Twilio asked the FCC to expedite its consideration of a petition by the cloud communications company asking the FCC to clarify that messaging services should be regulated under Title II of the Communications Act (see 1510130040). AT&T, CTIA and Verizon opposed the petition in comments last year (see 1511230050). In a Monday filing, Twilio submitted a declaration by Emily Denadel Emery, government relations manager for the company, who said she has monitored carrier blocking of the Twilio service. “Since filing the Petition on August 28, 2015, Twilio has continued to observe a significant increase in the filtering and blocking of text messages,” she wrote. “Since filing the Petition to shed light on the wireless carriers’ message blocking practices, the problem has only worsened.” Twilio said the FCC should act quickly. “Because the wireless carriers are in fact unilaterally limiting their subscribers’ access to the lawful communications they expect to receive, and this unilateral blocking has only worsened, Twilio reiterates its request that its Petition receive expedited consideration,” the company said. The filing hasn't been posted by the FCC.

Device interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band is now a fact of life, AT&T said in a report to the FCC reflecting the state of play as of Jan. 10. AT&T reached an agreement with small carriers in September 2013, pushed by then acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn (see 1309110036). The 28-month update was one of the commitments AT&T made then. “At this point, it is incontrovertible that the FCC’s goal of promoting interoperability in the Lower 700 MHz spectrum by creating a robust Band 12 ecosystem has been accomplished,” AT&T said. In the 28 months since an FCC order was adopted, “carriers have increasingly deployed 700 MHz A block networks that rely on Band 12 devices,” the report said. T-Mobile aggressively rolled out extended range LTE on low-band 700 MHz A-Block spectrum, “which is now live in over 300 markets covering 185 million Americans” and U.S. Cellular “through its partner King Street Wireless has enabled LTE on 700MHz Band 12 in over 100 markets nationwide,” AT&T said. The report was posted in docket 12-69.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai plans a field hearing in Columbia, South Carolina, April 6 on fighting the public safety threats of inmates’ use of contraband cellphones. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) is hosting the event. “Contraband cell phones are flooding into our nation’s jails and prisons,” Pai said in a news release Monday. “Inmates are using them to order hits, run drug operations, direct gang activity, and victimize innocent members of the public. We cannot let inmates treat prison as just another base of operations for criminal enterprises. We need to act.” In October, Pai said the FCC wasn't doing enough to address the issue (see 1510220047). “This is a complex issue,” FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler had said in response. “We're working with the industry to find solutions.”

The FCC told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit it was justified in its order denying Northstar and SNR, the designated entities Dish Network used to bid in the AWS-3 auction, bidding credits because of their ties to Dish. The DEs filed their appeal of the case in September (see 1509180048). The ties between the companies was undeniable, the FCC said. “SNR and Northstar had no staff, no network facilities, and no track record providing wireless service, yet in a recent FCC spectrum auction, they placed more than $13 billion in winning bids -- all backed by DISH … a Fortune 250 corporation that owns an 85-percent stake in both SNR and Northstar,” the FCC said in the pleading. “Going forward, DISH will provide all of the funds for build-out of SNR’s and Northstar’s licenses and working capital.” In addition, “pursuant to virtually identical agreements with SNR and Northstar, DISH will control almost every function required of a wireless network licensee,” the agency said. The FCC decision that Dish controlled the two DEs is easily justified, the agency said. “The companies’ financial dependency on DISH is enormous; DISH’s managerial responsibilities include virtually all the functions required of a wireless network licensee; and DISH enjoys investor protections that extend well beyond those deemed necessary by other investors in both companies.” The two DEs don't dispute those facts, the FCC said. “Instead, they argue they relied on “agency precedent” in structuring their relationships with DISH. "In fact, SNR and Northstar disregarded relevant agency precedent, including the rules and published orders the Wireless Bureau directed them to review prior to Auction 97,” the AWS-3 auction.

