Alleged abuses of the designated entity (DE) program in the AWS-3 auction shouldn't be used as an excuse to gut the program, U.S. Cellular officials said in a meeting with Brendan Carr, aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai. Some concerns about that auction, Auction 97, have little to do with the DE program itself, U.S. Cellular said. “In addition to being far lower in dollar amounts than the Auction 97 bidding credits alleged to be abusive, the unreasonably low caps proposed by some commenters would effectively prevent DEs from competing for spectrum in heavily-populated markets,” the carrier said. “Even if a DE is not focused on the largest markets, the proposed caps would significantly restrict the number of licenses it could acquire.” A proposal by AT&T and rural carriers would cap bidding credits at $10 million per bidder, U.S. Cellular noted (see 1505110048). In the AWS-3 auction, licenses covering “even many mid-sized markets” individually sold for more than $40 million, the carrier said. “The proposed caps would prevent a DE from operating with sufficient scale to sustain itself in the industry, let alone become a viable competitive threat to the currently dominant carriers. We also explained that a bidding credit cap very well could prevent DEs from acquiring even a limited number of small-market licenses because such a cap would make it very difficult to obtain any level of financing.” The filing was posted Tuesday in docket 14-170.

Sprint said it became the first national carrier to offer an add-on plan making it easier for subscribers to call Cuba. For $10 per month, customers can add Sprint Cuba 20 Plus to their plan and get 20 minutes of monthly calling to Cuba. Additional minutes are 70 cents each. The plan also includes calling or texting to Mexico or Canada at no additional charge and discounted calling to 180 other countries, Sprint said Monday.

Since January, AT&T signed IoT agreements with more than 136 companies in various industries, it said Monday in a news release. AT&T’s network had almost 22 million IoT connected devices as of March 31, it said. More than 945,000 devices connected during Q1, a 70 percent jump over the same quarter in 2014. “Companies and consumers are embracing the connected world,” AT&T said. “They want solutions from connected cars to wearable devices (like smartwatches), to tools that help cities (like [monitoring of] energy grids, streetlights and irrigation pipes).”

A coalition of wireless mic "stakeholders" explained the unique needs of wireless microphone users for reliable low-band spectrum. A “suite” of UHF spectrum must remain available for the devices after the TV incentive auction, the stakeholders said in a meeting with FCC officials, said an ex parte filing. The coalition argued that wireless mics “must work flawlessly without interruption during performance times and demand for channels may change in an instant” so mics differ from white spaces devices. The regulation should also be different, the stakeholders said. Wireless mic makers Sennheiser and Shure and various user groups attended the meeting. “Wireless microphone use is varied and not static, and the required number of channels in any one location at any one time cannot easily be predicted,” the filing said. “For example, one reality TV series uses 64 microphone channels, regional theaters use 30-35 channels for musical productions, and adjacent theaters on just one block of Broadway collectively use over 200 channels during performance times, while 1300 wireless microphones operate within an eight block radius. Similarly, a convention center may have an event that requires tens of microphone channels one week, but 400 microphone channels the following week, depending on the requirements of the particular conference.” The filing was posted Friday in docket 12-268.

The Wireless Medical Telemetry Service Coalition questioned arguments by Google that low-power unlicensed devices can operate within 200 meters of any WMTS facility’s perimeter without causing harmful interference. Google made its argument in a May 22 filing. Google said its tests demonstrated unlicensed devices can safely use the duplex gap and guard bands, as well as Channel 37, after the TV incentive auction (see 1505260046). WMTS systems, operating in Channel 37 spectrum, “are the backbone of life-saving healthcare monitoring systems for critically ill patients and cannot tolerate harmful interference,” the coalition said. “Google has not provided even a scintilla of evidence of how it has determined what constitutes a ‘real world’ or ‘typical’ hospital construction or WMTS system operating environment,” the coalition said. “Google does criticize the tests conducted by GE Healthcare and Comsearch at an actual hospital in the Washington, D.C., area, suggesting that it does ‘not necessarily reflect a real-world environment.’ But Google provides no basis for arguing that an actual hospital located within a short drive from FCC headquarters is not a ‘real-world’ environment.” The coalition said it met with Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Julius Knapp and other FCC staffers. The filing was posted in docket 14-165.

Low-cost Android tablets are eating into Apple’s leading share of the tablet market as aggressive PC brand strategies are squeezing overall tablet pricing, said a Friday report from Futuresource. The launch of lower priced iPads contributed to a dramatic drop in the average price of tablets since they hit the market in 2010, it said. Some emerging markets saw growth as high as 30 percent last year, but worldwide tablet revenue growth will continue to slow as “consumer sales plateau and retail prices continue a steady decline from 2014,” it said. Enterprise sales will become an increasingly important driver of demand, said the researcher, especially in developed markets. Workplace tablet use has been driven by “bring your own device” trends, and tablets are being used in a complementary role rather than as a PC replacement, said analyst Simon Bryant. Issues of security and untested apps on tablets that previously suppressed enterprise demand have largely been addressed, and many tablets pack the same level of security as laptops, he said.

