Sprint supports expanding the Lifeline program to pay for broadband, but the FCC shouldn't forget about voice-only subscribers, carrier representatives said in a meeting with Wireless Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins and others at the agency. “While recognizing the importance of Lifeline support for broadband services, Sprint emphasized the fundamental need to maintain a voice-only Lifeline service option and described the significant impact an end-user co-pay would have on participation rates by the most vulnerable consumers,” Sprint said in the filing posted filing posted Thursday in docket 09-197. Sprint also issued a warning on the cost of providing broadband service. “Given the financial constraints under which the federal Universal Service Fund operates and the economics of providing broadband service" a "broadband-centric Lifeline program which includes overly ambitious performance standards will almost certainly involve out-of-pocket payments by Lifeline subscribers, both for monthly service and for the purchase of a broadband-capable device,” the carrier said. “There is no support in the record that a monthly subsidy of $9.25 would cover the cost of providing broadband service.”

Global smartphone demand reached 368 million units in 2015's Q4, up 14 percent from Q3 and 6 percent from Q4 a year earlier, GfK said in a Wednesday report. But Q4 sales growth on a monetary basis was flat at $115 billion compared with a year earlier because of average selling price declines of 6 percent, the research firm said. For the full 2015, 1.3 billion smartphone units were sold, an increase of 7 percent from 2014, it said. But ASP declines of 2 percent caused revenue to increase only 5 percent to $399 billion, it said. In China, the world’s largest smartphone market, Q4 unit sales jumped 12 percent to 107 million, but in North America, unit sales declined 1.1 percent to 56 million, it said. GfK sees global smartphone sales again increasing 7 percent this year to 1.4 billion units, led by a 23 percent increase to 227 million in “emerging” Asia Pacific markets, which GfK says include India, Indonesia, Kampuchea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. China will remain the largest global smartphone market this year, with shipments of 397 million units, a rise of 3 percent from 2015, it said. In North America, GfK forecast sales rising 2 percent to 194 million units.

The FCC established a pleading cycle on AT&T’s proposed buy of two lower 700 MHz B-block licenses from West Carolina. The licenses cover markets in South Carolina, the agency said Wednesday. “The Applicants maintain that the proposed transaction would provide AT&T with additional spectrum that would enable it to increase its system capacity to enhance existing services, better accommodate its overall growth, and facilitate the provision of additional products and services in two Cellular Market Areas,” said a notice by the agency. “Applicants assert that, as a result of this proposed transaction, AT&T would hold 24 megahertz of contiguous, paired Lower 700 MHz spectrum in these CMAs, allowing for a 10X10 megahertz LTE deployment.” Petitions to deny are due March 23, oppositions March 30 and replies April 6, the agency said. The Wireless Bureau also sent a battery of questions to both companies on the deal.

Deere asked the FCC to act on its waiver request from last summer that would allow the company to install TV white space devices manufactured by Koos on agricultural equipment (see 1508210035). Deere asked for a waiver to permit operation of fixed white spaces devices installed on non-fixed, off-road agricultural equipment, including tractors, self-propelled harvesting machines and sprayers. “This operation will make possible real time data gathering and monitoring of equipment and sensor status, dealer inventory tracking, as well as collecting agronomic data pertaining to the status of soil, planting, harvest, fertilizer, insecticide application and moisture levels,” said a footnote to a letter Deere sent to the FCC. “Armed with this real-time, specific information, commercial agricultural producers will be able to significantly improve the efficiency of their operations and streamline work processes, materially increasing crop yields and reducing costs associated with lengthy machine and labor downtime necessary to wait for equipment diagnostics, and repair, offloading and reloading, field management instructions, etc.” Deere said the FCC sought comment and there was no opposition to the proposal. Deere is comfortable with conditions NAB proposed, the company said. “While this Request remains pending, Deere has been unable to earmark the internal product development, financial and personnel resources that will be needed to make this innovative operation a reality,” Deere said in the letter. “The proposed product development is but one of many technology innovations that Deere is pursuing to meet present day and future needs of the agricultural community and rising worldwide demand for food.” Deere’s filing was posted Wednesday in docket 15-184.

