FirstNet isn't going to issue a request for proposal and go away, said CEO Mike Poth during a pre-proposal conference and public safety webinar Thursday (see 1603040058) -- it’s about continuing to grow and reinvesting money. Terrie Callahan, Department of the Interior contracting officer-acquisitions services directorate, said the information that entities provide to FirstNet during the proposal process will be kept completely confidential, so no one has to worry that sensitive information will be released. Attendees Thursday included industry officials -- towers/sites, carriers, infrastructure devices and consulting -- and representatives from federal organizations, trade associations and the states. James Mitchell, FirstNet director-program management office, again said the proposals are due May 13 and FirstNet is planning to make awards in November, though it could be earlier or later.

The U.S. Marshals Service is flying small Cessna airplanes outfitted with "dirtboxes," which are devices that mimic cell towers that can capture locational data on tens of thousands of cellphones during a flight, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said it learned from heavily redacted material obtained from DOJ via a Freedom of Information Act request. "The records we received confirm the agencies were using these invasive surveillance tools with little oversight or legal guidance," EFF staff attorney Andrew Crocker wrote in a blog post Wednesday. Citing stories from The Wall Street Journal, he wrote that the planes were based out of five airports and used by multiple DOJ agencies, and that the CIA even helped the Marshals Service in developing and testing the capability. The FOIA materials EFF obtained are mostly internal emails and presentations from the FBI dating back to 2009, but Crocker said they "paint a picture" similar to issues about StingRays and international mobile subscriber identity catchers: "The FBI began testing and then using dirtboxes on planes without any overarching policy or legal guidance on their place in investigations." The government now requires a warrant for using cell site simulators, though there are loopholes and the policy could later change (see 1603020026). Within the material obtained, Crocker said, only a single policy document came from the Marshals Service, with "scattered references to aerial surveillance and the use of cell site simulators, but nothing that documents the Marshals’ years of dirtbox use." He said "it's very hard to believe" a bigger paper trail such as contracts, purchase orders and legal memos hasn't been generated. A spokeswoman said in an email that the Marshals Services doesn't discuss or disclose any investigative techniques, but uses various ones "to pursue and arrest violent felony fugitives based on pre-established probable cause in arrest warrants issued for crimes such as murder, sex offenders, robbery, drug offenses, kidnapping, escape and other criminal activities which negatively impact public safety." She added the techniques are consistent with federal law and DOJ policies and are subject to court approval.

LS telcom said it joined the Competitive Carriers Association. The company, which offers spectrum management and spectrum monitoring solutions, also said it will exhibit at CCA's Mobile Carriers Show, April 13-15 in Nashville.

Smartphone owners spend more time listening to music on their device than they do watching video clips, said a Parks Associates survey Wednesday. Some 68 percent of smartphone owners listen to streaming music daily, it said, and while 71 percent watch short video clips, video viewers spend just 24 minutes on average per day, versus streaming music consumers' average of 45 minutes per day. "The streaming music war has intensified as the large connected entertainment companies are driving to consolidate their offerings," said analyst Harry Wang. More than 75 percent of T-Mobile subscribers stream music daily versus 66 percent of Verizon users, it said, with Sprint and AT&T falling in between.

Microsoft officials said they met with FCC Public Safety Bureau staff, at staff request, about the logistics of wireless emergency alerts. The FCC approved a notice at its November meeting looking at potential changes to WEA rules (see 1511190053). “No efforts to improve the system, however well-intentioned, should in any way detract from or interfere with achieving the primary goal of the WEA system which is to alert users to imminent life-threatening circumstances without delay,” Microsoft said. “Minimizing delay is imperative because mere seconds can be critical in some emergencies.” Delays are possible if carriers transmit multi-segment messages, Microsoft said. URLs embedded in alerts also could cause problems, the company said. “If the alert contains an embedded URL, clicking on that URL will dismiss the alert,” Microsoft said. “Assuming the message history memory is not full, emergency alerts dismissed by Windows Phone users remain in their message history just like a text message and can be retrieved from that location for purposes of accessing the URL. We noted that consumers would need to know to look in their message history in order to return to the URL.” Microsoft filed a notice on the meeting in docket 15-91.

The classification for the Microsoft Band is based upon the device's ability to connect to a smartphone, Customs and Border Protection ruled. Its ability to connect to a user's smartphone over Bluetooth is the "essential character" for classification purposes, the agency said Jan. 19 in a ruling it recently released. CBP previously made similar rulings on the Apple Watch and a Samsung smartwatch. The Microsoft Band can display phone call information, news, weather, heart rate, pedometer measurements and other things when connected to a smartphone, CBP said. When not paired, the wrist band lacks the ability to show much of that information, it said. Although the device allows "some basic sound reproducing functions," and other functions, "the Microsoft Band is primarily designed to display, manipulate, and store data via the use of various applications utilized by a Bluetooth-connected mobile telephone," CBP said. That classification means the band gets duty-free treatment when imported from most countries.

LTE connections climbed to 1.1 billion worldwide based on data by Ovum, with North America contributing 237 million connections, 5G Americas said Tuesday. The data is from Q4. Sixty-nine commercial LTE networks were deployed in the U.S. and Canada, the group said. “It is no surprise that LTE has become the standard mobile technology for the North America region and continues to flourish as more consumers are adopting the technology year after year,” said Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas, in a news release. “The rapid increase in LTE connections, not only in North America but worldwide, is leading the industry on the right track to the commercial standardized deployment of 5G in 2020 and beyond.”

CTIA posted an infographic demonstrating the U.S. is the leader in 4G LTE, the group said. With 219 million active LTE subscribers, more than half of U.S. connections are 4G LTE and 99.5 percent of the population is covered, CTIA said. Consumers see average throughput speeds of 10-30 Mbps, and sometimes higher, the group said. “Even though the U.S. is larger and both the nation and individual states are more geographically diverse than most countries, we have made great strides in rolling-out next generation networks."

The full FirstNet board and board committees plan an open public teleconference and four-hour webinar at noon March 16, said a notice on the website and one to be published in Tuesday's Federal Register.

Just 35 percent of respondents in a recent ABI Research study are considering buying a smartwatch in the next 12 months, said ABI Monday. More than 80 percent of those not planning to buy said their primary reason is that they believe their smartphones can adequately address all the necessary functions a smartwatch can provide, said NPD. Most consumers have the impression that a smartwatch “is a smartphone accessory rather than an independent device," said analyst David McQueen. Voice interaction "will help fit more features in a smaller, fashionable package," said analyst Sam Rosen.