AT&T’s voluntary commitment to offer wireless broadband service to 13 million new customers as a result of planned DirecTV acquisition “precedes any election it might make to access Connect America Fund Phase II support to make broadband service available in high cost areas,” the American Cable Association told FCC Wireline Bureau officials Wednesday, an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 10-90 said (http://bit.ly/1oPdbTy). AT&T has said it’s one of the concessions it will make as part of its DirecTV acquisition (CD June 18 p5). The FCC should be ready for issues that might arise if it turns out some locations included in the merger commitment might also be high-cost areas where AT&T is eligible to receive support, ACA said. The association commended the bureau for making “great strides” in developing a cost model that accurately estimates the cost of a modern network, but criticized insufficiently precise inputs for the cost of money and the take rate to estimate revenue.

Virgin Mobile said Friday it plans to begin offering its $20-per-month payLo mobile plans Saturday. The two plans, offered in partnership with Walmart, would allow a subscriber access to either unlimited voice minutes or text messages. The unlimited voice plan would also include 50 text messages per month, while the unlimited text plan would include 50 minutes of voice per month, Virgin Mobile said. Subscribers on the payLo plans can choose between two devices -- the Kyocera Kona or the Samsung Montage. Additional voice minutes cost 10 cents per minute, while each additional text message costs 15 cents, Virgin Mobile said. Picture messages cost 25 cents per message, while Internet access costs $1.50 per megabyte (http://wervirg.in/1qq7n05).

T-Mobile representatives explained their May 27 petition seeking guidance on data roaming rules, in a meeting Wednesday with FCC Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman and other commission officials. The carrier sought “predictable” enforcement criteria for determining whether the terms of data roaming agreements meet the “commercially reasonable” standard adopted by the commission in its 2011 data roaming order (http://bit.ly/Ry0kWn). “The limited intervention and guidance sought by T-Mobile will provide necessary clarity for individualized negotiations and help all parties better evaluate the commercial reasonableness of offered terms,” T-Mobile said, according to an ex parte filing posted Friday in docket 05-265.

CTIA applauds rather than criticizes CEA for a report on the economic impact of unlicensed spectrum, CTIA President Meredith Baker said Thursday in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1jAQ7jy). “Washington loves a good fight, a good debate,” she said. “There isn’t one here.” Both unlicensed and licensed spectrum are critical, Baker said. “Both are needed by our country to continue the amazing investment and innovation that makes our wireless ecosystem the envy of the world.” CEA said in a report released Monday unlicensed spectrum generates $62 billion a year for the U.S. economy (http://bit.ly/1nktNvU).

The FCC Wireless and Wireline bureaus Thursday extended by 30 days the deadline for winning bidders of Mobility Fund Phase I support to file annual reports with the commission. The bureaus said they took the step without being formally asked to do so by anyone outside the agency. Reports were due July 1 and they are now due July 31, the bureaus said in a Thursday public notice (http://bit.ly/1qwwYH9). All winners must file reports for the first five years after funds are authorized.

CTIA President Meredith Baker explained the importance of spectrum to the wireless industry, as well as the need for expediting the wireless siting process, in a meeting Monday with FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. Baker also emphasized that “Title II regulation is not necessary to preserve an open Internet,” said an ex parte filing on the meeting posted Thursday by the FCC in docket 12-268 (http://bit.ly/1pnVCaY). Baker also discussed the importance of the pending TV incentive auction, the filing said. “CTIA urged the Commission to continue to recognize the unique technical, operational, and competitive differences that apply to mobile wireless broadband, whether it is the dependence on government for access to a critical source of capacity, spectrum, or the need to actively manage networks to ensure a high quality experience for consumers that seek access to the Internet wherever and whenever they want,” the group said. Scott Bergmann, vice president-regulatory affairs, accompanied Baker at the meeting.

The informal working groups of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 will meet next month, the FCC said Thursday in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1rc5jZC). The terrestrial services group meets July 8, and the maritime, aeronautical and radar services group meets July 16, it said. The space services group and the regulatory issues group meet Aug. 5. All meetings will take place via teleconference, it said.

Representatives of handset maker HTC cautioned the FCC against imposing overly aggressive timetables for improved wireless E911 location accuracy, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and an aide to Commissioner Ajit Pai. The FCC should keep in mind “the nascent state of location technology,” HTC said in an ex parte filing posted by the FCC Wednesday (http://bit.ly/T7tzjH) in docket 07-114.

"Smart connected devices” will grow increasingly mainstream by 2018, when 43.3 percent of new shipments globally will be priced under $200, compared with 32.7 percent in 2013, IDC said in a report (http://bit.ly/1vQ2HTV). Included in those shipments are desktop and laptop PCs, tablets and 2-in-1s, but predominantly smartphones, said the industry research firm Tuesday. The high end will take a hit as the share of total shipments priced above $500 falls to 21.1 percent in 2018 from 33 percent in 2013, it said. The smartphone installed base is quickly approaching 2 billion units, and vendors are “scrambling” to find the next 2 billion users in emerging markets like Brazil, China and India, it said. By comparison, sales in “mature” markets like the U.S. and Western Europe are slowing to single-digit annual percentage growth rates “as the installed base swells,” it said. Still, IDC estimated that by 2018, six smartphones will ship for every PC.

Global mobile game revenue is expected to hit $28.9 billion by 2016, Juniper Research projected in a report released Wednesday. That would be more than 38 percent higher than the $20.9 billion expected for 2014, it said. Due to the “domination” of casual gamers playing free-to-play titles, developers’ approaches have shifted away from “bulk acquisition” of unique players, it said in a news release. Under the new strategy, developers are increasing lifetime value by analyzing, “re-engaging” and monetizing users, allowing for higher returns on investment, it said. Tablet users will spend more on in-game purchases and generate more revenue per device than smartphone users, it projected. Despite the mobile game growth, dedicated game devices such as the PS4 and Xbox One will “continue to serve a niche gaming audience,” it predicted. Console game software will increasingly “embrace elements” of mobile games, as “reflected by” the introduction of PlayStation Now, Sony’s coming cloud game service that will let users play games through online streaming on a per-game or subscription basis, said Juniper.