The Enterprise Wireless Alliance took exception to a recommendation in an APCO report from its 4.9 GHz Task Force for better frequency coordination for the band. EWA was on a working group that drew up the report, the group said in a letter filed in FCC docket 07-100. EWA agrees coordination will “prompt more intensive and more effective use of the 4.9 GHz band,” it said. But EWA disagrees with the report's recommendations that only public safety organizations should be frequency coordinators for the band, the group said. “EWA is prepared to implement whatever frequency coordination requirements the FCC might adopt at 4.9 GHz and is confident that it will handle such analyses at least as competently as any [public safety] coordinator,” EWA said. “Access to competitive coordination choices will be particularly important should the FCC expand the eligibility at 4.9 GHz to promote its more efficient use.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau denied and dismissed in part several parties' complaints that AT&T didn't follow the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) processes before building a tower in 2012 in Fort Ransom, North Dakota, said an order Thursday that appeared in the next day's Daily Digest. It said AT&T generally followed the FCC process for "assessing impacts pursuant to its rules implementing NEPA and the NHPA." The bureau said it was concerned that AT&T didn't follow NHPA and NEPA requirements exactly, even though the end result was the same.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau turned down a petition for reconsideration by James Chelmowski, who accused AT&T Mobility of failing to port his phone number to a new provider in 2011, in violation of agency rules. The bureau earlier rejected a Dec. 11 complaint by Chelmowski, which the bureau said followed three informal complaints about the same incident. The order said the bureau is denying the motion for reconsideration “because the motion does not identify any material error, omission, or reason warranting reconsideration, and merely repeats arguments that were fully considered and rejected in the dismissal order.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau Friday released the format for filing electronic maps associated with construction notifications for much of the 700 MHz band. “The vast majority of Covered 700 MHz Band Licensees must meet the interim benchmark by June 13, 2016, or later, and have not yet filed their requisite notifications of construction,” the bureau said in a public notice. All notifications must contain a shapefile map, a PDF map and a technical narrative, the bureau said. The FCC sold the 700 MHz spectrum in a 2008 auction.

The FCC should protect the interests of companies using the 24 GHz, local multipoint distribution service and 39 GHz bands if it revises services rules for high-frequency spectrum, FiberTower said in a filing posted Friday in docket 14-177. “Placing a new mobile licensee on top of the incumbent’s existing geographic area and channel would result in dual base stations saturating the same sector and cause harmful interference.” A “properly placed” 24 GHz point-to-multipoint base station “with a 90-degree sector antenna will blanket that sector with a serviceable signal for any remote terminal -- whether fixed, portable or mobile -- that is within line-of-sight and within a serviceable distance,” FiberTower said. It offers spectrum leases and backhaul/equipment services primarily in the 24 GHz and 39 GHz bands, according to the company’s website.

The FCC rejected 2010 requests by the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters and Telephone USA Investments that the agency rethink an order allowing the transfer of various spectrum licenses from Verizon Wireless to Atlantic Tele-Network. The previous year, ATN agreed to pay $200 million for some of the assets that Verizon Wireless agreed to divest as part of its purchase of Alltel (see 0908120146). The original order was by the International and Wireless bureaus. “Petitioners identify no material error or omission in the ATN Approval Order and present no additional new facts or legal arguments warranting reversal of the Bureaus’ decision,” the full commission said. “In so far as Petitioners raise new arguments on review that were not properly presented first to the Bureaus, we dismiss these arguments for failing to satisfy the requirements in our rules for applications for review.” The agency released the order Friday.

Overall consumer satisfaction with smartphones equipped with displays five inches and larger is “typically higher” than that for smaller smartphones, J.D. Power said in a Thursday report. Moreover, the gap in satisfaction between owners with larger smartphones and those with the smaller devices among all brands is 40 points, up from 32 points in a similar study done six months ago, the research firm said. Its study, now in its ninth year, measures customer satisfaction based on performance, features, physical design and ease of use, it said. "Satisfaction is clearly higher among owners of larger smartphones, based on a number of reasons surrounding the physical display size and latest technology capabilities," the firm said. "It's important for the wireless providers that offer these devices to realize that spending on new service rises when subscribers upgrade smartphones. Also, when customers are more satisfied with their smartphone selection, OEMs and carriers can benefit through increased customer loyalty and repurchase intent."

All 21 competitive carriers taking part in Verizon’s LTE in Rural America (LRA) program have now launched 4G LTE service, Verizon said Thursday. Verizon said in a blog post that 225,000 square miles of Verizon’s spectrum is leased by LRA participants in 169 rural counties in 15 states. More than 1,000 4G LTE cell sites have been activated through the program, the carrier said. “The LRA program has positively impacted the lives of Americans from Maine to Alaska, and we’re very proud to be a part of that,” said Philip Junker, executive director-strategic alliances at Verizon.

“Nosebleed” or extremely high frequency spectrum being looked at by the FCC for wireless use comes with advantages and disadvantages, Mitchell Lazarus of Fletcher Heald said Thursday in a blog post. Because the wavelength is short, less than three millimeters, “designing circuits is a major challenge,” Lazarus wrote. “A device’s internal components typically have dimensions comparable to this wavelength; without appropriate precautions, they act like little antennas transmitting and receiving to each other within the device, and that impairs performance.” The big advantage is that the high-frequency spectrum is almost empty, he added. “Uniquely in the spectrum, there is enough radio bandwidth here to permit data capacities similar to those of fiber-optic cable,” Lazarus said. “A compact antenna just a few inches across can provide a highly directional beam. The same frequencies can be reused nearby.”

AT&T raised concerns about 49 requests for waiver of the FCC's Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) technical rules sought by seven MVDDS licensees. The Wireless Bureau sought comment Sept. 14. “The Petitioners seek a huge power increase that would overturn the delicate balance the Commission established in the 2002 band-sharing rules to provide an opportunity for MVDDS service provision while at the same time protecting” DBS service, AT&T said. AT&T, which recently wrapped up its buy of DirecTV, noted that millions of Americans rely on the provider to watch TV. “DIRECTV has made significant investments in spacecraft, launches, ground-stations (including tens of millions of subscriber terminals) and, of course, programming,” AT&T said. “The spectrum sharing rules for MVDDS licensees, which were carefully crafted during the protracted MVDDS proceeding from 1998-2002, are critical to ensuring that DIRECTV’s customers are able to receive high quality signals in this band.” The comments were posted Thursday in docket 15-218.