The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council told Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and other FCC officials in a series of meetings at the agency that flexibility is key as the agency revises its designated entity rules in time for the TV incentive auction. There are many different types of DEs, each with unique financial arrangements, strategies and objectives, MMTC officials said, according to an ex parte filing in docket 05-211 posted by the agency Wednesday. “To have an effective DE program, the rules must be written to maximize flexibility -- the ability for DEs to adapt to market conditions and new technology -- and be designed to increase access to capital,” MMTC said (http://bit.ly/VkqFcr). “For example, a DE might want to work with an established retail outlet to help them establish a telecommunications arm.”

T-Mobile sought reconsideration of the FCC’s May 15 spectrum holdings order. The request said it’s seeking to keep Verizon and AT&T from dominating the TV incentive auction (CD Aug 13 p1), T-Mobile Vice President Kathleen Ham said in a Tuesday blog post (http://t-mo.co/1q8R4Ci). “Without a reasonable limit on the two dominant carriers’ market power, the two dominant carriers would likely push competitors out of the auction and consumers would face an uncertain future of less innovative, more costly, and lower quality wireless broadband services,” Ham wrote.

Proposed technical specifications by oneM2M were released (http://bit.ly/1uLrisb). The oneM2M group is a global partnership to develop standards for machine-to-machine communications and the Internet of Things. “This Candidate Release of Technical Specifications is the first step towards internationally recognized M2M standards, and will help further oneM2M’s goal of creating an M2M Service Layer that will enable scalable global deployment of M2M IoT implementation while allowing interoperability within existing standards,” the Telecommunications Industry Association said in a news release Tuesday.

LTE-Advanced network deployments have been increasing this year, ABI Research said Tuesday in a report, saying about 60 LTE-Advanced deployments, commitments or trials were underway during Q1. Twenty-two commitments were in Western Europe, 16 were in the Asia-Pacific region and five in North America, ABI said. Carriers are finding LTE-Advanced attractive because it includes the carrier aggregation (CA) feature, which allows carriers to “utilize all spectrum resources to increase data rates,” said ABI research analyst Marina Lu in a news release. “In France, Bouygues Telecom first utilized CA to launch LTE-Advanced in six cities in mid-June, 2014, while Orange France and SFR also announced they will commercially deploy LTE-Advanced.” Voice over LTE is also increasing its market traction this year, ABI said. The ABI report also said about 75 percent of the upcoming 4G spectrum auctions will be in Africa, the Asia-Pacific region or Latin America (http://bit.ly/1vE50N7).

Spectrum Networks Group (SNG) fired back at critics of its proposed plan to use the 896-901/935-940 MHz band to offer machine-to-machine communications to businesses through its subsidiary M2M Spectrum Networks. The Enterprise Wireless Alliance (EWA), Motorola Solutions and the Utilities Telecom Council all raised concerns in the initial comment round. “The record provides clear evidence that M2M is able and ready to deploy its network with dispatch,” SNG said (http://bit.ly/1rmCZDk). “M2M’s plans would serve the public interest; SNG should either be considered eligible to hold the requested 900 MHz I/B licenses or be granted a waiver of any applicable eligibility requirements; and the conditions to which SNG and M2M are prepared to submit will dispel any concern that is even remotely plausible.” The filing was posted Tuesday in docket 14-100. EWA said the company has never answered its questions nor those raised by other commenters (http://bit.ly/1rmE79P). “A fundamental deficiency in the Waiver is the failure to even allege, much less substantiate, that the system SNG says it intends to deploy cannot be accommodated on spectrum that would not require a waiver of the FCC rules,” EWA said. The band is dedicated to mobile communications, but comments filed by potential M2M customers indicate the primary focus of the network “would be for fixed, not mobile, services,” EWA said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved an application by the Association of American Railroads to be a frequency coordinator Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) Pool frequencies in the 806-816/851-861 and 896-901/935-940 MHz bands, said a notice in docket 14-75 released Monday by the agency (http://bit.ly/1B9pZaI). The bureau said it sought comment on the application and there was general support. “We remind AAR, however, that frequency coordination services must be provided on a non-discriminatory basis and applications must be processed in order of receipt,” the bureau said.

A Boingo Wireless subsidiary won a contract with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to design, install and operate distributed antenna system and Wi-Fi networks in parts of the World Trade Center in Manhattan. The contract went to New York Telecom Partner, a Boingo subsidiary, said a Monday news release (http://on.wsj.com/VgddpG). The DAS system will cover more than 1.6 million square feet of the World Trade Center, the company said. “Boingo will also install high density Wi-Fi networks, providing complimentary Wi-Fi access to visitors throughout the public areas of the Transportation Hub, retail spaces and other core locations.” The networks are to launch next year with the opening of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, Boingo said.

CTIA and Competitive Carrier Association officials discussed their recent letter calling for an interim waiver of the agency’s “former defaulter” rule prior to the AWS-3 auction, at a series of meetings at the FCC, said an ex parte filing posted by the FCC Monday (http://bit.ly/1pL9tYs). The rule requires bidders to make larger upfront payments for licenses if they ever defaulted on a license or were delinquent on a debt owed to a federal agency (CD June 3 p1). CCA and CTIA officials met with Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman and aides to FCC commissioners, among others at the agency. “If administered properly” the AWS-3 auction will “unleash 65 megahertz of mobile broadband spectrum -- thus playing a vital role in addressing the wireless industry’s continued need for spectrum,” the filing said. “Unfortunately, an overly broad application of the former defaulter rule could inhibit robust auction participation.” The filing was in docket 14-78.

The Informal Working Groups of the World Radiocommunication 2015 Advisory Committee will meet this month. The terrestrial services and space services groups will meet Aug. 18, and the regulatory issues group will meet Aug. 20, the FCC said Monday in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1nIURF5). The teleconference meetings are open to the public, it said.

Open Mobile Alliance added more than 30 members, including Stream Communications in Scotland, France-based Thales and Chicago-based Telular. Some companies have withdrawn their membership, said a Friday Federal Register notice (http://1.usa.gov/1r7AfJI). Interop Technologies in Fort Meyers, Florida, Motorola in Illinois and Oracle in Palo Alto, California, are among the companies that have withdrawn, it said.