A bug in Carrier IQ software captured cellphone users’ SMS text messages, Carrier IQ said last week. By design, the software collects numbers dialed, URLs visited, and locations of dropped calls, among other things, it said in a letter released late Thursday to Senate Privacy Subcommittee Chairman Al Franken, D-Minn. Carrier IQ and the carriers and handset makers that have admitted being Carrier IQ customers said the data collection software is a diagnostic tool that does not violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act or the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Wireless tower company Crown Castle will buy NextG Networks, the nation’s largest provider of outdoor distributed antenna systems (DAS) for $1 billion, Crown Castle said Friday. NextG has more than 7,000 DAS nodes already in operation with another 1,500 under construction, with 80 percent of the nodes in the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan areas, Crown Castle said. The purchase is Crown Castle’s biggest since it acquired Global Signal in 2007.
The FCC may certify Spectrum Bridge as the first TV white spaces database with permission to start commercial operations in the U.S., industry and agency officials told us last week. That could lead to deployment of the first commercially available white spaces technology as early as Q1. The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology earlier this year completed a 45-day public trial of the Spectrum Bridge database(CD Nov 14 p13) and this month began a 45-day trial of rival database provider Telcordia Technologies, making those the first two of the 10 commission-designated database operators to be ready for trials. White spaces devices, including one produced by Spectrum Bridge’s partner KTS, are being tested in the OET lab, and could soon be certified for commercial use as well, said industry executives.
Eddie Lazarus’s pending departure as chief of staff to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will create a key opening for what is expected to be his last full year as chairman. Similar to the role of White House chief of staff, a job which didn’t even exist before the Eisenhower Administration, the FCC chief of staff has become a key behind-the-scenes player at the commission.
Smaller wireless carriers are ramping up pressure on the FCC to take steps as part of any approval of AT&T’s buy of 700 MHz spectrum from Qualcomm to reconsolidate the lower 700 MHz band, enhancing their ability to get handsets at reasonable prices. The Rural Cellular Association, C Spire and Vulcan Wireless have been particularly active, holding a series of meetings at the FCC in recent weeks.
Some small retransmission consent disputes around the country are beginning to heat up as TV stations and distributors fail to reach new deals. Dish Network called out Heritage Broadcasting for ending talks this week over carriage of WFQF-TV and WWTV-TV Traverse City, Mich. And the American TV Alliance criticized Cordillera Broadcasting’s negotiating position against Time Warner Cable in Corpus Christi, Texas.
It seems unlikely spectrum negotiations are finished between the House and Senate Commerce committees, despite frustrations voiced by each side, multiple telecom industry lobbyists said Thursday. But governance of the public safety network continues to divide the chambers, they said. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., complained Wednesday that the House had halted talks on a spectrum deal (CD Dec 15 p1). House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., responded that he’s waiting for the Senate to pass its own spectrum legislation. Congressional leaders said Thursday they were moving closer to agreement on a payroll tax cut bill, which has been used as a vehicle for spectrum legislation.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear challenges to the FCC’s Universal Service Fund order, it was announced late Wednesday. At least 13 challenges have been filed in various circuits; the 10th in Denver was picked in the judicial lottery to take the case. But even as the case was winding its way through the system, FCC officials on Thursday warned lawyers and lobbyists for wireless companies that the commission was hoping to launch a further rulemaking on reverse auctions as early as next month, with a goal of having the first auctions by the end of Q3 2012.
The House dropped a referendum on the FCC net neutrality order from its fiscal year 2012 appropriations bill. In a new appropriations omnibus bill introduced late Wednesday, the House also increased its proposal for funding the FCC to nearly $340 million. The package was apparently the result of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans. The House hopes to vote on the package Friday, an Appropriations Committee spokeswoman said. To prevent a government shutdown, Congress must pass an appropriations bill or continuing resolution (CR) by Friday when the current CR expires.
A protocol for standardizing rules for security interests in space assets such as satellites will go ahead despite industry concerns, International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) Deputy Secretary-General Martin Stanford told us Wednesday. Satellite operators, spacecraft manufacturers, launch service providers, insurance and financial companies and satellite and space-related associations said in a Dec. 9 letter to Stanford that the instrument is being foisted on them despite strong opposition. The current draft will introduce new and unneeded regulations for satellite financing and is inconsistent with market practices, more than 90 companies and trade groups said. Moreover, they said, it will deter potential investors and boost insurance premiums and transactional costs. But Unidroit intends to proceed because the protocol will benefit developing and emerging economies, Stanford told us.