APCO provided tentative support for 800 MHz interstitial channel interference contours proposed by the Land Mobile Communications Council. APCO noted in FCC docket 15-32 that LMCC proposed "interference contours to apply when stations of various modulation types are operated on interstitial channels (12.5 kHz spacing) adjacent to 'standard' (25 kHz spacing) stations operating with various modulation types." APCO said it appreciated the LMCC efforts and believes the "proposed contours can be workable" but said they're untested. "We would encourage manufacturers to submit test reports into the record to verify that no interference would result from new interstitial operations," APCO said. "As noted by the Public Safety Communications Council (of which APCO is a member), APCO would support use of tile-based matrix studies using TSB-88 methods when the proposed operations of a public safety applicant fail a contour analysis. APCO supports the proposed interference contours consistent with the comments herein." Mobile Relay Associates said it supported most of the LMCC proposal but said one part of it was inconsistent with the rest of the proposal and decades of public policy. "That one portion of the LMCC proposal is its proposed treatment of instances where there is absolutely no spectral overlap between the incumbent station and the proposed station," MRA said. "Neither the Commission nor the LMCC has ever required an interference analysis when there is a complete absence of spectral overlap, and, as to very narrowband 4 kHz emissions in particular, there is a plethora of real-world experience proving that interference to incumbent stations does not exist in the absence of spectral overlap."

The FCC should provide information about spectrum impairments well in advance of forward auction rounds, said AT&T in an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 12-268. Incentive Auction Task Force staff confirmed that impairment information could change between auction stages “if it becomes necessary to establish a new clearing target,” the carrier said. It said it would be “helpful” for the agency to clarify any plans for licenses so impaired they won’t be sold in the forward auction -- called “category 3” licenses. It said the FCC should also clarify how reserve eligibility will be determined and allow time for bidders to “evaluate its impact” before a reserve round after the reserve is implemented begins. The commission should allow extra time for any extended round -- “at least 24 hours between the end of a forward auction round and the time bids in an extended round would be due,” AT&T said. The commission should also hold more than one practice auction before the real thing, AT&T said. “Such practice auctions would allow applicants to become familiar with the Commission’s auction software and complete the development of their own tools.”

The FCC's Task Force on Optimal Public Safety Answering Point Architecture scheduled its fourth meeting, 1-4 p.m., on Sept. 29 at the FCC Commission Meeting Room, said a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register.

Etisalat Group plans to upgrade its wireless networks, including offering LTE in some markets, using a variety of CommScope equipment, Etisalat said Wednesday. The CommScope gear includes base station antennas, filters, coaxial cables and connectors and other RF-related hardware.

Wi-Fi advocates and the wireless industry are increasingly jousting over LTE-unlicensed. The WifiForward coalition labeled LTE-U users "spectrum bullies," in a short advocacy video put on YouTube Tuesday. The animated video shows a schoolyard bully-like tablet running on LTE-U pushing around smartphones and smart watches. "If Wi-Fi won't work, we all suffer," the video narrator says. "We can insist on politeness, ensuring that Wi-Fi and other new technologies can live in harmony and preventing spectrum bullies from disrupting unlicensed bands." WifiForward launched in 2014 with the goal of increasing the amount of unlicensed spectrum available for Wi-Fi use (see 1402140055). In a conference call Tuesday with reporters, Wi-Fi advocates said licensed assisted access standards should be finalized by the spring and until they are other LTE-U iterations shouldn't be approved (see 1509080046). Such unlicensed spectrum bands used in everything from cordless phones and baby monitors to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi "have been incredibly useful to consumers," said David Young, Verizon vice president-public policy, in a blog Wednesday. "The FCC’s 'permissionless innovation' approach to unlicensed spectrum has been an incredible success, unleashing torrents of innovation in spectrum bands that were once considered useless." Unlicensed spectrum "is poised to unleash a new wave of mobile innovation," said Young. LTE-U "will benefit consumers, competition and innovation," said Scott Bergmann, CTIA vice president-regulatory affairs, in a statement Wednesday: "Unlicensed spectrum has always offered an opportunity for permissionless innovation and we look forward to continuing to educate all stakeholders about the benefits of LTE Unlicensed."

Tagging the date to Apple’s new product news, Jumptuit TV planned live demonstrations Wednesday of its multiplatform cloud service on Sony 4K smart TVs at CTIA Super Mobility Wednesday in Las Vegas. “The Jumptuit TV software cloud solution at CTIA Super Mobility defines a new open era of multiplatform data connectivity in contrast with proprietary smart devices being unveiled in San Francisco later today,” said the company. The multiplatform service is designed for consumers whose devices span several platforms including Android, iOS, OS X and Windows along with cloud services including Amazon Cloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Driver and Microsoft OneDrive, it said. Jumptuit links a smart TV with Android, iOS and Windows mobile devices and cloud service accounts to make media accessible on the big screen, it said. Jumptuit TV is initially available as a native Android Lollipop App on 2015 Philips, Sharp, Sony and Vizio smart TVs through the Google Play Store, said Jumptuit. Owners of other smart TVs can install the Jumptuit TV app on a set-top box such as the Google Nexus player, Jumptuit said.

Oral argument is scheduled for Oct. 28 in the tower siting (see 1507240039) case Montgomery County, Maryland v. U.S., in docket No. 15-1240, at 9:30 a.m. in the Tweed Courtroom in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Verizon, in partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung, plans to begin field trials of 5G wireless technology in 2016, the company said in a news release Tuesday. Verizon said that although 5G technology should be introduced in the U.S. sometime after 2020, it's working with partners to accelerate the rate of innovation, and could see some level of commercial deployment by 2017. The company also said it has begun creating 5G network environments in its Massachusetts and San Francisco Innovation Centers. 5G technology is expected to include "about 50 times the throughput of current 4G LTE," reduce latency into the single-digit milliseconds and have the ability to handle exponentially more Internet-connected devices to accommodate the Internet of Everything, said Verizon.

The U.S. has to move forward if it wants to continue its mobile dominance, Mobile Future said in a report released Tuesday, with CTIA about to get underway in Las Vegas. Europe “has initiated a 5G public-private partnership aimed at leading the world in this next wireless frontier,” the paper said. “South Korea plans to launch a 5G trial network when it hosts the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, and Japan aims to follow suit at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo. China, too, has established an interagency ‘promotion group’ to coordinate 5G activities among industry and academia.” While 5G networks are unlikely to be deployed before the end of the decade, “the global race to lead the world in this next wireless frontier is already well underway,” Mobile Future said. “Smarter wireless policy is more vital than ever.” The paper was written by Jim Kohlenberger, president of JK Strategies and a former White House technology official.

U.S. Cellular will begin selling the 9.7-inch black Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 online and in stores on Sept. 11 for $0 down with the carrier’s installment pricing. Under the plan, the 24 payments of $27.50 are added to the monthly bill, U.S. Cellular said. The S2 has a Super AMOLED display, octa-core processor and 128 GB storage capability via SD card, said the carrier.