The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee's next meeting is May 12, said a notice to be published Monday in the Federal Register. The meeting is at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Communication Technology Laboratory, in Boulder, starting at 1:30 p.m. MDT.

FCC and NTIA are right to examine a model city program for examining spectrum sharing, but the government’s top priority must be the TV incentive auction, Steve Berry, president of the Competitive Carriers Association, said in a news release. A two-day workshop on the program concluded Thursday (see 1504160049). “We agree that spectrum sharing will be needed down the road as the amount of cleared spectrum diminishes, but right now the FCC must make it a priority to keep the incentive auction moving forward,” Berry said. “Licensed spectrum is the most effective means for ensuring consumers, especially those who [live] in rural and hard-to-reach areas, have access to high speed mobile broadband."

The FCC approved a public notice seeking additional comment on designated entity (DE) rules that would encourage bidding by small market players in FCC auctions, via electronic voting. Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated the PN in March (see 1503240055). The item was stricken from the agenda of the FCC meeting shortly before it began, so there was no discussion at the meeting by commissioners. Questions have been raised about Dish Network’s use of two DEs in the AWS-3 auction to obtain licenses at reduced prices through bidding credits, including on Capitol Hill (see 1503090034). Wheeler told reporters after the meeting the Wireless Bureau is still collecting information on the bids by the DEs. The FCC will seek comment on the long-form applications by the DEs, Wheeler said. The FCC is “in the first stages” of the investigation, he said. “We will make a decision based on the record, based on the facts.” Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., ranking member of the Commerce Committee, said he was pleased the FCC had approved the notice, "taking action to make sure the agency's policies help small businesses not just survive, but compete, thrive, and best serve their consumers." “Soliciting further input on alternative proposals and exploring other issues raised in the record to date will provide a more complete record for us to evaluate and act upon,” the notice said. It also allows commenters to weigh in based on the lessons learned in the AWS-3 auction, the FCC said. “Abuse of the DE program has robbed actual small businesses of the spectrum they need to serve their local communities,” Commissioner Ajit Pai said in a statement accompanying the order. “This taxpayer-funded program is now being used by Fortune 500 companies to disadvantage the very small companies it was intended to help. This must end.” The AWS-3 auction “put a spotlight on the questionable uses of the FCC’s designated entity program,” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said. “Although the Commission is taking the first steps to consider rule deficiencies, this does not substitute for the distinct and thorough review of the AWS-3 designated entity applications, which must occur to ensure that the entities receiving government subsidies are in compliance with our rules.” Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said the DE rules are in need of an overhaul. “If we are careful and approach this proceeding in a fair and objective manner, I am confident that we will strike the proper balance and realize all of these important public interest goals,” she said.

Smart watches are catching up to activity trackers and are on pace to reach the wrists of 9 percent of the U.S. adult population by 2016, said an NPD report. As smart watch penetration grows, activity tracker penetration will plateau and peak at 32 million units after significant growth for four years. “The smartwatch will clearly begin to take a bite out of the activity tracker market moving forward,” said analyst Eddie Hold, citing health and fitness apps on smart watches as the reason consumers are moving away from simple trackers. The activity tracker is under threat not only from the smart watch but from its limited use cases, said Hold. Counting the number of steps taken daily limits the addressable market size, and 40 percent of activity tracker owners stop using the device within six months, he said. Sports offer an opportunity for activity trackers, said Hold, citing demand for sophisticated trackers with GPS support, heart rate sensors and rugged, waterproof design. Third-party activity apps will be key to the growth of the sport-related activity tracker market and to the long-term “stickiness” of the smart watch, he said.

The cost for Samsung to double the memory of its Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge smartphones to 64 GB is $13 -- and $26 for doubling it again to 128 GB -- but the cost to consumers is $100 for each memory step up, according to IHS’ teardown of the Galaxy S line. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge with 64 GB of NAND memory carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $290.45, including the $5.60 manufacturing cost, IHS said, compared with the $799 retail price for the S6 Edge at Verizon. That’s higher than the BOM for a comparable iPhone 6 Plus 64 GB, which has a BOM of $240.05, including the $4.01 manufacturing cost. But at $849, Apple’s online store price for the 6 Plus 64 GB model is $50 higher than the comparable S6 Edge, IHS said. Samsung’s most recent Galaxy S series is its “priciest” to date, IHS said. “Samsung seems to have consistently packed more features and cost into their flagship Galaxy S line of phones over the last three generations of product, now producing a BOM cost that is notably higher than comparable iPhones,” said Andrew Rassweiler, IHS senior director-research and analysis. The top cost driver of the Samsung S6 series is the homegrown Super AMOLED display with Quad HD resolution (2560 x 1440 pixels), which compares with the iPhone 6 Plus’s 1920 x 1080 HD resolution, IHS said. The Edge’s curved display costs $85, about $24 more than the display for the regular version of the S6, and roughly double the cost of the iPhone 6 Plus, which IHS estimated at $41 in November. Other notable Galaxy S6 components' costs, according to IHS: Samsung octa-core, 64-bit apps processor ($29.50), Qualcomm baseband multimode processor ($15), Samsung 64 GB NAND memory ($25), Samsung 3 GB SDRAM memory ($27.50), 16-megapixel rear camera module ($18.50) and 5-megapixel front-camera module ($3). IHS said different carriers in different markets see varying versions of the S6 that don’t use the Qualcomm chipset, and it has procured another model to compare cost differences.

