The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions issued a series of new studies to identify the feasibility and standardization/implementation considerations for multiple possible wireless emergency alert (WEA) enhancements, a news release from ATIS said Wednesday. The studies aimed to address recommendations from the FCC Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) and investigated enhancing cell broadcast geo-targeting for WEA alerts; providing supplemental information for a WEA alert; and increasing the WEA alert message length. The first study looked into methods for the delivery of geo-targeted WEA messages to a given geocode, circle or polygon, and concluded that the current wireless infrastructure-based geotargeting continues to be the recommended solution for WEA geotargeting. ATIS also studied the practicality, limitations and effects of providing supplemental information for a WEA alert to a mobile device and enabling a mobile device to display supplemental information. The study said multimedia content can't be supported in today's cell broadcast-based WEA system. The study of WEA message length confirmed that an increase in the maximum displayable characters is technically feasible for an LTE WEA message.

Wireless and particularly its data services is the reason for overall telecom growth, in a "regulatory environment [that] remains mostly constructive" except for scrutiny of large mergers and acquisitions and risk under Title II of the Communications Act, said a debt-ratings firm in a news release and longer report. It's an "otherwise benign environment," regulation-wise, said Moody's. "M&A activity will be limited until the broadcast spectrum auction is completed," and the March 29 start could be delayed, it said. "Without the entrance of non-traditional bidders, the auction could disappoint broadcasters who may expect high prices." Wireless data revenue "will fuel overall telecom growth, driven by the increasing use of smartphones, tablets and other connected devices, as well as the growing popularity of mobile video that has made larger data plans more alluring," said Senior Vice President Dennis Saputo. U.S. telecom profit will rise 2 percent in 2016 as wireless revenue grows 3-4 percent, said Moody's Wednesday. "Mobile video is a potential growth catalyst, but probably 2-3 years from now."

ACA International, Exacttarget, Consumer Bankers Association, The Professional Association for Customer Engagement, Portfolio Recover Associates, Salesforce.com, Sirius XM, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Vibes Media filed a joint amicus brief against the FCC's recent order (see 1507130039) interpreting the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in docket 15-1211. The order embraces a "self-contradictory definition" of automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) that "severely curtails a wide range of legitimate communications that Congress never sought to restrict," the brief said. The order asks whether equipment could be modified to store or produce random or sequential numbers, dial numbers randomly or sequentially, or dial phone numbers without human intervention -- rather than focusing on the present ability of equipment to perform all of the statutorily defined tasks, the brief said. "Contrary to the First Amendment and common sense, the order threatens to turn even an ordinary smartphone into an ATDS." CTIA is concerned that if the FCC's order is left as-is, it could cause many wireless industry callers and message senders to cease offering the information, services and communications that wireless customers desire and consent to receive, the organization said in its notice of intent to file brief as amicus curiae in support of petitioners. The American Gas Association, Edison Electric Institute, National Association of Water Companies, National Association of Chain Drug Stores and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association also filed amici briefs.

AT&T defended coming rate increases for unlimited smartphone data plans (see 1512010069). "Our unlimited data plan customers continue to receive an incredible value, especially those taking advantage of our 4G LTE network," a spokesman told us. AT&T said the rate increases are expected to start with customers' February service.

AT&T sought an FCC waiver to use a power spectral density (PSD) model instead of per-channel methods to measure effective radiated power for base stations "to more quickly and efficiently deploy high-speed wireless broadband services over Cellular spectrum" in areas of Kentucky and Tennessee. An NPRM has proposed just that, the carrier noted in a petition posted Wednesday. Using PSD will let AT&T deploy LTE with more spectral efficiency, the company said. It seeks to operate at PSD levels of 250 watts per megahertz in nonrural areas and 500 watts in rural areas. Alternative limits using PSD "would update Cellular rules that currently favor narrowband emission systems and penalize wideband emission systems," the 2014 NPRM said. Current limits are for 500 watts a channel in nonrural and 1,000 in rural areas, a company spokesman said. In 2012, AT&T petitioned for a rule change for PSD, and since the rulemaking remains open the company now seeks license-specific waivers, it said.

