Patent assertion entity Acacia Research and subsidiary Brilliant Optical Solutions have settled a patent lawsuit against XO Communications and secured a patent licensing agreement with the fiber provider, Acacia Research said Friday (http://bit.ly/1g6wy5V). The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, claimed XO had violated the Brilliant Optical Solutions-owned U.S. Patent No. 5,555,478, which covers a packet-based fiber network that would bypass typical transmission bottlenecks. Acacia filed identical lawsuits over the patent against Comcast, Cox Communications, EarthLink, FairPoint Communications, Google, Time Warner Cable, Windstream and Zayo Group. Google settled its case in August, while Windstream settled in September, Acacia said.

The drive to push Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation in Congress may help usher in pending trade pacts, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, and ultimately benefit U.S. consumers, said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. At a National Foreign Trade Council event Wednesday, he echoed calls two days earlier by industry officials to include rules on the digital economy in future free trade agreements (CD Oct 8 p7). “Right now, the trade rules don’t neatly apply to the digital economy,” said Wyden, according to an excerpt from the council of remarks (http://bit.ly/1afRjn5). “They don’t apply despite the fact that there is a growing number of protectionist practices that we're facing ... overseas and barriers popping up."

IBM and semiconductor supplier Semtech said Friday they jointly created wireless sensor technology that’s capable of transmitting data up to nine miles in rural areas and up to three miles in urban areas. The wireless sensor network technology combines IBM’s Mote Runner software development kit and Semtech’s SX127x with LoRa. Mote Runner is now available on the Semtech SX1272 RFIC for trial purposes, IBM said. The two companies plan to demonstrate the technology at European Utility Week, which is set for Tuesday to Thursday in Amsterdam (http://ibm.co/19pQcCq).

Orbcomm partnered with Savi, a radio frequency identification (RFID) solutions provider, to provide advanced location-based monitoring solutions to government and commercial markets. The companies submitted a proposal to the U.S. Army RFID IV project, “which will provide both ISO18000-7 RFID tags and a suite of satellite solutions for military logistics support,” Orbcomm said in a news release (http://bit.ly/GRVnTV). The synergy of solutions from Orbcomm and Savi within a common operating environment “creates a seamless transition from infrastructure to wireless-based location services for tracking and monitoring high-value assets,” it said.

Communications Daily won’t be published on the federal Columbus Day holiday Oct. 14. Our next issue will be Tuesday, Oct. 15.

The IP transition could significantly reduce long-term costs for telcos, Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant said in a research note Thursday. Based on past signals from the FCC and incoming chairman Tom Wheeler, “we believe the FCC will move in the deregulatory direction sought by the carriers,” he said. That would be “clear long-term positive” for ILECs like AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink, Windstream and Frontier, he said. Gallant cited a paper by Georgetown visiting senior policy scholar Anna-Maria Kovacs (CD Oct 10 p8), which said only 5 percent of American households rely exclusively on circuit-switched telephone service (http://bit.ly/1fjIdgz). That number will likely decrease, yet a government mandate that ILECs continue operating their ever-shrinking TDM networks “siphons billions in capex that could otherwise be devoted to broadband expansion,” Gallant said, summarizing the Kovacs paper. Incumbents appear “well-positioned for success” in the oncoming regulatory battles, Gallant said. The FCC previously signaled “cautious support” for shutting off the TDM network in its 2010 National Broadband Plan, and the agency itself is “moving toward an IP/broadband focus,” Gallant said. Wheeler was chairman of the Technical Advisory Council when it recommended a 2018 TDM turnoff date. “That does not bind him to any particular course of action” as FCC chairman, but his leadership of TAC on this issue “would seem to suggest at least general support for enabling carriers to redirect support toward broadband service, provided consumers and competition are protected,” Gallant said. In the long run, Gallant expects a court challenge over the FCC’s ability to order interconnection and unbundling of IP-based services. “CLECs may well need to re-make the case that their competitive presence is an important policy worth preserving,” he said.

Microsoft is developing its own tracking technology to replace the traditional “cookie” tracking method, the company said Wednesday. The company is seeking a better way to track its users across multiple devices, so usage information on one device could inform user experience on another platform, said TechFreedom President Berin Szoka. A Microsoft spokesman said in a statement, “Microsoft believes going beyond the cookie is important. Our priority will be to find ways to do this that respect the interests of consumers.” Szoka speculated Microsoft has likely briefed the FTC of its plans and responded to any initial concerns: “It’s what many companies do,” he said.

T-Mobile US will begin offering fee-free data use and text messaging to new and existing postpaid subscribers Oct. 31, CEO John Legere said Wednesday night. The international plan, which is part of T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier” marketing strategy, will also charge customers 20 cents per minute for voice calls. The carrier also introduced its Stateside International Talk and Text plan, which is available to U.S. customers. The plan charges subscribers 20 cents per minute for voice and allows for free unlimited landline calls to 70 nations.

The most damaging effect of the FCC shutdown could be on equipment authorizations, Hogan Lovells said Wednesday in a note to clients. Hogan said the shutdown affects the FCC and the third-party labs that do most certifications. “In the United States, virtually all electronic devices must receive FCC equipment certification prior to sale,” the note said. “Every cell phone. Every television. Every computer. Each device emits a unique radio frequency signature, and the FCC reviews this signature to limit the potential for harmful interference to other devices. All told, the FCC and its third-party contractors process an estimated 16,000 equipment certification applications annually. But with further processing impossible during the shutdown, electronic devices not already approved by the FCC cannot lawfully be sold in the United States.” The longer the shutdown continues, “the greater the risk that new devices will sit in warehouses and shipping containers unassembled or pending final design approval,” Hogan said. “Even upon the resumption of operations, moreover, the backlog of equipment certifications has the potential to delay important consumer product launches from manufacturers such as Google, Apple, Samsung, HTC, and LG, as well as from smaller manufacturers who seek to deploy innovative equipment for medical, industrial, and scientific use.” (CD Oct 9 p2)

The FTC should investigate the practice of online data brokers and marketers who track consumers across multiple platforms and devices, often without user knowledge or consent, said Senate Commerce Committee member Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a Thursday letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Such tracking [envelops] users in a digital environment where marketers know their preferences and personal information no matter which device they use while consumers are kept largely in the dark,” he wrote, saying the “implications of this capability are alarming.” Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., expanded his investigation into the ways data brokers collect and pass on personal information they gather last month (CD Sept 26 p12). In 2012, both Rockefeller and Markey made inquiries into the practices of data-collection agencies, as did the FTC (CD Dec 19/12 p11).