Sprint asked the FCC to extend an interim waiver of the requirement that IP relay service providers handle 911 calls initiated by callers who have been registered but not verified by an IP relay provider. The waiver expired Thursday. “A waiver remains in the public interest as it deters misuse of IP Relay to make fraudulent calls to 911 emergency services (a/k/a ‘swatting’),” Sprint said. “Allowing the waiver to expire would endanger the safety of the public as the problem of ‘swatting’ would inevitably resurface.” The filing is in docket 03-123.

Blackboard executives and school administrators asked the FCC to act on the company’s petition seeking clarification of Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) rules on calls to wireless phones (see 1503230070). Blackboard, which offers a mass notification platform for schools, said in a series of meetings on the FCC's eighth floor last week that its clients should be able to send texts on emergency weather closures, threat situations, event scheduling or “other important education-related information” without worrying about violating the TCPA. “Unexcused absences are behind the majority of the calls placed and, in many instances, are required by law to be made to ensure parents or guardians are aware their student did not arrive at school or stay at school,” said an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 02-278. “Schools are charged with the health and safety of students while in their care and the telephone numbers expressly provided by guardians every year and updated throughout the year are the only vehicle for communications to address matters critical to student health and safety.”

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council urged the FCC not to give AT&T a waiver to use power spectral density (PSD) measurements in complying with the commission’s radiated power limits for 800 MHz cellular operations in parts of Missouri. NPSTC said the FCC should address changes to a cellular service power limit rules through a rulemaking proceeding, not by granting waiver requests. “Should the Commission decide to grant AT&T’s waiver request, NPSTC urges that the waiver include specific conditions requiring AT&T to resolve and report any interference that occurs to public safety operations and to compensate public safety entities for their time and expenses involved in investigating and resolving interference,” said the council in a filing posted Friday in docket 15-86. The Wireless Bureau sought comment last month on AT&T’s proposals, with comments due Thursday (see 1504130031).

AT&T wrapped up its buy of Nextel Mexico from NII Holdings, unveiled in January (see 1501260068), the carrier said Thursday in a news release. AT&T paid $1.875 billion, less about $427 million of net debt and other adjustments, it said. The deal includes Nextel Mexico’s spectrum licenses, network assets and 3 million subscribers. AT&T has gone big in Mexico and earlier this year bought wireless provider Iusacell. “AT&T will integrate Iusacell and Nextel into one company focused on bringing more choices, better service and faster mobile Internet speeds to more locations throughout Mexico,” AT&T said. “AT&T plans to create the first-ever North American Mobile Service area, which will cover more than 400 million consumers and businesses in Mexico and the United States.” Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Mexico and Iusacell, will lead the combined company. The buy was cleared by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, overseeing the restructuring of NII, and Mexico’s telecom regulator, the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT). “Swift action by IFT, aided by recent regulatory reform by the Mexican government, has created a positive climate for AT&T to invest significantly in Mexico,” the carrier said. AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens said April 22 that closure of the deal was imminent (see 1504220069).

The Public Safety Bureau released an agenda Thursday for next Friday’s workshop at the FCC on the use of smartphone apps in the provision of 911 service. The workshop starts at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Meeting Room. It features three panels and opening remarks by Bureau Chief David Simpson.

The world’s largest suppliers of lithium-ion batteries for smartphones engaged in a decade-long conspiracy through 2011 to fix prices and restrain competition, TracFone Wireless alleged in a complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Miami. It named 17 defendants, most of them the battery and chemical subsidiaries, but not the CE operations, of Hitachi, LG, NEC, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, whose “unlawful conduct is a textbook price-fixing cartel,” the complaint alleged. They represent “a small, concentrated group” of manufacturers “producing commoditized products” that sought to “artificially increase prices by agreeing to restrain competition among themselves,” it alleged. They fixed prices “through several means,” including restricting output and supply, agreeing on prices or price targets and “using common formulas tied to material costs to set industry prices, and price-floors,” it said. “While the manner, means, and impact varied over time, the cartel’s common goal during the conspiracy was to artificially raise the prices of Lithium Ion Batteries above the competitive level.” The conspiracy was “successful, to the detriment of TracFone,” it alleged. As a result of the unlawful conduct, TracFone paid “inflated prices” for lithium-ion batteries during the decade-long period, “and has suffered antitrust injury to its business or property,” it alleged. Representatives of the companies named as defendants in the complaint didn’t comment.

Sprint and Wi-Fi provider Boingo Wireless announced an agreement giving Sprint subscribers free access to Boingo Wi-Fi networks at 35 major U.S. airports. Sprint devices will be able to connect to Boingo hot spots automatically, “providing service at the fastest speeds available, be that cellular from Sprint or Wi-Fi from Boingo,” the companies said in a Thursday news release. “The auto-authenticating Wi-Fi connections are available at no additional charge to all Sprint customers with capable devices, and usage while connected to Wi-Fi does not count towards a customer’s monthly service plan.” The companies said they conducted successful market trials with millions of Sprint handsets. “With Wi-Fi being the world’s largest wireless ecosystem, we view it as a highly complementary layer to our network,” said Stephen Bye, Sprint chief technology officer.

While Apple’s strong Q1 sales were largely driven by smartphone growth in China (see 1504280034), China’s overall year-on-year market growth in the quarter “flattened significantly," said Melissa Chau, senior research manager at International Data Corp (IDC). Apple and Samsung will continue for the rest of the year to battle it out at the high end of the smartphone market with their 6 series smartphones, but all vendors will be “squeezed on falling ASPs" (average selling prices), she said. Apple’s challenge for the No. 1 smartphone spot in Q4 “returned to a clear lead for Samsung in Q1," said Anthony Scarsella, IDC research manager.

A new survey paid for by CTIA found that 61 percent of Americans who own smartphones and tablets use PINs and passwords to protect them, a 20 percent increase from 2012. CTIA said the increase is a reason for the reported decline in device thefts. The FCC has made curbing device theft a priority. Recent data suggests device thefts are down 40 percent in London, 22 percent in San Francisco and 16 percent in New York City, according to numbers released at the April meeting of the FCC Technological Advisory Council (see 1504010055). “One of the reasons for this increase by Americans to protect their personal data stored on smartphones and tablets is thanks to the collective wireless industry’s consumer education activities as well as the initiatives developed by individual companies,” CTIA said. Harris Poll conducted the online survey. CTIA released only preliminary results, the association said Thursday.

Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman promised in a blog post the FCC will do a “thorough and comprehensive” review of all remaining long form applications to buy AWS-3 licenses. The FCC on Wednesday sought comment on license applications from nine bidders in the auction, including eight designated entities (see 1504290039). Among them were the applications by two Dish Network-affiliated DEs. “In parallel, bureau staff will continue to rigorously assess applicants’ compliance with commission rules,” Sherman wrote. “If any petitions to deny are filed, they will be considered as part of our substantive review, he said. "We will consider each application on its own merits and make licensing and any bidding credit decisions according to the specific facts and totality of circumstances in the record.”" The FCC hasn't made any decisions on the applications on which it sought comment, he said. “They're complex and important matters, "and we have a long way to go in our review before we reach final conclusions on all of the applications,"” Sherman said. "While it would be inappropriate to make any predictions or judgments about any particular application, it is certain that staff's review of the applications will be rigorous and methodical. At the end of this process we will issue licenses only to entities that meet our eligibility standards.””