Representatives of Nokia met with FCC staff by teleconference to discuss terrestrial fixed uses for the 92-175 GHz bands, Nokia said in a filing in docket 14-177. Nokia filed a presentation from the meeting in which it called for aggregating the spectrum slices into two bands -- W and D. Minimum channel size should be 250 MHz, allowing for capacity of up to 1 Gbps, Nokia said.

While the deployment of FirstNet has been delayed by a legal challenge (see 1703030049), some states want to move forward quickly on their own network for first responders, said Wireless Partners, which works with states, in a filing at the FCC. As the FCC moves forward on rules allowing states to opt out of FirstNet, it should make sure states can file opt-out requests as soon as “practicable,” Wireless Partners said. The rules should give states flexibility to "amend their requests and otherwise adjust their interoperability showings as needed to respond to changes in technology and/or FirstNet compatibility requirements, or to address any issues the Commission may raise,” the filing said. The FCC should also allow states to launch deployments “immediately without regard to the timing of FirstNet deployment,” the firm said: “State authorities are understandably eager to provide state-of-the-art public safety communications to their residents, and given the connectivity challenges in many areas of the countr[y], many may conclude that a more customized, statewide network would serve their needs better than the nationwide FirstNet network. They are committed to fulfilling their interoperability obligations, and want to work cooperatively with the Commission on a smooth review process for opt-out requests.” The filing was posted in docket 16-269.

Lifeline providers asked the FCC to deny TracFone and Sprint requests for clarification of mobile broadband minimum standards for the low-income USF subsidy program. A group of mobile "eligible telecom carriers" said Lifeline rules don't require ETCs to provide smartphones to subscribers, but they agreed consumers receiving offers of mobile broadband internet access service (BIAS) should have devices that can handle such service. "A 3G-capable feature phone with web browsing functionality used in connection with a plan offering the minimum required data allotment enables consumers to access BIAS in a manner that meets the FCC’s mobile BIAS minimum service standards," said the reply, posted Friday in docket 11-42, by Assist Wireless, American Broadband and Telecommunications, Blue Jay Wireless, Easy Telephone Services and Amerimex Communications. The rules don't "limit the definition of mobile BIAS to licensed, cellular data connections," they wrote: "The Commission should continue to advance the central goals of innovation and consumer choice in the Lifeline Modernization Order by permitting Lifeline providers to offer consumers meaningful alternatives to traditional cellular data, including mobile BIAS plans that rely on alternative technologies such as unlicensed spectrum." TracFone replied that Sprint, consumer groups and a state regulatory commission shared its concerns "about abuses of the minimum service standards and the abuse" of a 12-month "port-freeze" rule (see 1703030025). Telrite replied the FCC shouldn't play "innovation gatekeeper" in Lifeline but let consumers decide which offerings work best for them.

The Wright Petitioners, who pressed the FCC to start the inquiry leading to rules on the costs of calls from inside correctional facilities, said the cost of combating contraband cellphones mustn't be passed on to prisoners and their families. An order and Further NPRM on contraband cellphones is to get a vote at the FCC’s March 23 commissioners' meeting (see 1703020063). Lawyers for the petitioners reported on a meeting with Rachael Bender, wireless aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “Counsel expressed that the Wright Petitioners do not have an opinion on the content of the technical rules as set forth in the draft Report and Order, but it is clear that the proposed rules do not include adequate protections to ensure that the cost of contraband cellphone detection systems will not be passed onto inmates and their families,” said a filing in docket 13-111. The Wright Petitioners also questioned whether the FCC has any reliable cost estimates for the order itself. The filing hadn't been posted. Technology company Try Safety First reported on a meeting between its lawyer, Jamie Barnett, ex-chief of the Public Safety Bureau, and bureau officials including acting Chief Lisa Fowlkes. The FCC should keep in mind “the need for a complete solution to the serious problem of contraband cell phones,” said Barnett, now at Venable. “The technology must render the cell phone useless and incapable of even recording photos or text; otherwise unconnected cell phones can still be passed and used for illicit and unauthorized communication. Cell Command's beacon technology, Cell Warden, renders the device incapable of any use.”

