There are 102 entities with access to a Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process portal of Universal Service Administrative Co., said an FCC public notice Tuesday in docket 10-90 citing data as of Friday. That's up from 80 on June 30 (see 1807020054). The parties include 38 mobile service providers that file Form 477 data, 17 state government entities, 25 local government entities, 16 tribal government entities and six others that received waivers to participate. Challengers submitted data including almost 3 million broadband speed tests (up from 399,390), the PN said.

AT&T fired back at Lincoln, Nebraska, which told the FCC last week (see 1808310049) the carrier was off base in claiming (see 1808130041) high fees delayed investments there in wireless infrastructure. “Lincoln’s ex parte is factually inaccurate and purposefully misleading. In our Aug. 6th ex parte, we clearly state that ‘AT&T has paused its deployment plans,’” a spokesperson emailed. “We are not making deployment a priority in Nebraska and are instead focusing on cities like Des Moines because of favorable, and reasonable, small cell policies that benefit consumers. ... Lincoln’s decision to charge $1,995 per small cell attachment is driving away investment and depriving its residents of next generation technologies.” Monday, the city didn’t comment.

The widescreen smartphone display trend accelerated in Q2, as devices with wide-aspect-ratio displays more than 16:9 were 45 percent of shipments, or 153 million, IHS Markit reported. LG started the trend, launching its G6 model in early 2017, the researcher said Friday. “Once considered to be a premium smartphone feature, wide displays are now featured on smartphones of all price points, from $1,000 down to $100. The increasing popularity of wide displays has broken the six-inch barrier of smartphone screens. Combined with narrow-bezel display technology, wide displays increase handset screen size, while limiting the overall smartphone dimensions.”

There’s a “resurgence” in demand for older, cheaper “feature phones,” eating into smartphone share, reported DeviceAtlas Thursday. Google recently disclosed the U.S. is No. 2 for sub-$100 devices, “confirming there is market appetite for cheaper, less ‘smart’ phones, and making this a trend to watch,” said the report: “Feature phones released as far back as 2005 and 2009 were the most active in the US, with classic Nokia phones driving the lion's share of feature phone web traffic.”

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Public Safety bureaus plan a workshop Oct. 2 to educate public safety answering points on real-time text, said a Friday public notice. It will be 12:30-4:30 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room. “PSAP RTT Education Day will provide information to PSAPs and other emergency communications systems about RTT features and benefits for emergency response personnel and consumers (including consumers with disabilities); best practices for processing RTT requests from service providers; and ways to implement the RTT service feature,” the bureaus said: “Panels will address regulatory policy, PSAPs’ experiences with RTT testing, and RTT infrastructure issues. There will be a live" demonstration and interaction with attendees.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation wants the court reviewing a wireless infrastructure order to decide whether the FCC unlawfully failed to engage in "government-to-government consultation with Indian Tribes” and “whether the FCC’s action was otherwise in violation” of the Administrative Procedure Act. Thursday's filing (in Pacer) was on United Keetoowah Band v. FCC & USA, No. 18-1129, at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The group said other questions raised are whether the order is inconsistent with requirements of the National Historic Preservation and National Environmental Policy acts.

Sprint said prepaid brand Virgin will no longer offer its “Inner Circle” service plan, which offered one-year unlimited plan for $1 to users who bought an iPhone and ported their number to the new plan or upgraded to the plan. Current Virgin iPhone subscribers can stay on their Inner Circle plan, a Sprint spokesperson emailed. “Because we are bringing back Android devices and Inner Circle is an iPhone-only plan, we now offer Unlimited Data with benefits plans starting at $35/month,” she said. “Any new Virgin Mobile iPhone or Android customer will pair their smartphone with one of Virgin’s Unlimited Data with benefits plans.”

Global smartwatch shipment will rise 43 percent this year to 33 million units, doubling to 66 million units in 2022, as cellular connectivity stokes demand, Futuresource reported Thursday. Convergence” of fitness, communication and productivity features is driving smartwatch sales, and “independent LTE connectivity is expected to bring a new wave of smartwatch adoption, as consumers reap the benefits of standalone devices,” it said.

The six associations that earlier agreed to launch a Hearing Aid Compatible (HAC) Task Force are seeking applicants for administrator. In 2016, the FCC unanimously adopted rules aimed at making all wireless handsets HAC within eight years (see 1608040046). The FCC also established a task force that will report back by the end of 2020 on whether the eight-year goal is feasible. The Competitive Carriers Association, CTIA, the Hearing Loss Association of America, National Association of the Deaf, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Telecommunications Industry Association are working together on launch of the task force. “The Administrator will lead the HAC Task Force process as it assesses technical and market conditions to make a final recommendation to the FCC,” the groups said Wednesday, in a release emailed the following day. “The Signatories seek applicants with relevant technical, legal, administrative and policy expertise to manage the process, which will carefully weigh the needs of consumers with hearing loss, the wireless industry, and other industry participants.”

The relatively few petitions asking the FCC to deny T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint (see 1808280038) probably bode well, Macquarie’s Amy Yong told investors Thursday. “Odds of deal approval are rising and attention is now shifting to potential conditions/remedies,” Yong forecast. “The backdrop doesn’t seem to support spectrum or subscriber divestments.” She said AT&T and Verizon, “as expected,” were silent, as were new wireless entrants Comcast and Charter Communications. The cable companies' stance “likely reflects their commitment to their Verizon MVNOs, rather than looking to access New T-Mobile’s network or spectrum assets,” she said. However, Altice had MVNO worries. The deal's harms are "especially potent today as cable operators entering the wireless market using MVNOs are only beginning to offer consumers wireless choice," the operator said.