The Safety and Security in the Air Coalition (SSAC) wants the FCC to end a rulemaking on allowing cellphone use in-flight because it fears an uptick in terrorist attacks. The coalition represents groups including the Association of Flight Attendants, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace, and the Transport Workers Union of America. SSAC officials met with Julius Knapp, chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology, and other agency officials. Lifting the ban on using cellphones on flights “would greatly exacerbate the risk of successful terrorist attacks,” said an ex parte filing on the meeting, posted Monday in docket 13-301 (http://bit.ly/SL8b3O). “Lifting the ban would (i) provide a person on a flight who wishes to commit a terrorist act with the capability of communicating reliably, in real time, with accomplices on the ground, which would greatly enhance the likelihood that such attempted terrorist activity would be successful; (ii) enable cell phones to act as switches to set off Improvised Explosive Devices secreted onto airplanes; and (iii) greatly increase the risks of cyberwarfare.” In December, the FCC voted 3-2 to start a rulemaking seeking comment on expanding in-flight mobile connectivity, including voice calls on commercial flights (CD Dec 13 p1).

Boomerang representatives met with FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly and other FCC officials to ask for action on the company’s pending application to be certified as an eligible telecommunications carrier (ETC) in various states. Boomerang sought ETC status in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia in December 2010, the company said. The wireless carrier already is certified as an ETC in 21 states. Representatives “described Boomerang’s Lifeline enrollment methods, including the company’s focus on event marketing and in-person enrollment and handset distribution,” said an ex parte filing, posted Monday in docket 11-42 (http://bit.ly/1ioft3s). “These enrollment strategies, including in-person wireless handset distribution are important because they add a layer of fraud prevention by having the applicant stand in front of the person taking the application and provide the proof of eligibility.” Boomerang said it can train new subscribers how “to activate and use the wireless device, including connecting to the Internet."

The FCC Public Safety Bureau let Weld County, Colorado, continue to use two Business/Industrial/Land Transportation (B/ILT) channel pairs in the Greeley area despite objections from the Enterprise Wireless Alliance. The county filed an application seeking to use the channels in December 2012, saying no Sprint-vacated channels were then available for public safety use. A month after filing the application, channels became available as part of the 800 MHz rebanding. In April 2013, the bureau approved the waiver and “Weld County constructed the facilities authorized by the Bureau’s action,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1lPs5lx) in Tuesday’s order. EWA sought reconsideration, saying other public safety channels were available for the county’s use. The bureau acknowledged mistakes. “We have not before encountered a situation in which Sprint-vacated spectrum became available between the time a licensee submitted a request for waiver of the intercategory sharing freeze and the Bureau reached that request,” the order said. “Had the Bureau recognized that the Sprint-vacated channels had become available, that would have factored into its decision whether to grant Weld County’s waiver request. However, the Bureau lacked that recognition, as did Weld County, until after the Bureau issued its waiver order and Weld County, in reliance on that order, constructed facilities on the channels authorized by the order.” As a result, the bureau said it would not require the county to modify its system. “The immediate financial and disruptive consequences to Weld County in doing so outweigh the speculative possibility that our designating two B/ILT channels for use by Weld County could result in a shortage of channels for B/ILT use sometime in the future,” the bureau said. The order emphasized: “Proponents of waivers of the intercategory sharing freeze must keep their waiver requests current and report to the Bureau if any material assertions therein -- including, without limitation, unavailability of suitable public safety channels -- prove no longer correct."

