Jot Carpenter, top Capitol Hill lobbyist at CTIA for more than a decade, will leave the association July 15 to start his own consulting practice, the group said Thursday. Carpenter was previously at AT&T and the Telecommunications Industry Association. He had been an aide to the late Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Ohio. Carpenter “will be missed at CTIA, but we are excited to support his new venture and hope to partner with Jot for years to come,” said CTIA CEO Meredith Baker in an emailed statement. CTIA Executive Vice President Brad Gillen will oversee CTIA’s Hill team until a successor to Carpenter is picked, CTIA said. Carpenter is vice president-government affairs at CTIA.

The FCC should decline to say the U.S. wireless market is competitive, the Competitive Carriers Association urged in reply comments on the upcoming wireless competition report, said a news release. “AT&T and Verizon continue to stifle the CMRS marketplace, and as these two largest carriers continue to acquire additional spectrum and foreclose opportunities for smaller rivals, the current market cannot be considered effectively competitive,” said CCA President Steve Berry. “CCA fully supports FCC efforts to promote competition and innovation, and the FCC can help achieve this important goal and facilitate deployment of next generation technologies by reexamining and re-tooling certain policies.”

New rules for wireless mics after the TV incentive auction, approved by the FCC in August (see 1508060050), took effect Wednesday, said a commission notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. The Office of Management and Budget approved all but one change, the FCC said. That exception applies to the rules for the wireless medical telemetry service, which operates in TV channel 37. “It’s not clear what is holding up OMB approval” for WTMS, Fletcher Heald said in a blog post. “We’ll keep our eyes out for any further announcements.”

The IoT is still “nascent,” but as technology continues to spread, NTIA “is working to understand the challenges and benefits the IoT poses and what role government could play in promoting its growth,” it said in a blog post Wednesday. In April, NTIA sought comment on the IoT. “Last week, we posted the more than 130 responses we received,” wrote Rafi Goldberg and Travis Hall, policy analysts at the agency. “We are early in the process of analyzing the comments.” Some observers question what NTIA will accomplish in its look at IoT (see 1606060042). The analysts said NTIA got more than 130 responses. “One of the questions we asked in our request for comment was how to best measure IoT and its impact,” they wrote. “The responses to these and other questions will help shape our future Digital Nation research as we work to better understand how connected devices are used by the American public. NTIA will also be hosting an IoT workshop later this year and will be drafting an issue-spotting, agenda-setting green paper, which will identify key issues impacting deployment of IoT, as well as benefits and challenges and possible roles for government and the private sector in fostering the growth of IoT.”

T-Mobile for the sixth time expanded the lineup of networks available as part of its zero-rated Binge On service. Online gaming streams featuring League of Legends and Hearthstone and shows on PBS and PBS Kids now stream using Binge On, T-Mobile said Tuesday in a news release. “Why limit yourself when you can binge on and on and on?” said John Legere, T-Mobile CEO. “Whatever you and your family watch -- from Jon Snow to Elmo -- Binge On has everyone covered. … So go ahead, binge on entire seasons of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead and never worry about using up your high-speed data.” Almost 90 video providers now offer programming on Binge On, the carrier said. Binge On, introduced in November, allows subscribers to stream video from a wide number of services without usage counting against a customer’s monthly data bucket (see 1511120045).

NTIA reopened the window for nominations to the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee Tuesday. Nominations closed May 13, NTIA noted. “In reopening this application window, NTIA seeks to expand the pool of applicants and best ensure the composition of the committee reflects balanced points of view." The new deadline is June 24, NTIA said in a notice.