The Wireless ISP Association and other groups and companies asked the FCC to extend by six months the deadlines for Part 15 devices in the 5725-5850 MHz band to meet new equipment certification requirements and marketing restrictions. “The Joint Petitioners believe that a brief six-month extension will enable the Commission, other federal agencies and commercial interests to consider the Joint Petitioners’ recent consensus proposal to amend Section 15.407 to help compensate for the elimination of the less-restrictive out-of-band emission requirements in Section 15.247, without increasing the potential for harmful interference to Terminal Doppler Weather Radar facilities,” said a petition for waiver, posted by the FCC Wednesday in docket 13-49. Petitioners include makers of 5 GHz point-to-multipoint and point-to-point equipment, WISPs and critical infrastructure providers, the petition said. Industry faces an initial June 2 deadline. “The Joint Petitioners strongly believe that the Consensus Proposal will promote the public interest by allowing consumers to continue to obtain robust fixed wireless service and by enabling critical infrastructure companies to continue to deliver existing services,” the filing said. Also signing off on the petition were Alcatel-Lucent, the American Petroleum Institute, Cambium Networks, Fastback Networks, Jab Wireless, Mimosa Networks and Zebra Technologies.

The FTC took several actions to preserve competition in the technology sector and protect consumers from companies that misrepresent security features and privacy policies, and from mobile phone companies that engage in cramming, throttling and have hidden in-app charges, said the FTC’s 2014 Annual Highlights Report released Wednesday by Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. The FTC filed eight amicus briefs on issues including children’s online privacy and held 16 workshops and conferences on issues including big data and mobile device tracking, an FTC news release said. “With over 150 law enforcement actions taken and $640 million in consumer redress ordered, we marked the FTC’s centennial year with vigorous efforts to protect consumers and promote competition in a dynamic and continuously evolving marketplace,” Ramirez said.

The total impairment to 600 MHz licenses in partial economic areas near the Mexican and Canadian borders at a clearing target of 126 MHz would be about 13 percent of MHz/pops nationwide, said an AT&T study the company discussed in a meeting with FCC officials, said an ex parte filing made Tuesday in docket 12-268. With a target of 84 MHz, impairment would be 11.6 percent, it said. “AT&T discussed these results along with the proposals that AT&T has made in its comments in this proceeding, particularly AT&T’s recommendation that the Commission should avoid repacking any U.S. based broadcasters in the 600 MHz band,” the carrier said. “The unavoidable impairments represented by the TV allotments held by Canada and Mexico already will cover a substantial percentage of the MHz/pops in the 600 MHz band.” The FCC’s proposed auction methodology is based on the assumption that the blocks offered for sale will be fungible, AT&T said. “Accordingly, the Commission should offer only one class of spectrum in the clock phase, with no or very light (perhaps 10 percent or less) impairments, to make the objects in the clock phase workably fungible.”

The Wi-Fi Alliance asked the FCC to “maximize” use of the TV spectrum for unlicensed operations as it finalizes rules for the TV incentive auction. The alliance said in a filing the FCC’s record demonstrates broad recognition of the importance of unlicensed spectrum. “Overly conservative requests to protect particular services, beyond what is necessary to reasonably guard against harmful interference, should not defeat the opportunity to create additional critical capacity for unlicensed applications,” the group said. There's disagreement about the protection licensed wireless services require from adjacent unlicensed devices, the group said. “On one side, V-COMM suggests that an out-of-band emission limit of -89 dBm/100 kHz into 600 MHz downlink spectrum and a 5 megahertz buffer is required for white space devices operating at the permitted 40 mW power level,” the alliance said. “These limitations would effectively eliminate the ability for white space devices to use the guard bands and duplex gap.” The filing was posted by the FCC Wednesday in docket 12-268. Also in the docket, representatives of wireless mic maker Shure said the company “reaffirmed” support for the FCC’s proposal to authorize wireless microphone operations in the 600 MHz duplex gap and guard bands, in a meeting with FCC officials. “Shure reemphasized that the duplex gap and guard bands would provide urgently needed spectrum for wireless microphone users given the looming repurposing of the broader 600 MHz Band,” Shure said.

CEA expanded the show floor for International CES Asia, running May 25-27 in Shanghai, China, after underestimating exhibitor interest in the first-year show, it said Tuesday. CES Asia added some 6,500 net square feet to the show floor, which had 91,500 net square feet in February. New exhibitor additions include BesTV, Cadillac, China Mobile, Lincoln, OnStar, Samsung and Volkswagen, CEA said. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler will deliver a preshow keynote at 5 p.m. May 24, and additional keynotes will be announced in coming weeks, CEA said.