The FCC Public Safety Bureau granted the Missouri Department of Public Safety a waiver of a requirement under Section 90.559(b) of FCC rules, which mandates station identification be made on the lowest frequency utilized in a group of trunked channels. The department argued that it launched the Missouri Statewide Interoperability Network (MOSWIN) in 2012 prior to the adoption of the rule and it would be expensive and difficult to implement. “We agree with Missouri that it would be unduly burdensome to require MOSWIN user agencies to ‘reprogram their radios with new control channel lists’ solely to ensure that each base station in the system can use the lowest channel for [base station identification] rather than as a control channel,” the bureau said Thursday.

LTE deployment “chewing up spectrum at a faster pace” than expected could explain why the AWS-3 auction bidding (see 1412030023) has topped $40 billion and continues to rise, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said Thursday in a research note. Verizon confirms it has started converting PCS spectrum from 3G to LTE a year after it tripled the spectrum it allocated to LTE to launch XLTE, Piecyk wrote. “The increased spectrum usage for LTE comes a year earlier than we expected and leaves Verizon with less than 50 MHz of spectrum to provide voice (which LTE does not yet support) as well as data service to existing 2G and 3G customers." Telecommunications Industry Association CEO Scott Belcher noted in a statement the record levels in the auction. “The level of bidding demonstrates that the spectrum crunch is very real, and that more work is needed to keep pace with exploding consumer demand for mobile broadband,” he said.

The FCC “fundamentally” mischaracterized FiberTower’s position in its legal challenge of an agency order that held the company hadn't demonstrated that it was providing substantial service for 689 of its 24 GHz and 39 GHz licenses and the licenses should be revoked, FiberTower said in a filing last month at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In October, the FCC told the court it acted within its legal authority in rejecting the licenses (see 1410150093). FiberTower said it never contended “no service” could satisfy FCC build out rules. “To the contrary, despite the technical challenges inherent in the bands and the dearth of widespread customer demand for reasons outside of FiberTower’s control, the record establishes the ample service FiberTower has provided under all of its 24 and 39 GHz licenses,” FiberTower said. FiberTower said the service it offered included “building a nationwide construction platform with the systems and contracts necessary for providing transmission on demand; developing new equipment such as small-cell technologies for transmission in congested urban areas; making 100 percent of its licensed spectrum available for use on a daily basis both through its innovative ‘spectrum-in-a-box’ program and through secondary-market leasing; and -- last but not least -- constructing and operating links wherever sufficient demand existed, including on at least 42 of the licenses at issue.” Oral argument is set for Jan. 20 (see 1412030048). FiberTower filed with the court Nov. 18.

The FCC established a pleading cycle on Worldcall’s proposed sale to AT&T of two lower 700 MHz B-block licenses in Puerto Rico. “The Applicants maintain that the proposed transaction would provide AT&T with additional spectrum that would enable it to increase its system capacity to enhance existing services, better accommodate its overall growth, and facilitate the provision of additional products and services in two Cellular Market Areas,” the FCC said Thursday. The FCC also sent letters to both companies asking about the deal. Petitions to deny are due Jan. 5, oppositions Jan. 15 and replies Jan. 23. The letter to Worldcall poses a single question: “Explain in detail the decision made by Worldcall to assign the Lower 700 MHz B Block spectrum that is the subject of this application to AT&T, including any attempts made to enter into a sale of this spectrum or alternative arrangements with parties other than AT&T.”

Consumers said maintenance and predictive analytics on a vehicle’s health are the highest requirements for having a connected vehicle, a Compass Intelligence report found. The report released Wednesday said there's low interest in having entertainment DVD systems, Compass said in a news release. The target segment for this market, which is children under 10, is taking a hit because kids are increasingly using tablets for entertainment purposes, it said. “Overall products and services that can enhance the driving experience, entertainment and vehicle maintenance are the key wants from end-users.” Research for the report was done via an online survey of more than 1,320 persons, Compass said. More than half of users want a system that displays when preventative maintenance is due, and 60 percent want real-time traffic updates, it said.

