The FCC should refrain from approving Globalstar’s use of the 2.4 GHz band to deploy a private Wi-Fi channel until hard questions are answered about how the satellite operator will protect broadband radio service and educational broadband service deployments in the spectrum from interference, said the Wireless Communications Association in a letter posted Monday in docket 13-213. WCA noted it has long raised objections. Meanwhile, Globalstar representatives met with FCC officials, including Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman, to discuss recent tests of its terrestrial low-power service (TLPS) in a school. Aggregate throughput for Wi-Fi users there increased by more than 90 percent, Globalstar said. “The benefits of TLPS will be particularly important in America’s schools and libraries, high-density environments with substantial wireless broadband usage that will only increase over time,” Globalstar said in the same docket.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said some net neutrality order critics were "Chicken Littles" for arguing broadband reclassification would end broadband investment. "Our experience of the last seven months is consistent with the experience" of rural carriers that had advocated to classify broadband under Title II of the Communications Act -- "the virtuous cycle of innovation is alive and well," he said Monday in prepared remarks to the NTCA fall conference in Boston. "We've seen significant private sector investment in broadband networks throughout the nation, and not just in the most densely populated cities in the country. Private industry -- including those of you in this room -- continues to invest billions of dollars to expand America’s broadband. Both fixed and mobile providers continue to improve broadband speeds, and current and new entrants to the market are investing and expanding broadband availability to many Americans with speeds in some locations exceeding 1 gigabit per second." Commissioner Ajit Pai and other Title II critics say the order discouraged broadband investment (see 1509090056).

Consumer groups and others seek 14 more days for replies on issues being addressed in the FCC Lifeline NPRM. So said a filing from the California Emerging Technology Fund, Center for Accessible Technology, Consumer Action, Greenlining Institute, Media Alliance, National Association of State Utility Consumer Advocates, National Consumer Law Center and Public Knowledge posted in docket 11-42 Friday. They previously filed for an extension, of which the FCC granted half (see 1509160069), and now want until Oct. 14 to file replies. Because of the complex nature of the issues being addressed, the organizations said the extension would let the replies be more focused and provide the FCC with better information.

Northstar and SNR, the designated entities Dish Network used to bid in the AWS-3 auction, filed notices of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, challenging an August decision by the FCC denying them the use of bidding credits to buy the spectrum, industry lawyers said Friday. That decision means the two would have to pay an additional $3.3 billion for the spectrum, bringing the total payment to $13.3 billion. Industry observers have predicted a legal challenge was likely, given the amount of money involved (see 1507240048). The SNR petition for review is said to argue that the FCC order is “arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion,” violates SNR’s rights to due process and “contravenes” the Communications Act and other U.S. law.

Former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and others plan to back the agency's net neutrality order in court. Hundt will be joined by other former commissioners and current communications scholars in defending the commission's order on First Amendment grounds, said a notice submitted Wednesday of their intent to file an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which is reviewing the case (USTelecom v. FCC, No. 15-1063). The notice said the brief would respond to arguments raised by certain petitioners and other amici that the FCC violated free-speech rights in its order, which also reclassified broadband as a telecom service under Title II of the Communications Act. It also said their brief wouldn't likely be duplicated by other amicus briefs.

The FCC so misrepresents how the Internet works in its response to legal challenges that its net neutrality order should be tossed out of court, said network/Wi-Fi innovator Richard Bennett, in a lengthy blog post Thursday. The FCC reply brief, filed with the Department of Justice (see 1509150052), "completely misrepresents the nature of the DNS [domain name system] and its role in the Internet," said Bennett, a High Tech Forum founder who filed an amicus brief supporting petitioners challenging the order (see 1508070058). "The brief shows that the order’s misclassification of Internet service is based on a fundamentally incorrect assessment of the facts. As a result, the FCC’s request for the Court’s deference on the basis of its expert status fails. The Court must therefore vacate the FCC’s order." Bennett said the order had numerous legal problems, but his concern was with commission assertions about the nature of the Internet's DNS, which he said contradicted one another and are "riddled with false analysis."

The FCC gave the two Dish-affiliated designated entities two more weeks to Oct. 1 to submit an additional payment or the irrevocable, standby letter of credit (LOC) for the spectrum they bought in the AWS-3 auction. Thursday was the original deadline. The FCC last month denied bidding credits for SNR and Northstar and ordered them to pay an additional $3.3 billion for the spectrum, bringing the tally to $13.3 billion (see 1508180062). Dish was the second highest bidder, after AT&T, in the record-setting AWS-3 auction. The DEs sought the time extension, saying the order “gives rise to new and complex business issues that Applicants must resolve before they can meet the payment or LOC requirements.” The FCC disagreed. Nonetheless “we appreciate that the Applicants may need additional time to resolve certain matters given the unprecedented size and complexity of their financial arrangements and contractual obligations with DISH,” the FCC said Thursday. If the two DEs offer LOCs instead of payment, the due date for writing a check to the government remains Dec. 16, the FCC said.

The FCC will soon release industry data relevant to special-access business services, subject to a protective order safeguarding sensitive business information, an agency release said Thursday. In its special-access rulemaking, the commission pushed back deadlines for comments and replies to Nov. 20 and Dec. 11. The FCC said the market is worth $40 billion.

Cooperation among government entities and public safety officials, as well as interconnectivity between devices and programs, are critical for the success of IoT technology used in the development of smart cities, speakers said during a panel Tuesday at the Smart Cities Week conference. Interoperable sensors are one of the main IoT devices used by cities, panelists said, and their uses range from identifying traffic patterns to predicting earthquakes and aiding in disaster recovery. Jimmy Chou, Geographic Information Systems Research Center director at Feng Chia University in Taiwan, said several systems of integrated sensors are used in Taiwan to measure earthquakes and coordinate disaster preparedness protocols, and to predict areas most in danger of flooding during typhoons. But when using IoT technology, such as connected sensors that are operated by several separate entities, Chou said, the information gained from the devices won't be as effective unless the groups are able to share data and ensure their systems are interoperable. "Every bureau and sensor has to be smart enough to communicate with each other," Chou said. "Every member has to be connected ... [and] I think that's [really] the focus of the IoT." Gaurav Garg, Santa Clara, California, chief information officer, said he and his team use the IoT, through interconnected sensors and connected devices, to aid public safety officials in high-density areas during professional sporting events. Sensor data is accessible by several city departments, and select traffic information gleaned from sensors is made available to the public, Garg said. Certain social media data is also collected by the city and the results of an analysis are sent to mobile connected devices used by public safety officials to anticipate and address potential hazards, he said. The success of IoT technology used to enhance and develop smart cities hinges nearly entirely on interdepartmental cooperation and the availability of data across multiple sets of platforms and stakeholders, Garg said. "Collaboration is [often] the biggest accomplishment." Monday, the White House said it will make $160 million in grants for smart cities (see 1509150025 and 1509140054).

Correction: The Connect America Fund Phase II is the reverse auction an FCC official said the agency is still working on details for (see 1509150068).