The FCC has the authority to exempt distributed antenna systems and small cells from environmental and historic preservation review and should take that step as quickly as it can, CTIA said in a letter to the commission. “There can be no doubt that the Commission has both the legal authority and the record to support the creation of the requested categorical exclusion,” the group said (http://bit.ly/1r0sPMU). “The buildout of wireless broadband infrastructure -- both to provide more universal availability and to expand the bandwidth available to the public -- cannot be accomplished in a timely manner unless the FCC streamlines its processes, wherever it can.” The filing was posted Friday in docket 11-59.

The first job for new Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure should be increasing the number of gross subscriber additions, Wells Fargo said Friday in a research note. Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche reported on a call the firm held with Claure, who’s replacing Dan Hesse (CD Aug 7 p1). “His three strategic priorities are (mentioned in this order): 1) effective cost management, 2) bringing compelling offers to potential customers, and 3) continued focus on the network,” Fritzsche wrote.

The Broadway League took FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly on a backstage tour of the Majestic Theatre in New York City to explain in more detail how wireless mics are used on Broadway, said a Tuesday filing by The Broadway League in docket 08-166 (http://bit.ly/V1y5RI). O'Rielly was accompanied by members of his staff and had sought the tour to answer his questions about the “use, control and frequency coordination” of wireless mics in theaters. The FCC is examining how such mics are regulated as part if its work on the TV incentive auction.

Apple and Samsung took care to note in a joint announcement Wednesday that their decision to drop all litigation between them outside of the U.S. doesn’t extend to existing lawsuits pending in U.S. courts. In a joint statement, the companies said, “Samsung and Apple have agreed to drop all litigation between the two companies outside the United States. This agreement does not involve any licensing arrangements, and the companies are continuing to pursue the existing cases in U.S. courts.” Asked whether such an agreement may come to pass regarding lawsuits in the U.S., a Samsung spokeswoman told us the statement was the only information she had to share.

Public Knowledge filed letters of complaint at the FCC Wednesday against the four national wireless carriers, charging they're violating the transparency provisions in the 2010 net neutrality rules. The provisions are the only ones that survived the January court ruling otherwise overturning the rules, PK said (http://bit.ly/1paPVh3). “If the FCC’s transparency rules mean anything, they must require carriers to let subscribers know why, when, and to what speed their connections might be throttled,” said PK Vice President Michael Weinberg. At this point, Sprint and Verizon subscribers “will not know if they are eligible for throttling until after they have crossed the usage threshold,” he said. “AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon subscribers will not know they will be throttled until they are actually connected to a congested cell site.” The complaint against T-Mobile said the carrier must end its practice of exempting speed test applications from network throttling. Last week, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler sent Verizon Wireless a letter asking about the carrier’s announcement it would slow data speeds on its LTE network starting in October, but only for the top 5 percent of data users on unlimited data plans (CD July 31 p1).

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel unveiled four core principles for wireless calls to 911 in remarks at the APCO conference in New Orleans. Rosenworcel said the principles have been endorsed by APCO at her behest and have the support of CTIA as well. The first is that all calls must be dispatchable, she said, according to her written text (http://bit.ly/1kIBykn). “The gold standard for location accuracy is dispatchable location -- the actual floor plus office suite, apartment, hotel room, or classroom.” Rules also must be verifiable, with verifiable targets for measuring accuracy, and flexible, she said. “A solution must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate technological advancements like next generation 911.” Rules also must be put forward in a “reasonable” timeline, Rosenworcel said. “While we must continue to strive towards achieving dispatchable location, we must be honest that this goal could take some time.” The FCC needs “interim benchmarks along the way.” Rosenworcel also said she has visited public safety answering points across the U.S. The visits “have taught me that in Washington, what is trite is true -- leaving town is a good thing,” she said. CTIA President Meredith Baker said in a blog post the group is on board with Rosenworcel’s calls for a voluntary solution to bolster wireless calls to 911. “We need to work harder and faster,” Baker said Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1orK7L6). “We need a smarter approach to improve 9-1-1 location accuracy. We need to work with all stakeholders to enhance wireless 9-1-1 accuracy. I pledge that we will at CTIA.”

Global Eagle Entertainment is providing its wireless in-flight entertainment product on Philippine Airlines. The software platform for wireless in-flight services and entertainment (WISE) has been deployed through a technological partnership with OnAir’s new wireless solution, and on Philippine Airlines’ in air wireless entertainment technology, Global Eagle said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1qVq3bW). WISE, designed as hardware-agnostic, is a flexible content driven in-flight entertainment platform that supports most popular mobile devices, laptops and tablets, it said.

Android Open Source Project (AOSP) smartphone shipments grew 20 percent sequentially in Q2 compared with 3 percent total market growth worldwide for the period, said ABI Research in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1ocnDCN). AOSP phones were 20 percent of the smartphone market during the quarter, it said. OHA (Open Handset Alliance) Android smartphones continue to lead the market with 65 percent market share, but growth slowed to 13 percent in Q2, ABI said. The Android platform, combining AOSP and OHA, shipped 278 million smartphones in Q2, for an 85 percent market share, driven primarily by Chinese and Indian vendors, which had 51 percent share. “While many of these manufacturers are low cost, some are making inroads in the mid-tier, including Xiaomi and Gionee,” and that’s a “growing challenge to Samsung in particular,” said Nick Spencer, senior practice director, ABI Research. Third-place Microsoft had a “near-flat” quarter, with shipments slipping 1 percent for the period to 2 percent market share, Spencer said.

Andrew Bachman will surrender more than $1.2 million in assets to settle an FTC complaint alleging he was operating a “massive mobile cramming scheme,” said a Tuesday FTC news release (http://1.usa.gov/1tSudS2). The total monetary judgment in the ruling (http://1.usa.gov/1s8q8bK) is upward of $97 million, but was partially suspended due to inability to pay after Bachman forfeits a number of items: a Ferrari and a Mercedes; eight watches, including four Rolexes and three Audemars; and the contents of four bank accounts and shares in several startup companies, said the FTC, which has been ramping up its mobile cramming actions in recent months. It filed a complaint against Bachman in December (CD Dec 17 p12) and more recently sued T-Mobile for potentially hundreds of millions of dollars, alleging the carrier has profited for years off of mobile cramming schemes (CD July 2 p5).

LeapFrog started the rollout internationally of the LeapBand, the first wearable activity tracker created specifically for children, LeapFrog CEO John Barbour said Monday on an earnings call. Inspired by Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative against child obesity, the LeapBand tracks activity and “encourages and rewards active play and healthy habits with the fun and engagement of nurturing a personalized virtual pet,” Barbour said. “And it also teaches and encourages children to adopt healthy eating habits.” Soccer star Mia Hamm will be the official spokeswoman for the brand, when a “major PR event” kicks off in Los Angeles in early September, said Barbour.