CTIA President Meredith Baker wants a new national plan on spectrum for wireless broadband, given that the U.S. is already half way through the administration’s 2010 plan calling for 500 MHz of new spectrum in 10 years, she said at an Accenture broadband conference. “I encourage you to look back at the numbers,” Baker said in her prepared remarks. “They seemed like aggressive estimates. Turns out those estimates simply captured the skyrocketing growth in mobile usage.” Five years ago, the FCC forecast 41 petabytes of monthly data use in the U.S., but the actual amount was 10 percent higher, she said. “By 2012 and 2013, traffic was 25 percent higher than the FCC’s projected growth rates,” Baker said. Wireless industry growth depends on licensed spectrum, Baker said. “When and how we introduce 5G in the United States depends, in part, upon whether we keep our spectrum policy as forward-looking as our industry,” she said. “The question we face is will the U.S. continue to embrace licensed spectrum, the approach that has made us the global leader in 4G.” Baker also said too much emphasis now is on spectrum sharing. Shared spectrum is a “complement” not a “replacement” for licensed spectrum, she said. “Clearing spectrum will never look easy, particularly years before an auction,” she said. “To be fair, it will never be easy. But it can be done and needs to be done if we are to remain the global leader in mobility.”

Rules approved by the FCC in October designed to speed deployment of distributed antenna systems, small cells and other wireless facilities (see 1410170048) are now fully in effect, the agency said Tuesday in a notice. Provisions that required approval by the Office of Management and Budget were approved by OMB May 5, the agency said. The order "updates and tailors the manner in which the FCC evaluates the impact of proposed deployments on the environment and historic properties," said an Oct. 17 FCC news release. "It also adopts rules to clarify and implement statutory limitations on State and local government authority to review infrastructure siting applications -- including a 'deemed granted' remedy if a State or local government fails to act on an eligible facilities modification request under Section 6409(a) of the Spectrum Act. Finally, it adopts an exemption from the environmental public notification process for ‘temporary towers’ that are in place only for short periods of time."

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions and 4G Americas signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at “alignment of the organizations' common technological and policy efforts in the field of mobile broadband communication,” they said Tuesday in a news release. The MOU lays out the terms for “knowledge-sharing and exploring opportunities” so they can work together on topics important to the wireless industry, the groups said. Areas of common interest include the move to 5G, emergency alerting, text to 911, preventing mobile device theft and “network functions virtualization/software-defined networking,” the two said. "Our alignment with 4G Americas will increase the momentum to advance the network toward its 5G future, help identify smartphones reported stolen, accelerate the delivery of critical emergency communications and more,” said ATIS President Susan Miller. "As the mobile broadband industry progresses at a rapid pace toward 5G … it is becoming increasingly important to cooperate with other major associations regarding critical common areas of interest to ensure there is no technical fragmentation,” said Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas.

Nearly four in every 10 smartphone users tap into social media while driving, almost three in 10 surf the net, and one in 10 video chat, shows new research from AT&T, the company said in a news release on Tuesday. Seven in 10 people engage in smartphone activities while driving, but texting and emailing are still the most prevalent, it said. Among social platforms, Facebook tops the list, with more than a quarter of those polled using the app while driving and about one-in-seven said they're on Twitter behind the wheel, the study showed. With those findings, AT&T is expanding the "It Can Wait" campaign from a focus on texting while driving to include other smartphone driving distractions, the release said. The research found that 62 percent of drivers keep their smartphones within easy reach while driving. It also said 30 percent of people who post to Twitter while driving do it "all the time" and 22 percent of those who access social networks cite addiction as a reason. Of those who shoot videos behind the wheel, 27 percent think they can do it safely while driving, the study showed. The study was commissioned by AT&T and done by Braun Research. The firm polled 2,067 people in the U.S. aged 16-65 who use their smartphone and drive at least once a day, AT&T said.

Sprint is expanding its "Direct 2 You" service, offering hand-delivery of devices to customers in the Kansas City market, Miami and Chicago starting June 1, Sprint said Monday in a news release. Sprint has been sending out technicians in bright black and yellow cars to customers who upgrade their service in the three cities and is expanding the service to customers who want to switch to the nation’s third largest wireless carrier. “Customers have told us that they want to be served in the comfort of their own homes or at a location convenient for them,” said Sprint Vice President Rod Millar. “Sprint Direct 2 You Xperts have a passion for people and technology, and our customers appreciate the extra attention.” A subscriber or potential subscriber need only call an 800 number, the carrier said. “At the appointed time, an Xpert meets the customer at his or her convenience, sets up the new phone and transfers all content, including contacts, pictures, games and apps,” Sprint said. Sprint has been fighting to remain the largest carrier behind Verizon and AT&T, as rival T-Mobile continues its aggressive growth. The service will roll out in more cities as well, starting with New York City, San Francisco and Denver in early June, Sprint said.

The FCC should codify that its rules allow transmission of GPS information over general mobile radio service (GMRS) frequencies, Garmin said in a filing posted Friday in docket 10-119, reporting on a meeting between the company and FCC officials. Under a waiver, Garmin has sold more than 600,000 GPS-enabled devices that operate on GMRS frequencies “and no interference has been reported,” Garmin said. It said family radio service (FRS) devices are popular with public safety personnel and the public. “The record is devoid of any evidence that indicates FRS/GMRS combination radios cause interference to GMRS or other services,” Garmin said. “If the Commission has eligibility concerns related to alien or other ownership issues involving particular services, the FCC should address that problem by service-specific rules, rather than prohibiting FRS/GMRS combination radios.”

