band, the Association of Global Automakers filed a letter at the FCC responding to various questions from agency staff. In December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its long-awaited NPRM on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications (see 1612130050). Automakers already are installing anti-crash, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems in some vehicle models. For example, FCC staff asked the association for “background on the representation that Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards provide for fifteen safety messages to be communicated over the seven existing DSRC channels.” The DSRC-based “ecosystem is much more than just a single Basic Safety Message in support of V2V safety,” the filing said. “While the DSRC radio and the BSM are the subjects of the current NHTSA NPRM to support light vehicle V2V safety, all channels in the 5.9 GHz band are needed to support a much broader set of safety services.” The filing lists seven channels and 15 different types of messages likely to be used as part of DSRC.

Cellphone cases that include space to store credit cards or IDs are classifiable as containers and subject to a 20 percent duty rate, Customs and Border Patrol ruled. Unlike the standard cellphone cases that don't have storage space, inclusion of a slot for cards is a meaningful difference, CBP found. Classification of cellphone cases faced litigation, most recently with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirming an overturned CBP classification of OtterBox standard cellphone cases as “similar containers.” CBP's ruling last week responded to a request from Pelican Products.

The FCC Wireless Bureau said it will take no action on a Smartcomm informal complaint asking for the removal of business/industrial/land transportation (B/ILT) channels from nine 800 MHz specialized mobile radio (SMR) licenses. “Smartcomm has correctly identified B/ILT frequencies that should not have been assigned to the licenses at issue,” the order said. “Due to the procedural posture of this matter, however, we will take no action with respect to these licenses." Three of the licenses were for failure to construct, the bureau said. It dismissed objections to the other six because Smartcomm didn’t seek timely reconsideration of the license grants. Under FCC rules, the bureau said it could act only if doing so were in the public interest. “Smartcomm does not argue that operation on the improperly granted B/ILT channels has caused (or has the potential to cause) interference to, or in any way affect, any B/ILT entity,” the bureau said. “License modification is not necessary to promote the public interest.”

FreedomWorks Foundation urged the FCC to act on a pending NPRM to reserve at least one blank TV channel in every market for white spaces devices and wireless mics after the incentive auction and repacking. The NPRM was released a year ago under former Chairman Tom Wheeler (see 1506160043) with dissents by current Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “White space provides wireless Internet connection to anything with connection capability,” the foundation said in a filing in docket 15-146. “Most importantly, white space coverage is nearly universal, blanketing a much larger area than broadband.”

Members of the Mobile & Wireless Forum met with FCC Office of Engineering and Technology staff to press for streamlining of equipment certification rules. MWF filed a proposal for simplifying the process. “The MWF has an ongoing concern about the ability of the current certification procedures to meet the needs of the market as an increased variety of telecom devices are developed for the Internet of Things,” said a filing in docket 15-170. “Certification procedures should be streamlined by removing unneeded reviews in those instances where non-compliance is unlikely to be an issue.” Rashmi Doshi, chief of the FCC Lab, was at the meeting. Companies represented were Alcatel, Cisco, Intel, Lenovo. Motorola Solutions, Samsung and Zebra Technologies.

Amazon added five models of unlocked Android smartphones to its price-oriented Prime Exclusive Phones offering: the Nokia 6, the debut device in the U.S. from Nokia brand distributor HMD Global, which bought Microsoft’s feature phones business last year; three Alcatel devices; and Motorola’s Moto E, Amazon announced Tuesday.