The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance wants the FCC to thoroughly investigate satellite use of the C-band, President Kalpak Gude told aides to Chairman Ajit Pa. “For a more complete record of actual utilization of the band, it would be valuable to ask for additional information to what is currently included in the draft data request,” DSA said Friday in docket 12-354. “The draft asks for earth station licensees to provide the transponders that their earth stations are receiving. DSA suggests that given that many earth stations may be receiving signals for less than the full transponder, understanding the actual utilization is useful and without significant additional burden to the earth station operator.” Commissioners are expected to vote on a C-band item July 12, including a draft order that would collect data on earth stations and space stations operating there (see 1806260027).

AT&T questioned Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel’s arguments that the FCC should share San Jose's 5G agreements with industry as a model code (see 1806280007) while the agency considers rules to lower what industry says are installation barriers from local governments. “The final agreements, which are not yet complete, are intricate, interdependent of each other, and unique to San Jose’s circumstances. They also demonstrate why Commission action is needed to prevent exorbitant fees and delays from impeding small cell deployment,” AT&T said in docket 17-79. AT&T reached agreement with the city that would let it deploy some 2,000 small cells “at rates and on timelines substantially better than previous city requirements, but still at rates and on terms that cannot be economically exported,” it said. The company wants recurring fees to place small cells on city structures to be less than $50: “The rate structure in the San Jose agreement runs up to $2,500 per site.” Rosenworcel didn't comment.

AT&T/Time Warner approval “bodes well” for T-Mobile/Sprint, though “probability and timing are still unpredictable,” Macquarie Research’s Amy Yong said after a Senate hearing on the wireless deal (see 1806270068). “There hasn’t been any indication from the DoJ/FCC to give us confidence on the deal,” she wrote investors. “T-Mobile filed its Public Interest Statement last week highlighting the benefits of a combo including: increased competition, rural broadband access and affordable 5G.” In the interim, “it’s business as usual for Sprint” with both average revenue per user and churn improving, Yong said. Wells Fargo’s Jennifer Fritzsche upgraded T-Mobile from market perform to outperform, noting its stock is down 8 percent since April 30. “While we still believe this deal will by no means be a layup, recent conversations with some of our D.C. contacts have made us more optimistic,” she said, “estimating a deal approval probability of 60 percent.”

The Supreme Court sent CTIA's complaint against a California city back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reflect on the high court’s Tuesday decision about crisis pregnancy centers. The high court vacated and remanded the appeals court’s decision upholding an RF disclosure ordinance in Berkeley, California, “for further consideration in light of National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra,” said a Thursday notice in case 17-976. In that decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a 2015 California state law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to disclose all available medical options to pregnant women violated free speech claims. In the RF disclosure case, Berkeley argued it may compel truthful disclosure in commercial speech because it’s reasonably related to the FCC’s interest, while CTIA said the First Amendment precludes state and local governments from forcing retailers to convey a government message (see 1804180014). Remand to the 9th Circuit pleased CTIA, a spokesperson said. "We will continue to assert our position that the First Amendment prohibits state and local governments from forcing retailers to convey the government’s message, particularly where that message is misleading, contrary to science, and contrary to the retailers’ own views." Berkeley didn’t comment.

Apple Pay has 140 million mobile contactless users worldwide, Juniper Research reported. The number of mobile contactless users is projected to grow from 440 million this year to more than 760 million by 2020, and OEM pay services including Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay will reach 450 million users by 2020. Those three will have 60 percent of mobile contactless users by 2023, up from 50 percent this year, with OEM pay players Huawei, Xiaomi, Fitbit and Garmin having more than 20 million users, it said. Contactless payments use rose rapidly, but that doesn’t mean higher growth for mobile contactless payments because contactless cards remain the most likely to have increased current and future usage by consumers, Juniper said. OEM pay options “may struggle to gain traction” among existing users in established markets, said the researcher. Contactless payment transactions done via all types of payment cards, mobile and wearable devices will reach $1 trillion this year, a year earlier than it had projected, it said.

AT&T has increased its administrative fee twice in recent months, which will likely lift annual revenue by $800 million and boost post-paid average revenue per user by $1, BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk wrote Wednesday. “The Administrative Fee first appeared on the bills of AT&T wireless customers back in the second quarter of 2013, generating some unfavorable press,” he wrote. “2013 also happened to be the last time AT&T reported an increase in post-paid ARPU.”

Qualcomm announced new Snapdragon mobile platforms at Mobile World Congress Shanghai that promise higher performance, better battery life, more efficient designs, “impressive graphics” and artificial intelligence capabilities for its highest selling platforms, along with mass-market platforms with more premium features. It also unveiled its first platform dedicated to the fledgling kids’ smartwatch category. The Snapdragon 632 platform for smartphones, with up to 40 percent more computing and graphics processing, offers mainstream gaming, 4K video capture, AI and an X9 LTE modem that supports LTE Advanced technologies including carrier aggregation, Qualcomm said. The designed-for-kids watch segment is seeing widespread demand for “highly capable devices,” said Anthony Murray, general manager-wearables.

The Fairfax County, Virginia, 9-1-1 System urged the FCC to allow third-party applications and providers to deliver supplementary location information for wireless 911 calls directly to public safety answering points without going through carrier’s routing elements. “To stifle the ability of third-party providers and applications by mandating they only work through the carrier interconnect routing elements is against the public interest,” the county said in docket 18-64. “Several recent cases in the news have demonstrated that lives of emergency callers have been lost due to the inability to locate a caller because of the inadequacy of the current wireless location technologies in use in the 9-1-1 industry.”

Sprint asked the FCC to allow its Assurance Wireless affiliate to submit Lifeline data to the FCC in a slightly different format than mandated by the Wireline Bureau. Sprint asked for additional time for Assurance to adjust its filings to meet the requirements. “Sprint requests that as part of its electronic processes, Assurance Wireless be allowed to present certain information, and to obtain certain end user responses, in an order or format slightly different than that reflected on the paper universal forms,” the carrier said in docket 11-42. “None of these differences is substantive, and all information needed to determine an end user’s initial or on-going eligibility will be requested using the language mandated by the paper universal forms.”

FCC rules to promote spectrum efficiency, interoperability and flexibility in 700 MHz public safety narrowband spectrum take effect July 28, after expected publication in Thursday's Federal Register. Commissioners approved an order in February exempting 700 MHz low-power vehicular repeater systems from a trunking requirement (see 1802130023). “All commenters that addressed the trunking issue support exempting VRS systems from the trunking rule because doing so would provide public safety with needed flexibility to meet operational needs and because of the technical challenges,” the FCC said then.