"TV white space deployments are ramping up as equipment certified with geolocation databases is produced, shipped and installed,” said representatives of the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association in a meeting with staff from the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology. “The WISPA representatives further explained the propagation benefits and cost-effectiveness of unlicensed spectrum below 1 GHz as other unlicensed bands become more congested and consumer use of broadband expands,” the group said in an ex parte filing at the commission (http://bit.ly/1kQlqJE).

Oceus Networks said it believes the broadcast auxiliary spectrum (BAS) band, the 1780-1850 MHz band and the 3.5 GHz band, which Verizon Communications has proposed for federal use, are not “suitable for LTE mission-oriented uses” (http://bit.ly/1gQE3wg). Verizon filed an ex parte with the FCC Tuesday proposing the three bands for federal use as part of the FCC’s ongoing proceeding on rules for the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands (http://bit.ly/1r7DRxg). The BAS band is not allocated for commercial use and “will not have an available ecosystem,” Oceus said Friday. The 1780-1850 MHz band is not available in the U.S. for LTE use and will be “heavily used” by Department of Defense systems after they reallocate from the 1755-1780 MHz band, Oceus said. The 3.5 GHz band “may develop the LTE commercial device and chipset ecosystem, but the range and power levels may not be suitable for all military tactical uses,” Oceus said. Verizon also said in its filing Tuesday that access to military bases and the process to gain approval to construct towers on bases makes siting more difficult. Oceus said Friday that even though the Federal Property Working Group is working to improve access to military bases and related processes, “there is no guarantee that commercial carriers will provide service in these areas.” Spectrum in sparsely populated and geographically remote locations will remain “fallow” and would support DOD mission-oriented needs that carrier networks would be unlikely to support if service were provided on bases.

The Competitive Carriers Association asked the Supreme Court to hear T-Mobile’s appeal of a zoning decision last year by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. CCA filed an amicus brief in T-Mobile South, LLC v. City of Roswell, Georgia. The 11th Circuit instructed a lower court to hear a zoning case brought by Roswell, Ga., after the court granted T-Mobile summary judgment on the grounds that the city’s denial of a cell tower permit sought by the carrier violated the Telecommunications Act (CD Oct 2 p 12). T-Mobile sought cert in February. “At its core, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 encourages competition and the deployment of advanced services to all Americans on a timely basis. But this promise has gone unfulfilled to many rural Americans,” CCA said (http://bit.ly/PYpttn). “While over 90 percent of non-rural Americans are covered by four or more mobile broadband service providers, less than 40 percent of rural Americans have access to the same number of options,” the group said. “In states where the appellate court has adopted the ‘minority’ rule (such as in the state subject to this appeal), wireless service providers and reviewing courts are forced to trudge through whatever administrative record may or may not be available in search of an answer for why a siting application was denied. This adds needless time and expense to the process, preventing carriers from building out in a timely manner."

Dish Network rejected claims by Verizon on the AWS-3 NPRM. Verizon’s characterization of the status of Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) work on AWS-3 spectrum is “entirely inaccurate,” Dish said in an ex parte filing in docket 13-185 (http://bit.ly/1eWsG1U). No work is underway to develop a band class encompassing AWS-1 and AWS-3 spectrum, Dish said. Only upon agreement at the Radio Access Network 4 level “for such a work item and subsequent RAN approval in June 2014 can the band plan work begin,” it said. Verizon said it isn’t aware of studies on the impact that federal aeronautical mobile telemetry operations at 2200-2290 MHz could have on AWS-3 equipment that includes Dish’s AWS-4 downlink band (http://bit.ly/1j8BFEp). That is “irrelevant,” Dish said. “Such federal operations are only relevant to Dish’s base stations in 2180-2200 MHz.” Dish also rejected Verizon’s claim that the 3GPP hasn’t created an asymmetrical band class like the one Dish proposed. The 3GPP “already has precedent of standardizing asymmetrical combinations,” Dish said.

The Technology Policy Institute urged creation of a “Government Spectrum Ownership Corporation,” or GSOC, to manage federal spectrum use, in comments filed Thursday at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Comments were due Thursday on a Feb. 14 request for information from OSTP (http://1.usa.gov/1l7jXkR). “There is a widespread consensus that spectrum in government hands is likely not being used efficiently and that some -- perhaps a significant amount -- could be reallocated to more efficient private uses,” TPI said. “However, efforts to determine the extent of this ’surplus’ and then to devise a method of freeing it from government hands confront a dilemma: the absence of a market mechanism, or even a budgetary mechanism, that could encourage this reallocation.” Its proposed GSOC is one answer, TPI said (http://bit.ly/1d3ZISf). “The GSOC would take possession of all government-held spectrum, with the existing user agencies granted annual leases (that are perpetually renewable at the option of the agency) at annual rental rates that are determined by the GSOC, based on its estimates of the relevant opportunity costs,” TPI said. “The GSOC would forward its net proceeds to the Treasury.” OSTP plans to post comments it receives on its website after reviewing them to ensure that no sensitive personal or proprietary information is posted, a spokeswoman said Thursday. CEA also supports government efforts to make more federal spectrum available for wireless broadband, President Gary Shapiro said Thursday. “As Americans use more and more smart, connected devices, we must have enough spectrum for them to communicate with their surroundings and with each other,” Shapiro said in a news release. “Unfortunately, our nation is running out of wireless spectrum. We have to find new ways to meet the ever-growing demand for broadband services and applications. Making federal spectrum available for commercial use is critical to addressing our nation’s spectrum needs."

