Forty percent of smartphone owners use voice recognition, said a Parks Associates report Wednesday. More than half of iPhone owners use voice control such as Google Now or Siri, compared with less than a third of Android users, said Parks. Among smartphone users ages 18-24, nearly half use voice recognition software, as younger consumers and iOS users are “exploring more intelligent features and interfaces, including voice control," said Harry Wang, director-health and mobile product research. Use of Apple’s Siri among iPhone users rose from 40 percent to 52 percent between 2013 and 2015, representing 15 percent of all U.S. broadband households, said the report. Growing interest in voice control is driving the technology into new IoT areas, said Wang, citing Vivint’s home security demonstration at CES using Amazon Echo and Volvo’s demo of Microsoft’s Cortana in connected cars.

Health concerns of opponents of its proposed two-year experimental license to allow nationwide testing in the 71-76 and 81-86 GHz bands "are genuinely held [but] there is no factual basis for them," Google said in a letter to the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology posted Wednesday. Members of the electromagnetic hypersensitivity community filed numerous informal objections in recent weeks to Google's application and to a similar experimental license application by SpaceX (see 1601190013). In its letter, Google said its proposed experimental operations "present vastly less risk from RF exposure than other transmissions the Commission routinely authorizes." It also said its terrestrial antennas will point skyward, and transmitted power levels from its airborne transmitters -- along with their aerial height -- means even if one of the airborne transmitters were aimed directly at a person, "the signal strength received on the ground would be millions of times weaker than FCC limits for the band." The company defended its proposal against criticisms of possible interference to existing fixed microwave operations in the E-band, saying it will use "proprietary interference-mitigation methods" that use FCC link registrations, the precise location of its transmitters, and technical information about the transmitters and antennas. "With this information, Google will dynamically calculate available frequencies, optimal bandwidths and maximum transmit powers for any given location," it said. The company said it wouldn't use combinations of center frequency, bandwidth, transmit power and pointing direction that would create excessive interference for any registered receiver.

AT&T is still taking a wait-and-see approach on the TV incentive auction, CEO Randall Stephenson said during a call with analysts Wednesday, after the carrier released Q4 results (see 1601260066). “We'll see what the auction brings and then how everybody participates, but I haven't been bashful in saying if there's an opportunity to get another 2 x 10” MHz of low-band spectrum “we would pursue it.” Unknowns remain, Stephenson said. “It's not yet to us really clear what the spectrum footprints are going to look like and whether you can piece together truly a ubiquitous 2 x 10 type footprint, which is really important to us to be bringing another band of spectrum into our operation.” Stephenson noted AT&T spent $18 billion last year in the AWS-3 auction and the 40 MHz of “fallow spectrum” in which it can deploy its TV Everywhere offering. Stephenson also stressed AT&T’s focus on connected cars. Some 10 million automobiles being manufactured by Ford will come equipped with AT&T connectivity between now and 2020, he said. AT&T is also looking at the massive used car market, he said. “I have a sports car, an old sports car, that I now have connected to the Internet and it's actually a fairly elegant solution,” Stephenson said.

The FCC extended the filing window for short-form applications to bid in the forward TV incentive auction by a single day. The window was supposed to open Tuesday, but that didn’t happen with the federal government shuttered due to the weekend snow storm. Instead, government agencies opened at noon Wednesday, said a public notice. Potential bidders also got an extra day to file -- Form 175 applications are now due at 6 p.m. Feb. 10, the agency said.

Israel-based Just in Case is releasing its "flagship" product, a “slim, elegantly designed” case for the iPhone that records calls and in-person conversations, it said Tuesday. The cases comes in red, blue, yellow, white and black and are being offered at an early bird price of $29.99, with release likely in May, Just in Case said. “Ever been on a phone call and wished you could press ‘record’ to save that conversation forever?” the company said in a news release. “A Phone call with your sick relative re-telling a beloved story, a really long conference call when you are under-caffeinated, or even a chat with a shady apartment manager who keeps denying you've spoken about a leak.”

Sony will pay about $212 million to buy Israeli-based chip maker Altair Semiconductor to boost its presence in the LTE components market, Sony said in a Tuesday announcement. Altair, which has a work force of about 220 and subsidiaries in the U.S., China and Taiwan, owns LTE modem chip technology and related software, Sony said. Altair’s modem chips “stand out for their low power consumption, high performance and competitive cost,” it said. LTE is expected to play “a pivotal role” in IoT interconnections, it said. Through the acquisition, Sony’s goal is to expand Altair's existing business, but also to move forward with R&D on new IoT “sensing technologies” and develop “a new breed of cellular-connected, sensing component devices,” it said. “With the markets for wearable and IoT devices expected to continue to expand, Sony aims to deliver component devices that feature both sensing and communication capabilities, as well as new LTE solutions that leverage the strengths of these component devices.”

AT&T is boosting its mobile network capacity about 60 percent for Mardi Gras, it said in a news release Tuesday. The company deployed four cells on light trucks to help increase the network's ability to handle the demand from the large crowds expected in New Orleans for Mardi Gras Feb. 9, the carrier said.

A report commissioned by CTIA said the U.S. economy grows by $3.1 billion each year with every 10 MHz of spectrum made available, said a Tuesday CTIA news release. Every 10 MHz also means more than 100,000 new jobs are supported and more than $1.6 billion “in additional economic benefits from mobile apps and content that rely on mobile broadband services,” CTIA said. The report was written by Recon Analytics. “The astounding growth in employment will likely continue as the US economy becomes more competitive through the use of advanced wireless technology and services, with apps and the on-demand economy still primed for considerable growth,” the report said. “We need to work collaboratively to find additional opportunities to unlock new spectrum for mobile broadband to support Americans’ mobile-first lives and to ensure that America’s wireless industry remains the global leader,” said Meredith Baker, CTIA president.

By 2020, 40 percent of all wearables shipped will have wireless charging capability, an IHS report said Tuesday. It said smartwatches will lead the category, at 40 percent of wireless charging receiver shipments in 2020. Last year, 23 million wireless-charging-enabled wearable products shipped, IHS said. “Smartwatches are a key driver for wireless charging adoption in the wearable market,” analyst Vicky Yussuff said. Apple Watch and the Samsung Gear S2 use inductive wireless charging technology as the sole means of recharging their batteries, she said. Yussuff cited progress shown at CES. Challenges need to be addressed before wireless charging matures for the wearables market, she said. The goal is “to avoid negative customer experiences that could create further barriers to adoption in the future.”

APCO warned its members they face fines of as much as $112,000 if they don’t comply with the FCC’s narrowbanding mandate. APCO cited a recent notice from the agency (see 1601130072). “The FCC is taking new steps to ensure licensees comply with their narrowbanding mandate that was implemented over three years ago,” APCO said in an advisory. The group offered to provide guidance to members not sure if they're in compliance with the rules.