LG’s 5G Velvet smartphone will be available on T-Mobile Sept. 10, said the carrier Thursday. The Velvet will operate on the carrier’s 600 MHz and 2.5-GHz 5G bands, along with LTE. For a limited time, customers can get the $588 phone for half off, with 24 monthly bill credits, if they trade in an eligible device or add a line. T-Mobile's version of the Velvet has a MediaTek chipset.

T-Mobile launched Project 10Million, a $10.7 billion initiative that was one of the commitments the carrier made to regulators to win approval for its buy of Sprint. “Partnering with school districts across the country, the program offers free wireless hotspots, free high-speed data and access to laptops and tablets, at-cost,” T-Mobile said Thursday. It aims to reach 10 million households.

Parties have through Oct. 19 to comment on a petition by the Association of American Railroads and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association asking the Federal Railroad Administration for waiver of a requirement they file a request for amendment each time they make changes to their positive train control systems or safety plan. Petitioners said the modification process “is a time consuming and significant undertaking for both FRA and railroad staff, involving submission of a voluminous amount of information and likely a lengthy review and approval process,” said Wednesday's Federal Register. The docket is FRA-2020-0068.

T-Mobile told the FCC only four frequency reconfiguration agreements haven't been closed as part of the 800 MHz rebanding. One was closed in August. T-Mobile took over work on the long-standing effort after it bought Sprint. The holdouts are in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The reconfiguration can’t close “until all affected incumbent licensees complete their individual retuning activities,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 02-55.

NSA’s now-shuttered Patriot Act Section 215 bulk metadata collection program “may have violated the Fourth Amendment,” but its unconstitutionality doesn’t undermine 2013 convictions against Basaaly Moalin and three other Somali men for fundraising for terrorist group Al-Shahaab, ruled the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday. The 2015 Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring (USA Freedom) Act formally ended the program (see 1506030039). “NSA collected Moalin’s (and millions of other Americans’) telephony metadata on an ongoing, daily basis for years," wrote Judge Marsha Berzon for the panel, which included Judges Jacqueline Nguyen and Jack Zouhary. "Moalin likely had a reasonable expectation of privacy in his telephony metadata." Defendants should have got more notice government intended “to enter into evidence or otherwise use or disclose information obtained or derived from surveillance of that defendant conducted pursuant to the government’s foreign intelligence authorities,” the ruling said. “We do not decide whether the government failed to provide any required notice in this case because the lack of such notice did not prejudice the defendants.” The metadata collection “did not taint the evidence introduced by the government at trial,” the panel said. Berzon noted that former Booz Allen intelligence contractor Edward Snowden’s leaks on the NSA program (see 1306120060) contributed to its demise. She noted then-FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce cited the Moalin case as an example of how the metadata collection was aiding in combating terrorism (see 1308010032) but countered “that impression is inconsistent with the contents of the classified record.” “We’re disappointed in the result, especially since more recent disclosures regarding misconduct regarding [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] FISA has further revealed how the lack of transparency in the entire process compromises individual rights of those charged with crimes as well as those never charged -- including those Americans whose telephone metadata was collected and retained," said Moalin lawyer Joshua Dratel. "The lack of transparency was prejudicial to our ability to challenge the FISA surveillance.” The American Civil Liberties Union believes the 9th Circuit ruling “is a victory for our privacy rights,” though “we are disappointed that, having found the surveillance of Mr. Moalin unlawful, the court declined to order suppression of the illegally obtained evidence in his case,” said National Security Project Senior Staff Attorney Patrick Toomey. “The ruling makes plain that the NSA's bulk collection of Americans' phone records violated the Constitution.” Moalin’s lawyers are "evaluating the options for further appeal,” Toomey said. DOJ didn’t comment.

U.S. Cellular added three 5G Samsung devices to its lineup, set for Sept. 18 availability. The Galaxy Z Fold2 5G and Galaxy Z Flip 5G smartphones will be available online only at uscellular.com. The Galaxy Tab S7 5G tablet will be available online and in stores, the carrier said. Its 5G network will soon add service in parts of California, Maryland, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia, joining Iowa, Maine and Wisconsin.

Japanese petroleum, oil and metals conglomerate Eneos bought a stake in Ossia, said the wireless power company Monday: They will work together to explore wireless power opportunities in Japan and Asia. Eneos launched a venture capital company in October.

There’s no definitive schedule for the Food and Drug Administration to release the proposed rule on over-the-counter hearing aids (see 2008250030), despite House Republicans telling us last week they hope FDA will quickly put the rule out for public comment, emailed an FDA spokesperson Sunday. The FDA will release its next unified agenda update in fall, posting a date when the proposed rule is expected in the Federal Register, she said. It could be after the fall, she said. The agency missed its Aug. 18 statutory deadline for releasing the proposal.

Comments are due Sept. 14 on the National Lifeline Association’s petition for waiver of the scheduled increase in the minimum service standard for Lifeline mobile broadband (see 2008280050). Currently 3 GB, it will rise to 11.75 GB on Dec. 1 without FCC action. An order on circulation would change the way MSS increases are calculated and result in an MSS of 4.5 GB (see 2008240024). The NaLA petition filed last week also asks the FCC to halt a scheduled rate decrease, from $7.25 to $5.25. Replies are due Sept. 21, said Monday's Wireline Bureau public notice on dockets including 11-42.

The National Public Safety Telecommunications Council warned of problems for public safety if the FCC requires T-band licensees vacate the spectrum. “If Congress fails to repeal the T-Band mandate it adopted in 2012, the result is significant disruption to public safety, the likelihood of a failed auction, an unfunded mandate for public safety relocation and unnecessary cost to taxpayers,” NPSTC said in comments in docket 13-42. Comments were due Monday on an NPRM seeking to “take the next statutorily required step to implement” the 2012 spectrum law's mandate for public safety to move off the 470-512 MHz T band (see 2005150053). NPSTC noted its members, “jurisdictions that rely on the T-Band, the GAO, the FCC Chairman, and two major wireless carriers” support repeal. NAB said an auction would almost certainly fail. Consider “seeking preliminary bids or taking other actions to ascertain whether auction of limited spectrum has any chance of covering the costs of relocation of incumbents,” broadcasters said.