The FCC should reject a proposed incentive auction rule that would prevent a bidder from reducing the quantity of blocks it demands in a category if the reduction will result in aggregate demand falling below the available supply of licenses in the category, said AT&T. Its filing includes a paper written by Yale economics professor Philip Haile. He called the provision a no-excess supply (NES) restriction. “For many bidders, licenses are complementary, which means that their per-license valuations are higher for pairs of licenses than for a single license,” the paper said. The NES restriction “makes it dangerous for a bidder to risk bidding any price above” its lower single-license valuation, he wrote. Doing so creates “substantial risk of being forced to choose between two money-losing options: (1) purchase a single license at a price exceeding its standalone value; or (2) buy the pair of licenses at a total price exceeding their value.” Because of the risk, bidders may bid more conservatively and drop their bids earlier, he said. A second paper by Haile opposes a U.S. Cellular proposal for using a point system to determine which licenses in the 600 MHz band a bidder will be assigned after the TV incentive auction (see 1504240023). U.S. Cellular’s proposal to give each bidder the same number of points in each market “would give a systematic and unwarranted advantage to bidders that have fewer feasible allocations,” Haile wrote in the second filing, which also is in docket 12-268. The carrier’s alternative proposal, in which bidders would “score” their preferences in each market, “would systematically disadvantage bidders seeking to build larger (e.g., 10x10 MHz) blocks of spectrum, and such a system also would not provide enough information about the intensity of bidders’ preferences,” Haile said.

While a filing by AT&T and small carriers last week on FCC designated entity rules made some constructive suggestions (see 1505110048), the FCC still should use the program to encourage new market entrants to bid for spectrum, Public Knowledge said in a filing posted Monday in docket 12-268. “For example, if Apple wanted to offer wireless service over exclusive licensed spectrum with its new ‘Apple Watch,’ or Intel wanted to offer a unique private network for IoT devices, it would need to rely entirely on the networks and spectrum held by others,” PK said. Buying spectrum to launch a new network would cost billions of dollars, the group said. “While giant companies might be able to afford such expenditures, it is not rational to expect them to do so -- or even plan to do so in the current environment.” PK said it makes sense to encourage smaller carriers to also buy spectrum. “These providers need an expanded bidding credit so that they may acquire the necessary spectrum to continue to serve their customer base, and to hopefully grow regionally,” PK said.

FCC rules for the TV incentive auction must prioritize the rights of companies that buy spectrum in the auction to build out those frequencies, CTIA said in reply comments on a public notice on defining the term “commence operations” in the context of the 600 MHz band transition rules. The FCC should “err on the side of protecting primary uses” of the spectrum, said the filing posted Monday in docket 12-268.. Carriers should be able to “engineer and test their networks free from interference by defining ‘commence operations’ as the moment of first transmission on the licensed spectrum,” said the association. “This will ensure that the band is cleared of secondary uses early enough in the testing process that essential network testing functions are not subject to interference.” After carriers buy licenses in the auction, they have lots to do to build out their networks and test services and equipment before service begins, CTIA said. The 600 MHz licensees face a tough spectrum environment, with white spaces devices, low-power TV and wireless mics also using the 600 MHz spectrum, the wireless association said. “These secondary operations have the potential to interfere with the testing and use of licensed spectrum if permitted to operate in close proximity to licensed wireless transmissions.”

The FCC should draw the line against giving competitive carriers any more incentives to buy spectrum in the TV incentive auction, said Kathleen Grillo, Verizon senior vice president-federal regulatory and legal affairs, Monday in a blog post. “If ever there was an example to confirm the old adage about taking a mile after gaining an inch, we’re seeing it in the incentive auction,” Grillo wrote. “T-Mobile, Sprint and DISH are large, spectrum-rich companies that have already received a spectrum set-aside from the FCC in the incentive auction. Now they are agitating for an even bigger one. Policymakers should see this spectrum grab for what it is: a case of greed masquerading as need.” The three want the FCC to set aside as many as three 10 megahertz licenses in every market for competitive carriers, Grillo said. The three “may play the sympathy card at the FCC, but they are multibillion dollar corporations capable of bringing serious money to the auction table and bidding for spectrum on the same terms as everyone else,” she said. Competitors should have a fair shot at buying incentive auction spectrum and consumers deserve more competition, responded Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association. “Verizon fails to recognize the fundamental fact that it and AT&T together control 73 percent of all low-band spectrum, spectrum that is uniquely suited for wireless coverage in rural areas and in-building penetration alike,” he said. “To encourage competition in the marketplace, spur innovation and benefit consumers, the commission must work to prevent additional spectrum aggregation.” With the success of the AWS-3 auction, which raised enough to pay off FirstNet's start-up costs, “it is abundantly clear that carriers are hungry for additional spectrum,” he said. “The FCC must ensure that all carriers have the opportunity to walk away with a piece of the spectrum pie.” Andy Levin, T-Mobile US senior vice president-government affairs, said the FCC should consider the source of the complaint. "Those who live in spectrum warehouses shouldn’t throw stones," Levin said. "Verizon sat on the [700 MHz] A-block spectrum we bought from them for six whole years. When T-Mobile bought it, we immediately began building it out. We don’t warehouse spectrum, the big guys do. Verizon can try to make this about T-Mobile, but the incentive auction is really about the future of wireless competition, and dozens of consumer advocates and smaller carriers agree."