Such 5G-enabled applications as the "tactile Internet" -- meaning expanded human-to-machine and machine-to-machine interactions -- "will spawn a myriad of applications in every field of human endeavor," said CableLabs Principal Architect Don Clarke in a blog post Wednesday. "The enabling technologies exist today" for tactile Internet, Clarke said. "They just need to be brought together in the right way with standards that facilitate open innovation." Defining 5G itself is somewhat difficult because it's "a far richer vision than simply an increase in wireless bandwidth or a 5G icon appearing on a smartphone handset," he said. With the existing cable network being "an ideal foundation for 5G" because of its ubiquity and that it already includes millions of Wi-Fi nodes, CableLabs has research and development program underway looking at some of the key enabling technologies for 5G, Clarke said. They include developing end-to-end architectures based on network-function virtualization and software-defined networks, studying the coexistence of wireless technologies, and partnering with such groups as NYU Wireless to evaluate combining millimeter wave region spectrum with cable networks.

Sprint said it and 800 MHz band incumbents had signed all the frequency agreements needed to complete reconfiguration of the band across the U.S., including along the borders. The 2,400 agreements are with both public-safety and nonpublic-safety operators, Sprint said in a report posted Wednesday in FCC docket 02-55. Actual reconfiguration of the band continues to advance, said the company, saying work had been completed by all 800 MHz licensees needing retuning in 42 of 55 National Public Safety Planning Advisory Committee regions. In the seven nonborder regions of the remaining 13, only two individual licensees needed to complete the reconfiguration work, Sprint said. “These accomplishments demonstrate that, by any measure, the multi-year, multi-billion dollar 800 MHz band reconfiguration project is reaching its final stages,” it said in the 56-page filing.

The Department of Transportation and Federal Railroad Administration support the FCC NPRM that would allow railroad police officers to use public safety interoperability and mutual aid channels to communicate with other public safety officials, the agencies said in a filing in commission docket 15-199. Railroad police officers need to be able to communicate with first responders quickly to fix any problems and respond to emergencies, the filing said. Changing the definition of a railroad police officer to be defined more broadly will also help to improve passenger safety and the security of the rail network as a whole, it said.

Dish Network, Northstar Wireless and SNR Wireless should suffer "meaningful consequences" for gaming the AWS-3 auction or the auction process integrity "will continue to be undermined," T-Mobile said in an FCC petition for reconsideration posted Tuesday in docket 12-268. Dish, Northstar and SNR also should be required to make a 50 percent higher upfront payment for participating in March's incentive auction and be labeled "former defaulters," T-Mobile said. If the agency's former defaulter rule doesn't apply, it should rethink its application procedures for the upcoming incentive auction, T-Mobile said. The Dish designated entities' actions in the AWS-3 auction "falsely drove up prices and forced other carriers to overpay for needed spectrum," T-Mobile said. It said the DEs not taking the licenses for which they were highest bidders once they were no longer eligible for designated entity discounts is evidence the three "have continued to game the Commission's post-auction licensing process." Dish, Northstar and SNR didn't comment. The filing is the latest by T-Mobile seeking further FCC penalties against Dish and the DEs (see 1511180024).

AT&T is implementing a "small" price increase on unlimited smartphone plans, said its website. Consumers with a grandfathered unlimited smartphone data plan will receive notifications of a $5 per month rate hike for the plan. AT&T said the price increase is to "help ensure we continue to provide the best service for all of our customers. The increase won't impact current unlimited data speeds, said the carrier, and customers have the option to change plans at any time. If customers decide to cancel their existing wireless service with AT&T, the company will waive the early termination fees for the lines impacted by the price increase as long as the cancellation is made within 60 days of the price increase appearing on their monthly bill, AT&T said. The rate increase will take effect starting with the customer's February 2016 service, said the carrier. AT&T had no immediate further comment.