Siemens and Federated Wireless unveiled a partnership Tuesday to develop shared spectrum solutions for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The partnership will make Siemens one of the first companies to use a spectrum access system and environmental sensing capability being developed by Federated, the companies said in a news release. Both must still be approved by the FCC. “Siemens is dedicated to serving all of its critical infrastructure customer segments by ensuring early compliance with the new FCC CBRS rules,” said Jeremy Bryant, Siemens business segment manager. Siemens already offers broadband products that use the 3.65 GHz band, which are required to transition to the new CBRS rules, the companies said. “During the transition period to the new CBRS rules, existing users will also receive protection from radio frequency interference due to the new users of the band if they register their sites with the CBRS database administrator and secure a protection zone for their grandfathered operations.”

The number of IoT connections in North America hit 250 million in Q1, based on figures from Ovum, 5G Americas said Monday. LTE connections also continued to soar, the group said in a news release. Latin America and the Caribbean were second of all world regions for LTE additions, growing 268 percent year over year, surpassed only by the combined Central and Southern Asia region, the group said. In North America as a whole, there were 253 million LTE connections by March, for a net gain of 67 million LTE customers in the past 12 months, a 36 percent growth rate, the group said. The group also reported 69 commercial LTE networks in the U.S. and Canada and seven LTE-Advanced networks. “Even though 5G has captured the minds of the industry, LTE continues to grow at a tremendous rate,” said Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas. “LTE will be the mobile broadband foundation for 5G as coverage increases and by its continued evolution with new inventive technical features to connect people and machines.”

CTIA strongly opposes the use of contraband phones in correctional facilities and supports “efforts to promote technologies -- from managed access systems to metal detectors -- that will combat this problem with minimal impact to legitimate users,” it said in a filing at the FCC. CTIA and member companies reported on a meeting with staff from the Wireless and Public Safety bureaus and the Office of Engineering and Technology. They said they "discussed the Commission’s 2013 NPRM, including complex questions raised by the use of cell detection systems as a means of combating the use of contraband cell phones in correctional facilities. The parties discussed the need for a court order to terminate service to a contraband device and providers’ voluntary efforts to control contraband phones through court orders. The parties also addressed the NPRM’s proposal for a Commission rule requiring mandatory termination of service.” The filing was in docket 13-111. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai has raised the issue repeatedly, including at a field hearing in South Carolina in April (see 1604060058). The four national wireless carriers were all represented at the meeting.

The Environmental Health Trust raised concerns about potential health implications of the growing use of wireless devices with and by infants and toddlers. The FCC is “relying on outdated assumptions and outdated models to test phones,” the trust said in a meeting with commission staff, including an aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler. “There is growing scientific recognition that the current test systems are fundamentally flawed and do not reflect the current growth in use by infants and toddlers. We urged the FCC to issue a general call for precautions for children consistent with the advice of over a dozen other governments, as experts are recognizing the growing application of wireless transmitting devices to infants and toddlers.” The trust cited the growing popularity of such devices as the iPotty, the iBouncy chair and the iRocking chair as well as the Wi-Fi-connected Barbie. “Currently used smartphones in cardboard virtual reality devices have not been tested for exposure into the young child's brain and eyes and are being used in many school districts around this country despite the lack of safety testing,” the group said. The trust said other countries require that cordless phones and baby monitors be voice activated. In the U.S.. the devices are always on, “sending and receiving microwave radiation 24/7, exposing people unnecessarily to wireless radiation,” the trust said in docket 13-84. Americans' health is of "paramount" importance to CTIA and the wireless industry, emailed a CTIA spokeswoman in response. "Since we are not scientific researchers, we follow the guidance of the experts when it comes to cellphones and health effects. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, World Health Organization, American Cancer Society and numerous other international and U.S. organizations and health experts, the scientific evidence shows no known health risk due to the RF energy emitted by cellphones. As the FDA states on its website, 'The weight of scientific evidence has not linked cellphones with any health problems.'" The FCC has determined that all mobile phones legally sold in the U.S. are safe, the spokeswoman said. "The FCC monitors scientific research on a regular basis, and its standard for RF exposure is based on recommended guidelines adopted by U.S. and international standard-setting bodies.”