The Rural Wireless Association met with FCC staff to explain its request that the FCC review a December Wireless Bureau waiver of FCC 700 MHz buildout rules requested by Bresnan Communications (see 1612210038). Bresnan plans to assign the three licenses, covering parts of Montana and Wyoming, to T-Mobile. RWA reported on meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. “RWA discussed the history of the rulemaking proceeding that resulted in the adoption of the 700 MHz buildout requirements and the Commission’s intent that such requirements achieve its goal of preventing the warehousing of 700 MHz spectrum,” RWA said in a Wednesday filing in docket 16-319. By allowing Bresnan to “sit on its licenses for eight years without taking any steps to buildout, and then enter into an agreement to sell its licenses to T-Mobile at the eleventh hour” the FCC has “rewarded Bresnan for the warehousing of its spectrum,” RWA said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau modified a 218-219 MHz license held by railroad coalition PTC-220 to allow New Jersey Transit and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) to deploy positive train control. The modification means NJ Transit can deploy PTC in New Jersey counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Sussex and Warren, and SEPTA in Pennsylvania counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia and in New Jersey's Gloucester and Mercer, the bureau said. The order also approves increased power levels so the spectrum can be used for PTC. The modifications also apply to some PTC-220 member freight railroads, the order said. Congress required Amtrak, and many commuter and freight railroads, to deploy interoperable PTC systems as part of the 2008 Rail Safety Improvement Act. Lack of PTC has been a factor in a number of train accidents, most recently of NJ Transit (see 1609290067). U.S. railroads were supposed to have had PTC in place by Dec. 31, 2015, but received a three-year extension after complaining to Congress they couldn't launch everywhere along their systems by that deadline (see 1510290069).

The FCC should preserve at least three TV channels in every market consistent with the vacant channel NPRM, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America, in a meeting with Rachel Bender, aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. “An early Commission decision is needed to relieve the longstanding uncertainty about whether a minimum of at least three channels of unlicensed spectrum in the ongoing TV band will continue to be available for public use and private investment after the incentive auction,” Calabrese said, according to a Tuesday filing in docket 12-354. “Leading chipmakers and other tech industry stakeholders have steadfastly maintained that the post-auction band plan and repacking policies must ensure at least three channels of 6 megahertz of unlicensed access in every market nationwide, especially in the most populated metro markets, to enable many emerging unlicensed use cases.” Calabrese also made the case for rechannelizing the 5.9 GHz band to separate Wi-Fi from auto safety spectrum: Segmenting the band -- with exclusive public safety use at the top and shared commercial access on a co-equal basis below -- is the only win-win outcome."

National Grange endorsed TracFone's bid to clarify an FCC Lifeline "port freeze" rule, which is "being used to limit access to true broadband service and broadband-suitable devices" (see 1701230039). The farm group said mobile service can help bridge the rural connectivity gap, but it requires "meaningful broadband access, not a standard cellular telephone" suitable for just phone and text service. "Lifeline providers should offer true broadband access in conformance with the service standards" in the FCC's 2016 order, National Grange told the FCC in a letter posted Thursday in docket 11-42. "Those standards are not met with a 'feature phone' and especially not one purporting to 'provide' 500 MB of mobile broadband data (while really offering 10 MB along with Wi-Fi access, where Wi-Fi is available) -- the minimum service standard for broadband data codified in the Commission's rules. ... To meet these needs and to close this gap, we believe the port freeze rule must be clarified, so that companies are required to provide meaningful broadband Internet which fully meets the minimum service standards." Sprint and two consumers also backed TracFone's request, but Telrite voiced concern (see 1703020059 and 1703030025). Earlier this week, the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights cited concern about FCC revocation of nine Lifeline broadband provider designations. In a letter asking for a meeting with Chairman Ajit Pai, the group also cited concerns about FCC policy on joint sale agreements and media ownership, and on prison phone rates.

Samsung researchers are working on further improving OLED for mobile phones, with our review finding the company's applications published at the Patent and Trademark Office at the rate of about 10 a month. The company said it fashioned a way to make an OLED screen function as a camera. Windows and sensors let a screen detect 3D depth and how far an object is, so a display can take photographs, recognize control gestures, sense proximity and make eye-to-eye contact for a video call. Other applications describe bendable and stretchable OLED screens, including one that opens and closes like a book, so the device size can be halved by folding.

Movado, whose market differentiator in the smartwatch category has been to offer “beautiful wristwatches that are watches first” (see 1511240041), will collaborate with Google for the first time on a smartwatch “collection” to be unveiled at this month’s Baselworld 2017 show in Switzerland, Movado said in a Wednesday announcement. Called Movado Connect, the new smartwatch line is among the first to support Google’s newly redesigned Android Wear 2.0 platform, Movado said. Five men's styles with a starting price of $495 will be available in the fall in the U.S., the Caribbean, Canada and the U.K., it said. Baselworld 2017, the global trade show for the watch and jewelry industry, opens March 23 for an eight-day run.