The FCC should “move forward as quickly as possible” to repurpose the 28 GHz and 39 GHz bands for flexible use, including mobile broadband, combine the 37 GHz and 39 GHz bands “subject to the same rules,” and make the 64-66 GHz band available for unlicensed use and the 67-71 GHz band for licensed use, Mobile Future said in reply comments on the FCC spectrum frontiers rulemaking. The U.S. "remains the clear world leader in 4G, with nearly ubiquitous 4G deployment and world-leading investment and adoption,” Mobile Future said. “The race to 5G is on and the world’s wireless economies are busy planning for 5G service.” The comments were filed in docket 14-177.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved Cellular Network Partnership’s buy of two lower 700 MHz C-block licenses and the partitioned assignment of a third from KanOkla Networks. As a result of the deal, CNP would increase its below-1-GHz spectrum holdings in two local market areas where it already holds more than one-third of the total low-band spectrum, so the transaction got increased scrutiny from the agency, the bureau said. The licenses cover parts of Oklahoma. “After carefully evaluating the likely competitive effects of CNP’s increased aggregation of below-1-GHz spectrum in these two local market areas, we find that the likelihood of competitive harm is low,” the bureau said. “Further, we find that some public interest benefits are likely to be realized, such as the improved availability of wireless broadband service at fixed locations, particularly in sparsely populated areas.”

American Tower Q4 total revenue rose 22 percent to $1.28 billion from Q4 2014 as profit rose by the same percentage to $206 million, it said in its earnings report Friday. Total property revenue in Q4 reached $1.25 billion -- an increase of 21.5 percent over the same quarter in 2014. The company reported spending close to $345 million on acquisitions in Q4, headlined by a $304 million payment for its previously closed purchase of sites in Nigeria from Bharti Airtel. "In 2016, we expect to extend our proven track record of generating double digit growth across our key metrics as we drive additional organic revenue on our existing assets and selectively seek complementary new investments," CEO Jim Taiclet said.

Zero-rated offerings from wireless carriers are good for consumers, Scott Bergmann, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, said Friday in a blog post. “Ever dial a toll-free number?” Bergmann asked. “Or purchase an item online with free shipping? I’m sure you have. And each time, you’re benefiting from a form of what some advocates call ‘zero rating’ -- in other words, free services that provide consumers with more without paying more.” Bergmann cited FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s initial positive comments from November on Binge On, T-Mobile’s zero-rated video streaming service (see 1511190045). “Wheeler was right -- free data services are ‘highly innovative and highly competitive,’” Bergmann wrote. “We want operators competing for customers on price, quality and new offerings like free data. It is competition that compels companies to roll out new ways of improving service and consumers win.” Zero-rated offerings also encourage experimentation and meet demands for more data, he said. “Consumers demand more and more mobile data, particularly for video services,” Bergmann said. “We want to help meet that demand and promote usage on our smartphones and tablets to embrace the connected life and the Internet of Things.”

It's “incumbent” upon HP as the “global commercial PC leader” to “reinvent what the category is capable of,” such as with the introduction this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona of the HP Elite x3 all-in-one device, CEO Dion Weisler said on a Wednesday call on results for Q1 ended Jan. 31. The Windows 10-based HP Elite x3 is a “revolutionary category-creating mobile solution that brings together mobility and computing in a truly meaningful way,” Weisler said. It “unites phablet, laptop and desktop experiences into a single device,” he said. Though Windows 10 is “a tremendous operating system platform,” HP has “not yet seen the anticipated Windows 10 stimulation of demand that we would have hoped for, and we're carefully monitoring any sort of price developments that could further weaken demand,” Weisler said. Microsoft representatives didn’t comment Thursday.

Sluggish tablet and smartphone sales led a 1.7 percent Q4 drop in comparable sales at Best Buy, CEO Hubert Joly said on an earnings call Thursday. Joly forecast flat domestic revenue for the full year on strength in connected home and other products countering slowing sales in smartphones and other categories. He cited opportunities in service beyond free setup offered by the Geek Squad. Tech support, beyond self-help, “is something that customers are happy to pay for and we are seeing increased demand,” he said. Online sales were up nearly 14 percent at 15.6 percent of total domestic revenue in the quarter ended Jan. 30, Joly said. For FY 2017, Best Buy is entering the next phase of its Renew Blue strategy, to be “the retailer that helps customers learn about the latest technologies,” Joly said. Joly said low consumer demand and high smartphone penetration “is depressing the category.” Over the year, “more compelling smartphone offerings” could fuel renewed growth in the category, he said. Best Buy’s growth initiatives include the IoT. The Geek Squad and services business are key to the IoT strategy, Joly said. Longer term, Joly is “very excited” about virtual reality.