Despite Federal Aviation Administration conclusions that a comprehensive plan to safely integrate drones into the national airspace must address privacy concerns, the Electronic Privacy Information Center said the FAA "failed" to consider privacy, in its opening 55-page brief of a lawsuit against the agency (see 1606210025). EPIC, which filed the August suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (see 1608260020), said drones pose "unique" privacy threats since they can carry cameras, recording devices and other sophisticated capabilities that can capture people's personal information. The group said the order that excludes privacy issues should be vacated because the agency failed to determine, as required by the FAA Modernization Act, "whether the proposed small drone operations would 'create a hazard ... to the public' by enabling invasions of privacy and property." EPIC said the agency excluded privacy from the rulemaking based on a narrow interpretation of the term "hazard," and the decision to exclude privacy is against its own prior interpretations of its obligations. The FAA didn't comment Tuesday.

Dolby Labs used the opening day of the Mobile World Congress Monday to announce that LG’s G6 will be the first smartphone to support Dolby Vision high dynamic range. Specifics in the announcement were scarce about the G6's HDR performance, other than that the phone will have a 5.7-inch screen. The G6 also will use Dolby Audio, Dolby said. Amazon and Netflix will be the first streaming services to deliver content in Dolby Vision to mobile devices around the world, Dolby said.

A Motorola Mod due out later this year will bring Alexa voice control to the Moto Z smartphone, a Motorola blog post said Monday. With the Alexa Mod, users will be able to control smart home devices, check news, make lists and request an Uber ride, Motorola said. Other upcoming Mods: the Moto Power Pack ($49, March), said to add 50 percent more battery life to the phone without adding bulk; a wireless charging Mod; and a Gamepad Mod that turns the phone into a mobile gaming console with physical controls and integrated battery, the company said.

Tablets’ share of mobile traffic fell in every country last year, said a Monday report from Adobe Digital Insights. In the U.S., tablets generated 8 percent of total web traffic, down from 10 percent in 2014, it said. Discounted tablets over the holidays were some of the hottest selling products of the season, but sales haven’t translated to traffic, said analyst Becky Tasker. Overall U.S. website traffic has remained flat for the past three years, said ADI, with smartphone device usage growing at the expense of other devices. Smartphone visits to the web grew 69 percent since 2014, as desktop and tablet visits declined by 23 and 14 percent, said the research firm. Though the mobile segment is a “battleground” for companies, “the app boom is over,” with installations down 38 percent in the past two years and launches down 28 percent, said Tasker. ADI said consumers in developing countries are bypassing PCs and going straight to smartphones to access the internet. Brazil and Argentina are rising fastest in share of smartphone traffic, said Tasker.

T-Mobile warned that an FCC proposal to streamline Part 20 rules (see 1610170056), released last summer, may be more substantial than some expect. This proceeding's intent is merely to “streamline and update” rules, but the proposed elimination of Section 20.7(h) of the regulations “may be interpreted as a substantive change,” T-Mobile said. Representatives of the carrier recently met with FCC staffers, said a filing in docket 16-240. “Section 20.7(h) contains an interpretation of what does not constitute a mobile service (i.e., a service with devices authorized under Part 15 of the Commission’s rules) not found elsewhere,” the filing said. “Elimination of the rule could therefore be misinterpreted to suggest that services provided to devices authorized under Part 15 may be mobile services, even though the stated intent of the proceeding is not to implement any rule changes, but rather to clear away unnecessary regulatory clutter.”

Ligado began trying to hammer out regulatory specifics on power reductions on transmitters operating in the 1526-1536 MHz band to whatever level needed to comply with certified aviation GPS standards. In an ex parte filing posted Monday in FCC docket 11-109, Ligado recapped a meeting between its chief legal officer, Valerie Green, with FCC General Counsel, Office of Engineering and Technology, and International and Wireless bureau representatives. Ligado said it's discussing terms of such a condition with the Federal Aviation Administration, and the condition would have the company limit its transmission of equivalent isotropically radiated power levels in the 1526-1536 MHz band to the lower level of 32 dBW nationally or the limits would be calculated for each earth station using a model developed with the FAA. The firm also said it discussed this month's release of a National Advanced Spectrum and Communications Test Network (NASCTN) report on Ligado's LTE plans and the effect on GPS (see 1702160056). The company said that, between the NASCTN report and the ongoing condition talks with the FAA, the FCC should be able to approve the satellite firm's LTE plans.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau sought comment on a T-Mobile request for clarity of one requirement of the FCC December order establishing a common standard for the transition from text technology (TTY) to real-time text (RTT). The order "in places, seems to inaccurately describe the way carriers deliver calls to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs),” the carrier earlier complained (see 1702240035) in docket 16-145. T-Mobile seeks clarification of the obligation of carriers to deliver calls to PSAPs using an Emergency Services Internet Protocol Network (ESINet), the bureau said Monday. "T-Mobile requests that the Commission clarify that it did not intend to change the way carriers deliver calls to PSAPs using an ESINet,” the public notice said. “To the extent the Commission intended to shift the burden of conversion of RTT to TTY from the ESINet to wireless carriers, T-Mobile alternatively seeks reconsideration of that determination and requests that the Commission refrain from placing this obligation on wireless carriers.” Comments are due March 14, replies March 29.

The Trump administration is reviewing federal self-driving vehicle guidelines issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in September, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said at a National Governors Association meeting Sunday. “This administration is evaluating this guidance and will consult with you and other stakeholders as we update it and amend it ... and ensure that it strikes the right balance.” NHTSA issued the guidelines in September, asking automakers and tech companies developing self-driving systems to voluntarily provide details on a 15-item “safety assessment” checklist that covers broad areas such as cybersecurity, data-sharing and privacy (see 1609200039 and 1609160038). Some automakers at a recent House hearing (see 1702140042 and 1702130013) wanted more flexibility in the rules to allow more testing, and to prevent a patchwork of state and local regulations that are hindering development of the technology. Chao also cited advancements in integrating drones into the national airspace and the benefits from that technology. She said the federal government should be a catalyst for "safe and effective" technologies, not an impediment. She said Detroit, Silicon Valley and others need "to step up and help educate a skeptical public about the benefit of automated technologies." The secretary said many people are anxious about safety and privacy from these advancements.

Vuzix signed an agreement with Toshiba Client Solutions to supply Toshiba with a customized pair of smart glasses, Vuzix said in a Friday announcement. The companies began a “rapid development program” with milestone payments totaling more than $1 million. Toshiba, subject to a final manufacturing agreement, is expected to place additional orders for production smart glasses deliveries in Q4, said the companies.

Three members of a conspiracy to smuggle counterfeit Apple iPhones, iPads and iPods from China pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, DOJ announced. It said Andreina Becerra, Roberto Volpe and Rosario La Marca conspired to smuggle into the U.S. more than 40,000 counterfeit electronic devices from 2009 to 2014. They shipped the devices separately from the labels bearing the counterfeit Apple trademarks for later assembly to avoid detection by Customs and Border Protection officials, DOJ said. Becerra, Volpe and La Marca each pleaded guilty to counts of conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit goods, smuggling and structuring of financial transactions.