The informal working groups of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 will meet next month, the FCC said in a public notice Friday (http://fcc.us/TCi58X). The terrestrial services group will meet June 3, the groups on space services and regulatory issues on June 11, and the maritime, aeronautical and radar services group on June 17, it said. The groups will meet via teleconference and the meetings are open to the public, it said.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council released a report by its Broadband Working Group on “Public Safety Grade” (PSG) communications for a nationwide public safety broadband network (NPSBN). “This is a huge milestone in our quest to develop requirements for FirstNet,” said Marilyn Ward, NPSTC executive director. “Communications is vital to both public safety field and command personnel during routine, local incidents and even more so during major incidents covering a larger area,” the report said (http://bit.ly/1jLihgq). Public safety’s traditional voice networks “are among the most reliable networks available in the United States,” it said. “Commercial wireless networks are not built to the same standard. The NPSBN must be constructed to meet as many of these PSG requirements as possible.” The report covers environmental considerations, service-level agreements, reliability and resiliency, coverage, push-to-talk, applications, site hardening, installation and NPSBN operations. “Because this report is so comprehensive, the writers recognize that not every best practice can be followed in all cases for all subsystems in the network,” it said. “Designers and operators of the NPSBN should adhere to the vast majority of the recommendations in order for the network to be considered Public Safety Grade.” The report lists 459 network best practices.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s open mindedness on a SoftBank/T-Mobile deal (CD May 23 p1) shouldn’t be mistaken for “receptivity” on her part, MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett told us. “It is clear that SoftBank’s desire to do a deal hasn’t cooled one iota,” he said. “The signals out of Washington also haven’t moved one iota.” Prospects for regulatory approval remain “extraordinarily low,” he said Friday. If anything, AT&T’s proposed buy of DirecTV and Comcast/Time Warner (see separate report above in this issue) “make it even easier” for the Department of Justice to reject SoftBank/T-Mobile, Moffett said. “Politically, Washington would have to be sensitive to either of the two poles of approving everything, which would make them appear like they were asleep at the switch, or, alternately, rejecting everything, which would make them appear recalcitrant and obstinate."

The “laundry list” of upcoming changes to U.S. wireless networks means tower companies have room to grow and will become increasingly attractive targets for acquisition, Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said Thursday in a note to investors. Fritzsche attended PCIA’s Wireless Infrastructure Show in Orlando this week, which she summed up with a panelist’s quote that “the runway is very long.” Upcoming catalysts include the FCC’s AWS-3 and TV incentive auctions, Fritzsche said. The AWS-3 auction is likely to be a boon for tower companies, she said. She also noted additional catalysts, including the continued rise of small cells, spectrum densification efforts from Verizon and AT&T, Sprint’s rollout of its 2.5 GHz spectrum, T-Mobile US’s rollout on the 700 MHz A block and continued upgrades to LTE Advanced, 5G and Voice over LTE.

The FCC needs to go slow as it finalizes rules for the 3.5 GHz shared-use spectrum band, balancing “implementation of this new sharing model and incentives to invest in the technology necessary to make it work,” AT&T Assistant Vice President Federal Regulatory Stacey Black said Thursday in an AT&T blog post. Under the FCC’s proposal Priority Access Licensees (PAL) would share the spectrum with General Authorized Access (GAA) users, similar to unlicensed use, he said (http://bit.ly/1jz8BEw). AT&T recommends a “transitional, phased-in, interim approach,” dividing the spectrum into PAL-only shared use and GAA-only sub-bands, he said. “This will allow PAL and GAA service providers to develop their products for initial deployment in a familiar environment, such as in our case, licensed geographic areas with a five-year license term and a renewal expectancy coupled to build-out requirements,” Black said. “Having separate PAL and GAA sub-bands would provide immediate access for deployment without any fear of interference and 100 percent of the attention can be focused on preventing interference to/from the federal incumbent users.”

Blue Wireless called on the FCC to approve its previous application to serve as an eligible telecommunications carrier for New York state. “The requested ETC designation will promote the public interest by providing eligible low-income consumers a choice of a significant new facilities-based competitor in the marketplace for Lifeline services,” Blue said in a filing at the FCC (http://bit.ly/ReBE4T). “Blue Wireless’s entry into the Lifeline market will create competitive pressure on all Lifeline providers, resulting in a higher level of service quality, more competitive pricing and advantageous service options for Lifeline service for eligible consumers in New York.”

Nearly 80 percent of smartglasses will be Wi-Fi enabled by 2015, said research firm Strategy Analytics, in a Thursday release (http://prn.to/1lXcnpz). “For the smartglasses user, WiFi is a key enabler, allowing the user to upload HD video recorded on the device to video sharing services,” said Matt Wilkins, a director at Strategy Analytics. The firm predicted the number of Wi-Fi-enabled smartglasses will jump from 1.2 million in 2014 to 4 million in 2015, mostly driven by Google devices. “We have to think Samsung and Apple are also eyeing the segment and will be potential long-term rivals,” he said.