The Commerce Department reported on efforts to clear the AWS-3 band, in a first report released Tuesday. The department also updated clearance results for the AWS-1 band, sold by the FCC in a 2006 auction. Ten years later, work remains. All 12 federal agencies with operations in the AWS-1 bands said “they have ceased operations of their systems in the 1710-1755 MHz band, where required to do so, clearing the way for commercial licensees,” Commerce said. Six agencies -- the departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation/Federal Aviation Administration, NASA, Tennessee Valley Authority and Postal Service -- “completed their relocation efforts and achieved comparable capability of systems by relocating to new frequency assignments or by utilizing alternative technology.” Other agencies are still working with industry to clear spectrum, the report said. The Treasury Department said it expects to “achieve comparable capability in 2016 as it procures the necessary video surveillance equipment from the manufacturer,” Commerce said. The departments of Defense, Interior and Justice said "they now expect to complete efforts to achieve comparable capability in 2017,” Commerce said. Slowing progress were “various civil construction and contractor delays for the DOD, administrative delays for the DOJ, and obtaining enhanced security at specific locations for the DOI,” the report said. The departments of Energy and Homeland Security also expect to wrap up their moves in 2017, the report said. In 2015, the eligible federal agencies spent $138 million on the AWS-1 transition, with total expenditures so far of $1.3 billion, the report said. It warned that clearing the AWS-3 spectrum is expected to take almost a decade, without delays. “While it is early in the transition period, affected federal agencies report that they are adhering to the original approved transition timelines and cost estimates for the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands,” Commerce said. Last year, federal agencies spent $5.534 million to clear the 1695-1710 MHz band and $25.238 million to clear the 1755-1780 MHz band, the report said. “For the 1755-1780 MHz band, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Treasury, the United States Agency for International Development, and the United States Capitol Police reported that they have transitioned from using the spectrum,” Commerce said. “Full transition from the spectrum for the remaining agencies is projected for 2025.” The record-setting AWS-3 auction ended in January 2015, after 341 bidding rounds, with almost $45 billion in provisionally winning bids (see 1501290059).

AT&T and Globecomm are jointly launching a new cellular/satellite connectivity network aimed at IoT applications, AT&T said in a release Monday. It said the joint network will have IoT devices operate on mobile data when a signal is available, and switch to satellite when cell service is unavailable. AT&T IoT Solutions Vice President Mike Troiano called it "a one-stop shop for IoT connectivity."

The FCC needs to move as quickly as possible to repack the broadcast band after the TV incentive auction, T-Mobile officials said in meetings at the FCC. The meetings, with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins, Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and others, also involved T-Mobile’s broader regulatory agenda, said the carrier in a filing in docket 14-28. “We discussed the importance of LTE-U, T-Mobile’s plans for testing the technology and the need for the Commission to ensure that testing and authorization of equipment is not unnecessarily delayed. We discussed T-Mobile’s interest in, and activities in support of, 5G technology and the need for the Commission to move forward with making spectrum available in the millimeter wave bands.”

An FCC draft order would address an application for review of a Wireline Bureau decision that denied a U.S. Cellular request for a waiver of a 2008 high-cost USF support filing deadline, said an agency spokesman Monday. He didn't say what action the draft order would take but noted the docket is 08-71. The FCC's list of items on circulation, which was updated Friday, indicated the draft order circulated among commissioners Tuesday. U.S. Cellular representatives didn't comment.

The FCC approved rules designed to guard against interference to public safety communications in the 800 MHz National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee (NPSPAC) band. The order confirms the emission mask for digital transmissions in the NPSPAC band. The FCC also specified analog FM as the standard emission for use on all interoperability channels in the spectrum. “We lessen the possibility that first responders will encounter harmful interference in the NPSPAC band and provide certainty to manufacturers concerning the capabilities required of radios used for interoperable communications,” the FCC said. It said the rule changes adopted “provide certainty to public safety entities, Regional Planning Committees (RPCs), equipment manufacturers and equipment testing laboratories and will ensure that licensed facilities operate under uniform technical parameters to maintain the existing interference environment in the NPSPAC band and promote interoperability.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly approved part of the order, but concurred on other parts because of concerns the FCC was imposing a technology mandate. The order mandates all public safety radios operating on the 800 MHz, VHF and UHF mutual aid and interoperability bands “must have analog FM capability,” he said. “While I understand the pursuit of interoperability on interoperability channels, industry, despite not having a technology requirement, has adopted FM analog as the de facto standard in these bands. Therefore, this requirement seems unnecessary.” O’Rielly said it was “ridiculous in today’s digital world to be requiring that devices have less efficient, analog technology.” O’Rielly also questioned whether the FCC is doing adequate cost-benefit analysis before handing down a mandate. “As long as the Commission continues to shirk its obligations, I reiterate my plea to stakeholders that they inform our analysis by providing data about the cost savings of their proposals or the possible costs of Commission rules,” he said. The report and order was approved by the commission last week and released Monday.