The FCC sought comment on the proposed sale of six lower 700 MHz B-block licenses from NTCH and affiliate WGH Communications to AT&T. “Preliminary review of the applications indicates that, as a result of the transaction, AT&T would be assigned 12 megahertz of Lower 700 MHz B Block spectrum in 18 counties in six Cellular Market Areas ... across parts of Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas,” the FCC said in a public notice. AT&T would hold 88-175 MHz in the counties covered, post-transaction, the FCC said (http://bit.ly/1jcdBfK). Petitions to deny are due April 3, oppositions April 14 and replies April 21. “To allow the Commission to consider fully all substantive issues regarding the applications in as timely and efficient a manner as possible, petitioners and commenters should raise all issues in their initial filings,” the FCC warned. “New issues may not be raised in responses or replies. A party or interested person seeking to raise a new issue after the pleading cycle has closed must show good cause why it was not possible for it to have raised the issue previously.”

The International Trade Commission said it’s ending a Section 337 Tariff Act investigation into patent infringement claims involving smartphones imported by HTC, with a finding of no violation, reversing an earlier finding by an ITC administrative law judge, said a notice from the agency scheduled for Thursday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1ddIdzk). The judge had found the HTC Vivid and Droid Incredible 4G LTE infringed patents on electronic imaging devices held by FlashPoint. FlashPoint licenses those technologies to Apple and Motorola Mobility, which Google has agreed to sell to Lenovo. After a review, the commission found the Vivid and Droid phones didn’t actually infringe the FlashPoint patents, and ended the proceeding. The investigation had been ongoing since June 2012.

TracFone urged the FCC Tuesday to approve its petition to allow TracFone and other eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) to retain copies of documentation showing consumers are eligible for the commission’s Lifeline program. Waiving or amending the Lifeline rules to allow document retention will enable ETCs to “further ensure that they provide Lifeline service only to qualified households and to respond to audits and other inquiries from USAC [Universal Service Administrative Co.] and the Commission with auditable information,” TracFone said. All of the comments on the TracFone petition were supportive, with one of the main arguments for ending the FCC’s ban on Lifeline document retention that ETCs “are unable to defend themselves in the event of an audit or in-depth validation review” by USAC or the FCC, TracFone said. The FCC’s recent enforcement actions against several ETCs over allegations of duplicate Lifeline subscribers “indicates that there is a real threat of future enforcement actions” and that “it is imperative that ETCs be allowed to fully defend themselves by retaining evidence that they comply with all applicable rules” on Lifeline eligibility, TracFone said. All commenters agreed with TracFone that safeguards would reduce privacy concerns related to document retention, including document encryption, separate storage, access limitations and advance consent on Lifeline application forms, TracFone said (http://bit.ly/1eSQHqA).

Globalstar again said the FCC should adopt safeguards to minimize the risk of harmful interference to the company’s licensed services from the deployment of outdoor access points in the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure band. Neither the commission nor parties to this proceeding “truly know what new technologies and new services will be developed [for] this unlicensed spectrum over the next 15 years,” it said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday to docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1gAdZB5). The commission should work to find solutions to increasing Wi-Fi congestion in the U.S., but it must ensure that Globalstar’s licensed mobile satellite services operations are protected from harmful interference, it said. Globalstar also urged the FCC to deny and dismiss Iridium’s petition to revisit the band plan in the Big Low Earth Orbit. Globalstar utilizes the full L band and the full S band in its Big LEO spectrum on a daily basis “throughout its global coverage area to provide critical voice and data communications,” it said. Last week, Globalstar and BNP Paribas met with International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre and other bureau staff, it said. The FCC is tentatively scheduled to vote March 31 on an order about spectrum cable operators, and allies seek to use for Wi-Fi that’s been the subject of conflicts with Globalstar (CD March 3 p1).

The FCC should adopt “decisive” rules that implement and enforce Section 6409(a) of the of the 2012 spectrum law, PCIA’s government affairs staff told members of the FCC Wireless Bureau in a meeting Friday (http://bit.ly/1hCBTOL). The FCC has been seeking to clarify the section, which allowed for federal governance of state and local reviews of eligible requests for modification of existing wireless towers or base stations (CD Oct 29 p15). Specific rules that “define statutory terms and specify application procedures, timelines, and remedies consistent with congressional intent will promote predictability, remove uncertainty, and avoid unnecessary and costly litigation,” PCIA said in an ex parte filing released Wednesday. As the FCC defines what constitutes a modification that will “Substantially Change the Physical Dimensions,” it should apply the 2001 Collocation Programmatic Agreement’s test with modifications that will reflect the 2004 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, PCIA said. The commission should also “tie” the baseline tower size to a structure’s last zoning approval or the date the FCC instituted rules, depending on which is later. The FCC should approve all eligible “legal, non-conforming structures” within 45 days “without exception and without discretionary review,” but jurisdictions may still require adherence to building codes, PCIA said. The group also urged the FCC to implement Section 332(c)(7) and the Shot Clock, arguing that the group’s members “continue to experience undue delay as a result of additional information requests and moratoria.” To prevent backup, the FCC must establish a “floor” for application readiness, PCIA said. The group also requested the FCC streamline its environmental and historic review process for distributed antenna systems and small cells by “categorically” excluding facilities that meet a tech-neutral, volume-based definition.