There are 100 mobile operators with launched commercial LTE networks, following the recent start of the C-Spire Wireless LTE network, 4G Americas said Monday. The number of new LTE network launches is now more than doubling annually and should reach 133 by the end of 2012, the group said. “Among the numerous benefits of LTE technology is the flexibility of LTE to be deployed in a wide variety of spectrum bands and its scalability to operate in various bandwidths up to 20 MHz,” said a spokeswoman for the group of carriers and equipment makers. “With the scarcity of spectrum, LTE provides operators with the most spectrally efficient mobile broadband technology available today” (http://xrl.us/bno7vx).
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is “honored” to be holding a live Twitter chat on Tuesday at 1:30 pm, he tweeted Friday (http://xrl.us/bno7vp). The chairman wants tweeters to use the hashtag “#AskJulius” to send him questions. As of Monday afternoon, users had asked four questions: how social media has made the FCC’s job more challenging; what the FCC is doing to enforce robocall rules against politicians who call cellphones; whose idea it was to limit Twitter to 140 characters; and whether Sept. 11 “should be reserved for remembrance of the victims instead of your political chats with the public."
Accipiter deserves a limited and targeted waiver of the FCC’s USF rules, President Patrick Sherrill told the chief of the Wireline Bureau and aides to Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel, Robert McDowell, Mignon Clyburn and Chairman Julius Genachowski (http://xrl.us/bno7rx). Accipiter wants the commission to use Accipiter’s most current line count data as a “replacement variable” in the per-line formula and regression formulas for determining its USF limitations, it said. A waiver, while still capping Accipter’s support, would let the telco maintain service and repay its loans, it said.
The FCC should revisit its copper retirement policies, CompTel executives told Wireline Bureau officials and Chief Technology Officer Henning Schulzrinne, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bno7qs). Current copper technology allows for symmetrical speeds at “orders of magnitude larger” than the FCC’s 4 Mbps downstream /1 Mbps upstream broadband speed requirement in the USF/intercarrier compensation order, CompTel said in an attached presentation (http://xrl.us/bno7q8). Speeds of “up to 800 Mbps at distances up to 65,000 feet” are achievable using various copper-loop configurations, CompTel said. CompTel referred to its 2009 proposal to “preserve this remarkably resilient and useful legacy network” in furtherance of FCC goals of encouraging competition, promoting advanced services and finding the most effective and efficient means of ensuring affordable broadband services.
The FCC must differentiate between Type 1 and Type 2 special access facilities when it requests data on the state of competition in the special access marketplace, Sprint Nextel told Wireline Bureau officials Friday, an ex parte filing said (http://xrl.us/bno7p9). The commission must also analyze both actual and potential competition “in a rigorous way,” Sprint said.
Livewire Mobile now manages the Sprint Nextel and Metro PCS music download services, Livewire said Monday. The company’s new contracts follow other recent service launches, including the Siren music service for Canada-based Public Mobile and the Rumpus music discovery app for Android. Livewire said it expects the new deals will more than double revenue from 2011 during FY 2013. The company said it will be opening a new Washington, D.C.-area office to support the added contracts. “We'll be working with our label partners and our customers over the coming months to improve the service, ensuring that if you are a Sprint or MetroPCS subscriber you will get the very best music experience possible,” CEO Matthew Stecker said in a news release (http://xrl.us/bno7tk).
EarthLink and Clearwire entered a wholesale deal to let the Internet network owner offer wireline and mobile broadband service using the wireless company’s 4G network. The service, expected to start in early 2013, will initially focus on in-home use, Clearwire said. The service will later expand to mobile devices, while other new services will target small businesses. “Customers are increasingly equating broadband services with wireless services and our wholesale agreement with Clearwire will allow EarthLink to offer the wireless products and services necessary to remain a leader in communications services,” Michael Toplisek, EarthLink executive vice president, said in a news release Monday (http://xrl.us/bno7od). Clearwire said once its LTE network comes online, the deal will likely expand to offer EarthLink customers LTE.
Google Fiber closed its pre-registration period in Kansas City, with 180 “fiberhoods” of 202 qualified for service since July 26, Google said Monday. The pre-registration process has been “the first step” in expanding Internet access and Google’s process of connecting libraries, schools and community buildings, said Google Access General Manager Kevin Lo (http://xrl.us/bno7os). The final number of qualified fiberhoods won’t be revealed until Thursday because some addresses are still being processed and verified, Google said. “Affordable access at home is important too,” Lo said. “So one of the three packages we offer is a Free Internet plan. Homes in Kansas City can get their own Fiber connection and today’s average Internet speeds for $0 per month, plus a construction fee."
The FCC Public Safety Bureau took steps leading to transfer of the 700 MHz D-block to the new FirstNet, consistent with rules in the February spectrum law. “We delete the rules granting authority to the Public Safety Broadband License (PSBL) and replace these rules with provisions reflecting the Public Safety Spectrum Act’s directive to license spectrum to FirstNet,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bno7c5). “FirstNet’s Board has been appointed and it is now itself in a position to file a request on its own for the license to which it is entitled under the Public Safety Spectrum Act. Accordingly, we are prepared to take the ministerial step of granting a new license to FirstNet under a new call sign as soon as possible after FirstNet informs the Bureau that it has been established in accordance with the terms of the Public Safety Spectrum Act and submits a request for the license specified by Section 6201 of the Public Safety Spectrum Act.” Public safety officials pushed hard to gain control of the D-block, giving public safety an additional 10 MHz of spectrum for the proposed national first responder network, which was in part funded by the spectrum law. Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank disclosed the members of the FirstNet board last month (CD Aug 21 p1), chaired by longtime telecom executive Samuel Ginn.
The FCC Wireless and Wireline bureaus modified the road miles eligible for Mobility Fund Phase I support. The FCC did not change the census blocks eligible for coverage. “More than 80 percent of the biddable items have either no change in road miles or a change of less than 1 mile,” the order said (http://xrl.us/bno7ek). “Fewer than 200 of the more than 14,000 biddable items have changes of at least 1 road mile and more than 25 percent of the previous total road miles.” The bureaus also rescheduled the mobility fund mock auction, to Sept. 21 from Sept. 25. “The mock auction will enable qualified bidders to become familiar with the FCC Auction System and to practice submitting bids,” they said. “Auction 901 will proceed as scheduled on Thursday, September 27."