Acer unveiled a broad 2016 lineup of devices in New York as CEO Jason Chen ushered in the age of “Beingware,” part of the company’s transformation to next-generation electronics, in what Chen dubbed the “post-smartphone” era. Products include a cycling computer that will upload video clips, social media via app, a fitness tracker with double the battery life of previous trackers, and the $250 5.5-inch Liquid Zest Plus smartphone. The phone's 5000 mAh battery is said to last as long as two days. The Chromebook 15, Acer’s first under Google’s Chrome for Work initiative, is the first notebook PC to use customizable Vibrant Gorilla Glass, which Corning announced last week. Acer bowed what it called a portable desktop gaming PC that can handle virtual reality gaming. Acer is “ready for VR,” Chen said, saying the company is the only PC maker to support four VR standards.

Wireless has the potential to transform agriculture, CTIA said in a report released Friday, tied to Earth Day. Agricultural land and agriculture account for some 80 percent of U.S. water consumption, the report said. “Less than 10 percent of irrigated farms in the U.S. used advanced irrigation management techniques, such as those using wireless technology,” the report said. “Wireless technology has the potential to not only help farmers more efficiently manage water use but to also add substantial value to the agricultural industry.” In 2013, 67 percent of U.S. farms had access to the Internet, compared to 51 percent in 2005, the report said. Twenty-four percent of farms with Internet access relied on wireless as their primary method of accessing the Web in 2013, compared to 3 percent in 2005. The report was written by the Brattle Group.

T-Mobile US said it will host an earnings call and “an extended, open conversation” about the company’s Q1 financial results Tuesday. The call starts at 8 a.m. EDT. “Participants will have multiple ways to submit questions including via phone and Twitter,” the carrier said in a news release. “T-Mobile will also take questions via text and respond to some of them on the call.”

As smartphones mature and market growth slows, display manufacturers “are looking to new in-cell and on-cell touch-screen solutions that offer consumers thinner and brighter displays, while shortening the supply chain for smartphone manufacturers,” IHS said in a Thursday report. As panel makers promote these new displays, and offer aggressive pricing, in-cell and on-cell touch displays are expected to comprise half of all smartphone displays shipped in 2017, IHS said: “New touch solutions are emerging that boast greater flexibility, lighter weight and other feature improvements.”

Wireless industry groups and those representing the deaf and hard of hearing filed a letter at the FCC Thursday urging the agency to support their joint proposal from last year on a revised commission proposal for hearing aid compatibility (HAC) rules (see 1511130027). “The Parties have worked together for many years to ensure that wireless handsets are accessible to and usable by people who use hearing aid devices, and we are pleased to continue our ongoing collaboration on this important issue,” the groups said. The FCC “thoughtfully” incorporated the proposal into its NPRM proceeding, the groups said. “The Parties continue to urge the Commission to adopt the Consensus Proposal as submitted.” The letter offers advice on a panel that would track progress toward ensuring that 100 percent of handsets are eventually HAC-compliant. “At a minimum, the task force participants should include representatives of consumers who use hearing aid devices, research and technical advisors, wireless industry policy and technical representatives, and hearing aid manufacturers,” the letter said. ”However, lack of participation by any task force member will not prevent the task force from proceeding with its work on the schedule provided.” The groups said the task force “should be overseen by a group with technical, legal, and administrative expertise to help manage a consensus-based process that will make a recommendation as to the achievability of a 100 percent HAC compliance requirement, while carefully weighing the needs of both the wireless industry and consumers, including those who use hearing aid devices." The Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, Hearing Loss Association of America, National Association of the Deaf, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TDI) and Telecommunications Industry Association signed the letter. It was filed in docket 15-285.