Much more work remains to find the spectrum the wireless industry needs to meet growing demand, said Kara Romagnino, CTIA director-regulatory affairs, Friday in a blog post. CTIA is encouraged by the launch of the Broadband Opportunity Council, which looks at federal efforts to speed deployment of broadband, Romagnino said. “Federal agencies can -- among other things -- work to improve their spectrum usage in order to free up additional capacity for providing wireless broadband service; coordinate multi-agency activities and improve cross-agency processes; remove barriers to broadband deployment on federal and Tribal lands; and encourage growth of federal mobile wireless platforms, mobile health applications and mobile learning applications,” she said.

As the FCC takes up Lifeline reform, it mustn't ignore the important role played by wireless carriers in the USF program, CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a letter to the agency members posted Friday in docket 11-42. “Thirty years after its creation, Lifeline has evolved to reflect the increasing role of wireless as the primary means of communications for millions of low-income and diverse, underserved communities,” Baker wrote. “In the decade since wireless entered the Lifeline program, the telephone subscribership gap between low-income and all households was cut nearly in half, representing over 3 million low-income consumers.” CTIA is also committed to helping clean up the Lifeline program, further making it “more efficient, accountable, and effective,” she said. “Ensuring the fiscal integrity of the Lifeline program is a high priority because wireless carriers and their consumers make up over 44 percent of the contribution base of the Commission’s Universal Service programs.”

The FCC need take no additional steps to address the growth of LTE-unlicensed or licensed assisted access (LAA), CEA commented to the FCC. CTIA and Qualcomm had similarly encouraged a hands-off approach (see 1506110034). “The industry is progressing in its efforts to ensure that LTE-U and LAA can coexist in the unlicensed bands with other critical technologies,” CEA said. The association said its members “are highly dependent on the continued existence of unlicensed bands that are fully functional for a wide range of uses and users.” Unlicensed spectrum generates an estimated $62 billion per year just from incremental retail sales to end users of devices using unlicensed spectrum, the group said. “Near term unlicensed technologies, such as LTE-U/LAA and 802.11ax Wi-Fi, hold great promise for enhancing spectral efficiency,” CEA said. “LTE-U/LAA proponents contend that it allows for better overall use of a particular band and security by taking advantage of LTE’s robust security features.” The FCC mustn't place restrictions on services like LTE-U designed to protect Wi-Fi and other unlicensed technologies, T-Mobile said. “What may be the dominant technology and use of unlicensed spectrum today may not be the same tomorrow,” T-Mobile said. “The Commission should therefore continue its longstanding current approach of technology neutrality and ensure that bands designated for unlicensed operations support a broad range of technologies, products, and services.” But the Wi-Fi Alliance sounded a note of caution. The alliance remains hopeful “cross-industry cooperation” will lead to development of “appropriate sharing mechanisms” for LTE-U and LAA, it said. “If such consensus cannot be reached, or if there is inadequate collaboration, the Commission must be prepared to act so that the introduction of new Unlicensed LTE technologies does not impede the continued robust development of Wi-Fi and other existing technologies that are so critical to our nation’s economy and communications ecosystem.” Microsoft also expressed concerns about LTE-U and LAA, saying little is known, while Wi-Fi is critical to many Americans. “Although seemingly a highly technical matter, the question of how such coexistence is defined, implemented, and enforced in unlicensed spectrum bands is a critically important issue for literally billions of consumers globally who use voice, video, and data applications over wireless devices leveraging unlicensed spectrum,” Microsoft said. “We are concerned that any technology that makes use of a licensed control channel will use that channel to give it priority access to the medium, and in this case degrade the performance of services delivered over Wi-Fi and other technologies that rely exclusively on unlicensed spectrum.” The FCC posted comments Thursday and Friday in docket 15-105.

T-Mobile US CEO John Legere called Verizon and AT&T “dumb and dumber” and accused them of “swarming” all over the FCC trying to get the best rules for themselves in the TV incentive auction. “If you’re not pissed off, you’re not paying attention,” Legere said in a video blog. “Dumb and dumber have been treating customers like crap for decades.” Legere offered similar comments on the social media site Periscope, in one case blasted live from outside the FCC after top officials held meetings there. Verizon fired back in its own blog post, saying Legere should watch his language. “T-Mobile is more than welcome to participate in any auction the FCC holds,” Verizon said. “No company can prevent another from participating. The last time large swaths of low-band spectrum came to auction in 2007, for example, T-Mobile could have participated. It chose not to.”