T-Mobile customers can get a free Pandora Plus subscription (a $54.89 value) for a year through a partnership, the music streamer blogged Wednesday, good from 4:59 a.m. EDT Aug. 28 until 4:59 a.m. EDT Aug. 29. Pandora called it "the first step" in news to come from the companies. Pandora Plus is the company's $4.99 monthly mid-tier offering to listen to a curated list of songs according to channel sans commercials, lacking on-demand capability of Pandora's Premium $10-per-month plan. T-Mobile also announced a relationship with Live Nation, giving its customers access to last-minute reserved seats at concerts and discounted tickets.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals dismissed CTIA’s lawsuit against the Nebraska Public Service Commission, as expected (see 1808080022). In an order forwarded to us this week, the court allowed an industry stipulation to resolve the state USF case. The association sued the Nebraska PSC over last year’s order to pursue a connections-based contribution mechanism but was expected to drop its appeal after the PSC revised certain definitions (see 1807250053).
The FCC shouldn’t offer census-tract-sized licenses as part of the licensed tier of the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, CTIA said in a meeting with Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “The current licensing scheme for the CBRS, with 74,000 separate license areas based on census tracts and an average population of 4,400 per area, is significantly smaller than the license areas used for comparable spectrum in the rest of the world,” CTIA said in docket 17-258. “Census tract licensing would have significant drawbacks, including that it would create administrative complexity for the Commission, licensees, and Spectrum Access System Administrators; raise significant interference concerns; reduce the value of the spectrum; and raise the cost of designing and deploying networks, thereby harming rural investment.”
Sprint said it's working with LG Electronics USA to deliver the first mobile 5G smartphone in the U.S. in the first half of next year. “Sprint customers will be among the first in the world to experience the incredible speed, reliability and mobility of 5G on this innovative handset built for the country’s first mobile 5G network when it launches,” Sprint said Tuesday.
CTIA said there's “near unanimity among calling parties, service providers and consumers” the FCC should address the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, now that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March overturned key parts of a 2015 order and declaratory ruling (see 1803160053). CTIA reported on meetings with aides to Chairman Ajit Pai, and Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel. “The Commission has an opportunity to fix the unworkable TCPA rules that expose good faith callers to unnecessary risk of litigation and inhibit consumers from receiving wanted calls,” the association filed in docket 18-152. CTIA opposed launch of a new database of reassigned phone numbers, which it said "would present significant financial, operational and technical challenges” with “no impact on mitigating illegal, unwanted robocalls."
Sprint said the different approach to siting small cells in Los Angeles illustrate why areas that cooperate with industry will get 5G first. The company earlier “discussed the negative effects of excessively high pole attachment rates and access to municipal rights-of-way, as well as the time-consuming delays wireless carriers face when deploying small cells and densifying their wireless networks,” said a filing in FCC docket 17-79. In the city of Los Angeles, the application process runs about six months, Sprint said. “The total application fee per site is $350,” the carrier said. Los Angeles County’s process is protracted and costly. The entire process, which includes many sequential steps, takes a year or more and imposes application fees of $9,820. Moreover, these fees are only the upfront, one-time costs. The annual recurring fees vary based on who owns the poles.” The carrier has 500 small cells in the city and none in the county's unincorporated portions, the filing said. The county didn’t comment. AT&T drew similar contrasts in a recent filing (see 1808130041).
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver for IDS GeoRadar to use its 76-77 GHz band Hyper Definition Radar (Hydra) system to detect potential collapses, landslides and rockfalls. “This is a specific, limited fixed use outside of airport locations that will not cause harmful interference to vehicular radar operations in the band,” the bureau said last week in docket 17-358. “Grant of a waiver is in the public interest because it will increase safety in mines and tunnels.” Use is limited to underground mines, open pit mines and tunnels, and authorized effective isotropic radiated power may not exceed 48 dBm, it said. Hydra devices mustn't cause interference to and must tolerate interference from incumbent users of the band, the bureau said.
The FCC lacks authority over siting in railroad rights of way, representatives of the Association of American Railroads told Will Adams, aide to Commissioner Brendan Carr. “Congress expressly withheld jurisdiction from the Commission to prescribe the terms and conditions by which railroads grant access over their ROWs under Section 224 of the Communications Act,” said a filing last week in docket 17-79. Section 253 doesn't provide such authority over railroad deals with telecom providers, AAR said: Railroad practices in granting access to crossings and rights of way -- “which are largely private property -- are fair, transparent, and reasonably related to public safety and cost recovery.”
The FCC Public Safety Bureau is seeking comment on an NTIA petition asking the commission launch an NPRM to update wireless service rules designed to give priority to calls by public officials over other callers during network overloads (see 1807100040). Comments are due Aug. 28 in docket 96-86, replies Sept. 7, the bureau said Monday.
The outlook for T-Mobile closing its Sprint buy remains in question, despite a report last week that U.S. regulators are now comfortable with three national wireless carriers rather than four, New Street Research emailed investors Sunday. Others report antitrust chief Makan Delrahim and other DOJ officials believe the market demands “at least three” carriers, New Street said. If Justice believed three carriers is enough, “it would have been a clear plus for the deal,” the firm said. “The odds favor the deal being rejected because some combination of staff competition concerns, White House political concerns, and state attorney generals’ litigation will mortally wound the deal’s chances,” New Street said. “Odds have benefitted from an excellent roll out by the companies, mooted congressional opposition, and to date, no significant business opposition.” DOJ didn't comment.