Nearly six of 10 consumers who use a smartphone or tablet while shopping prefer to look up information on their devices rather than talk to store employees, CEA said Wednesday a survey found. That preference is highest among male shoppers and those between ages 25 and 44, it said. Sixty-two percent of mobile shoppers indicate they perceive the information they gather via their mobile device as more beneficial than the information available in-store via product displays or sales literature, it said. "Mobile devices have significantly shifted consumers’ shopping behavior," CEA said. "Retailers are increasingly focusing on delivering a complete consumer shopping experience and mobile devices are now a vital piece of that puzzle." Mobile shoppers more often use their mobile devices for assistance when shopping for electronics (60 percent) than for any other product type, CEA said. Following electronics, mobile shoppers most frequently use their devices while shopping in physical retail stores for groceries (55 percent), apparel (47 percent), shoes (45 percent), and health and beauty products (39 percent), it said. While shopping specifically for electronics, mobile shoppers use their devices to compare prices (63 percent), read customer ratings or reviews (52 percent) and search the Internet for more information (51 percent), it said.

Asus mobile phones and tablets that include Bluetooth or Wi-Fi features and security codes violate a U.S. patent (8,466,795) for a personal tracking and security system owned by Pragmatus Mobile since the patent was granted in June 2013, Pragmatus alleged in a complaint filed Nov. 24 at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The complaint seeks exclusive and cease and desist orders under Section 337 of the Tariff Act. Many CE manufacturers already license the patent that Asus allegedly violates, the complaint said, listing BlackBerry, HTC, Huawei, LG, Pantech, Samsung, Sony and ZTE among the licensees. In addition, several CE makers license the technology from Pragmatus on confidential terms, including one "major" manufacturer, it said. Many of the "accused" Asus devices at issue in the complaint "are smartphones and tablets, which are not necessary for some health or welfare need," Pragmatus said in a public interest statement. If imports of the Asus devices are barred from the U.S. under an ITC exclusion order, "there are many like or directly competitive articles" that could take their place, it said. Asus representatives didn’t comment.

Bids for AWS-3 spectrum reached more than $40 billion at the end of day 12 Tuesday of Auction 97. Bids rose 0.5 percent in rounds 42-43 and 0.3 percent in rounds 44-45, UBS analysts said Wednesday in a research note. The top 25 markets commanded an average price of $3.89/MHz POP for paired spectrum, they said. Atlanta was the most active market, rising 6.2 percent from day 11, followed by Pittsburgh and Sacramento, analysts said. Despite no new bids, Chicago remained in the lead, followed by New York and Los Angeles, UBS said. Auction 97 could run at a slower pace for an extended period, it said. The AWS-1 and 700 MHz auctions lasted for 161 and 261 rounds respectively, with minimal activity after rounds 52 and 27, it said. The momentum of the action is slowing, Evercore analysts said in a research note. The end of the auction “could be soon,” they said. The focus will shift “to how the bidders will finance their bids and when they have to finance them by,” Evercore said. The bidding exceeded the reserve price shortly after the auction started last month (see 1411180061).

The FCC urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss FiberTower's appeal of a commission decision that it didn’t demonstrate substantial service for its 24 GHz digital electronic message service licenses. The commission rejected FiberTower’s argument that a licensee that provides no service can satisfy the agency’s requirement that it provide substantial service. “This argument finds no support in the statute or the commission’s orders and rules,” the FCC said in a court brief. The FCC correctly found that FiberTower hadn’t demonstrated substantial service for each of the 689 licenses at issue here, it said. FiberTower failed to demonstrate that the FCC applied its waiver and extension policies inconsistently, it said. The agency issued the decision in 2012 (see 1211080055). An oral argument is scheduled for Jan. 20, the brief said.

Hughes launched upgraded satellite Internet access plans for small- and medium-sized businesses. The Business Internet Select and Access plans feature download speeds from up to 5 Mbps to up to 15 Mbps, Hughes said Tuesday in a news release. The plans will operate over the HughesNet Gen4 service, it said.