FirstNet defended the progress it has made, in a report to Congress released by the authority Wednesday. FirstNet released its request for proposals in January and is steaming toward making a selection of the companies with which it will partner in building the network later this year (see 1601130046). The report is the authority's fourth annual accounting to Congress. “FirstNet has been a good steward of Federal dollars, leveraging only funding needed to develop the organization and our capabilities,” it said in the report. “In fiscal year 2015, FirstNet continued to mature our processes, procedures, and operations as we strive toward network deployment.” Among the signs of progress, FirstNet has evaluated more than 200 financial models and run more than 100 take-up scenarios, the report said. More than 725 comments and questions have been processed on a draft request for proposals and 55 state and territory initial consultations completed, with almost 4,000 first responders attending in person. FirstNet said it also had 54 state and territory and seven federal agency inputs on data collection from more than 11,600 public safety entities representing 1.6 million first responders. More outreach is planned for this year, the report said. In FY 2015, FirstNet grew from 123 to 198 federal employees and contractors, the authority said. “Members of the public safety community across all disciplines are required to be responsive, efficient, and high performing. FirstNet’s culture exhibits these characteristics, and the organization looks to hire only those candidates it finds prepared to immediately tackle this challenging work,” the report said. FirstNet will host a pre-proposal conference on the RFP March 10 in the afternoon at its headquarters in Reston, Virginia.

Smartphones pulled ahead of Windows-based laptops, reaching 60 percent of the “malware activity observed in the mobile space” in 2015's second half, said Nokia’s Threat Intelligence Lab Tuesday in a report. It cited an increase in iOS-based malware, the “growing sophistication” of Android malware and the rising threat of mobile ransomware. Ransomware is malware that holds a device hostage by encrypting data and then locking it, which can be reversed only by paying the attacker a ransom fee via a prepaid cash voucher or with bitcoins, it said.

Consumers who are tech savvy, highly social and extremely style conscious will lead the next wave of wearables adoption in the U.S., but they haven’t yet bought into it, said an IDC report Tuesday. Consumers who intend to buy wearables “are enthusiastic about wearables but have hesitated to actually purchase a device,” said analyst Allan Fromen. Most preferred brands are Apple (52 percent) for smartwatches, Fitbit (37 percent) for fitness trackers, Google (36 percent) for eyewear and Nike (40 percent) for clothing, said the research firm. The wearables market is in “early stages,” said IDC analyst Ramon Llamas. "Intenders are gravitating towards tech companies for wearables because tech companies have helped pioneer and move the market forward.” Data are based on 1,500 surveys among U.S. consumers who intend to buy a wearables product in the next six months.

FirstNet has released responses to 122 questions on its January request for proposal, and 33 changes to the RFP itself (see 1602190058), James Mitchell, director-program management, said in a blog post. “This set of responses addresses questions from public safety interests and potential offerors about, among other things, the processes for Covered Leasing Agreements and State Plans,” Mitchell wrote. “The responses also provide additional clarity regarding coverage, capacity, and cybersecurity. … The goal is to publish all of the responses within the first part of March, so those interested in submitting capabilities statements have enough time to develop and/or finalize their submissions.” Changes to the RFP weren't a surprise, he said: “We have said from the beginning that we would consider amending the document, as necessary, based on the questions process and to provide potential offerors with more information.” The new deadline for submitting capability statements to FirstNet is March 31 and the due date for proposals is now May 13, Mitchell said.

The FCC Public Safety Bureau extended the freeze on the acceptance of new 800 MHz applications along the U.S.-Mexico border until Aug. 31. “This extension is needed to preserve vacant channels for licensees re-tuning their systems according to the Bureau’s updated band plan for licensees operating along the border with Mexico,” the bureau said Tuesday. Many 800 MHz licensees along the border have yet to complete their system re-tunes, the bureau said. “To preserve currently vacant channels for use by these licensees and avoid potential licensing conflicts, we extend the freeze on the acceptance of non-rebanding applications for 800 MHz licenses.” The freeze covers the five National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee regions along the U.S. border with Mexico and stations located within 70 miles of the borders of these regions, the bureau said. The freeze, which was part of the 30-month transition period for reconfiguration of 800 MHz licensees, had expired Feb. 23. The latest development is part of the rebanding of the 800 MHz band required by a 2004 FCC order.

T-Mobile representatives met with aides to FCC commissioners to explain a recent T-Mobile-commissioned report that said the post-TV incentive auction repacking can be completed within the agency’s 39-month time frame (see 1602180063). T-Mobile met with aides to Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O’Rielly, it said in a filing in docket 14-252. “The 412-page study analyzed the engineering resources available to broadcasters to implement a repacking and the likely equipment and tower requirements based on actual station deployments,” T-Mobile said. “The study used information submitted by every broadcast station to more precisely understand the cost and time necessary to repack broadcasters following the incentive auction.”