Steve Sharkey, T-Mobile director of engineering policy, stressed in a Wednesday blog post (http://bit.ly/11NV0NA) the importance of the Obama administration adopting the industry roadmap proposed by T-Mobile and other major carriers. “The roadmap takes a comprehensive look at the 1755-1850 MHz band and lays out a path for making the 1755-1780 MHz portion available in time to be paired and auctioned with the 2155-2180 MHz band to meet a congressionally mandated deadline of licensing by February 2015,” Sharkey wrote. “Auctioning this paired spectrum will provide significant broadband capacity while raising billions of dollars in revenue that could be used to update government systems, fund a public safety broadband network, and reduce our national debt. By contrast, missing the opportunity to pair these bands would result in billions of dollars of lost auction revenue, be a blow to innovation and the economy, and set back the current industry/government efforts by years.”

Europeans aren’t getting the broadband speeds they pay for, the European Commission said Wednesday. An EC study on fixed broadband performance found that, on average, users receive only 74 percent of the advertised speeds they sign up for. Key findings included: (1) Cable has the most reliable download speeds. (2) In absolute terms, the average download speeds across all EU countries and all technologies was 19.47 Mbps in peak hours, with fiber-to-the-home reaching the fastest speeds at around 41 Mbps. Cable came next, at just over 33 Mbps, with xDSL lagging way behind at an average speed of 7.2 Mbps. (3) Upload speeds, however, are closer to their advertised speeds, with the average speed across Europe at 6.2 Mbps, which represents 88 percent of advertised upload speeds. Again, fiber services had the highest speeds, at almost 19 Mbps, with DSL at 0.69 Mbps. The results were based on peak-time performance, defined as weekdays from 7-11 p.m., the EC said. The study will run until the end of 2014 with two more annual measurements planned, and the EC wants volunteers to measure their ISPs’ performance via a device plugged into their home Internet connections. The study was the first on broadband performance that covered all EU members, including Croatia, which joins July 1, and Norway and Iceland, the EC said. The results should make cable customers happy, said Cable Europe. With average peak download speeds of 33 Mbps across Europe, cable users are in good shape well before the EC digital agenda goal of ensuring 30 Mbps for all citizens by 2020, said Cable Europe Executive Chairman Matthias Kurth.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance hopes to “go on offense” in making its telecom priorities known, said Telecom Director Chris Mitchell Wednesday in a podcast the institute recorded. “Now we're reaching out to a larger segment of the public.” The institute has prioritized communities’ ability to build their own networks and focused on many consumer issues, recording these accounts in blog posts and case studies, as Mitchell said. State and federal regulators should “roll back barriers” and make sure communities have the freedom to decide whether to build their own networks, he said. This year has featured a concerted effort to make these concerns known to “a broader public,” which Mitchell said he has tried to do in the form of op-eds and working with established nonprofits and organizations. His current projects have focused more on conduits and pole attachments, so cities can make it easier for networks to be deployed, he said. Mitchell criticized when “massive, out-of-state corporations” control a community’s broadband network. He focused not just on traditional incumbents but pointed to aspects of Google’s fiber rollouts as “still concerning.”

Noncommercial stations need more guidance from the FCC to decide if they'll participate in the spectrum incentive auction, the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters told acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and FCC staff last week, according to an ex parte letter filed Monday (http://bit.ly/1cmKKk2). “Noncommercial stations are being approached by potential funding sources with respect to making their frequencies available in the spectrum auction” but they need information about “the kinds of transactions in which they can participate” to make decisions, said NABOB Executive Director James Winston in the filing. Winston also said NABOB plans to file comments on the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council cross-ownership study.

Warren Communications News won an award for investigative reporting for a story (CD March 5/12 p5) on a company that prepared license applications for not-yet-available spectrum. Adam Bender, at the time associate editor of Communications Daily, placed third in the competition for the David Swit Award for Best Investigative Reporting from the Specialized Information Publishers Association. The story also was a finalist in the Newsletter Category (Washington Reporting) for the Society of Professional Journalists Washington chapter (CD June 13 p14).

Comments are due to the FCC Sept. 4, replies Oct. 2, about video description for video programming delivered by both TV and the Internet, said a Media Bureau public notice released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1370yb9). It said the filings in docket 11-43 will “inform a report to Congress” due July 1, 2014, and required by a 2010 law “on the status, benefits, and costs of video description on television and Internet-provided video programming."

The FCC Media Bureau has requested comments on possible changes to requirements that TV stations post their political file documents online, said a public notice released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/19CofIq). The commission is looking for comments on the rule because while it only applies to around 240 stations now -- affiliates of the top four networks in the top 50 DMAs -- it’s set to be applied to all TV stations starting July 1, 2014, the PN said. “We seek comment generally on the experience of this initial group of stations in posting their political files online as well as the public’s experience in accessing this information,” said the PN. The Media Bureau is also looking for comments “on the ability of stations that are currently exempt from the political posting requirement to comply” with next year’s deadline. “Are there changes we should make to our rules or our database to facilitate compliance for stations that will be subject to the online political file requirements for the first time next year?” asked the PN. Along with the approaching widening of the rule’s scope, the bureau also asked for comments on a petition for reconsideration filed by a group of station owners arguing that forcing stations to post political ad rates is “anti-competitive, disrupts markets, and is not contemplated by current campaign finance disclosure statutes,” said the PN. The petition asks the bureau to let stations keep the ad rate information in hard copy only, while allowing stations to post “the aggregate amount of money spent by a sponsor of political advertisements” online on an “opt-in basis.” However, that would make it difficult for the public to obtain the information or ensure that stations are “meeting their statutory obligations with respect to lowest unit rate,” according to an opposition to the station owners’ petition filed by the Public Interest Public Airwaves Coalition. The bureau is looking for comments on how to make political file documents more accessible, and on the voluntary system suggested in the petition. Comments are due Aug. 26, reply comments Sept. 23.

Comments are due to the FCC July 22, replies Aug. 6, about a study on the impact on stations owned by minorities and/or women of cross-ownership of daily newspapers and broadcasters in the same market, said a commission notice (http://1.usa.gov/19CffD3) in Wednesday’s Federal Register. The study was paid for by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (CD May 31 p1), and the notice said the docket is 09-182.

Arianespace successfully launched a cluster of four O3b Networks satellites late Tuesday. The launch on a Soyuz rocket clears the way “for the establishment of telecommunications and Internet services over Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East that combine the global reach of satellite coverage with the speed of a fiber-optic network,” it said in a press release. The launch was postponed from Monday due to unfavorable wind conditions over the French Guiana launch site (CD June 25 p10).

Amazon and PBS Distribution expanded their multi-year licensing agreement to allow Amazon Prime members to stream past seasons of PBS programs at no additional cost, Amazon said in a Wednesday release (http://bit.ly/10V8s7p). More episodes of shows like Nova, Masterpiece and Caillou will be available, it said.