Android devices less than three years old are likely broadcasting your location history to anyone in Wi-Fi range, even if the screen is off, said the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in a Thursday blog post (http://bit.ly/1lC4MuY). “This location history comes in the form of the names of wireless networks your phone has previously connected to,” said EFF Technology Projects Director Peter Eckersley and EFF Staff Technologist Jeremy Gillula. The names of individual Wi-Fi networks can be very revealing -- “Tom’s Wi-Fi,” “Company XYZ office net” -- making the data “arguably more dangerous than that leaked in previous location data scandals because it clearly denotes in human language places that you've spent enough time to use the Wi-Fi,” the duo said. “Normally eavesdroppers would need to spend some effort extracting this sort of information from” the latitude/longitude “history typically discussed in location privacy analysis.” In a statement, Google responded to EFF, “We take the security of our users’ location data very seriously and we're always happy to be made aware of potential issues ahead of time. Since changes to this behavior would potentially affect user connectivity to hidden access points, we are still investigating what changes are appropriate for a future release.” EFF said Google submitted a patch Wednesday to fix the issue. “While we are glad this problem is being addressed so quickly, it will still be some time before that fix gets integrated into the downstream Android code,” they said.

The FCC released tips to raise consumer awareness about the importance of protecting mobile devices from theft. D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier signed off on the warning. Among the tips is that consumers should record the unique identifying numbers on every phone as well as its serial number and MAC/Wi-Fi address “and store it in a safe place.” Consumers also need to be aware of their surroundings and treat cellphone theft like credit card theft, since mobile devices “frequently contain sensitive financial and personal information,” the agency said. The FCC issued the warning Thursday on the front page of its website (http://bit.ly/1j0WxxJ). FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has made stopping mobile device theft a top agency focus (CD June 20 p1).

ACA International, which represents credit and collection professionals, asked the FCC to clarify how predictive dialers are treated under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. While a predictive dialer, which dials a list of phone numbers and connects answered dials to people making calls, can be an Automated Telephone Dialing System (ATDS), it’s not necessarily one, ACA said. The TCPA prohibits automated calls to cellphones, emergency lines, a hospital emergency number, a physician’s office or a hospital room, among other protected phone lines. “That a predictive dialer can be an autodialer if it meets the statutory definition of an autodialer” does “not (and cannot) mean that it must be an ATDS under the TCPA,” ACA said (http://bit.ly/1vBaT8t). “Fundamentally, the statutory elements of an ATDS must be met in order for equipment to be considered an ATDS under the statute.” The filing, posted by the FCC Wednesday, was in docket 02-278.

As smartphones get smarter and more powerful, they're requiring better battery life, leading an industry-wide effort toward developing out-of-home charging solutions to keep users connected. Starbucks recently rolled out inductive wireless charging for smartphones through a partnership with Powermat (CED June 13 p1), and Verizon last week began installing solar-powered benches in Boston that let users recharge their cellphones while delivering environmental data. The solar-powered benches, called “Soofas,” were developed by Changing Environments, an MIT Media Lab spin-off that participates in the Verizon Innovation Program (http://vz.to/1qrabek). The benches provide Boston residents with free smartphone wired charging and location-specific information including air quality and noise levels. Data is delivered via Verizon’s 4G LTE network through Verizon’s Machine Connect, which the company describes as a “semi-rugged, low-cost” 4G LTE modem in a package integrating WWAN into machine-to-machine applications that can also serve as a development platform for host device integrators. Verizon Innovation said the benches provide an “early look at new technology paving the way for future environmental data capture and sharing possibilities.” Current versions of Soofas include a solar-panel with wired charging via two USB ports, and Verizon said future versions will feature inductive charging so that users can place their phones on a surface with no power cord required. The carrier said it plans to expand the Soofa to other cities to “build a smart infrastructure that collects urban data and informs actions."

Intel agreed to pay $144,000 and implement a three-year compliance plan to resolve an investigation into whether Intel employees had tested prototype smartphones and tablets before the FCC certified them, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said Wednesday. Intel had imported devices in question for its business customers so they could “develop their own devices for potential sale to the general public,” the bureau said. Intel also admitted exceeding import quotas and displaying a device model at a trade show without the required notice to potential customers and the public that it had not yet been authorized by the commission, the bureau said. “The Commission’s rules impose restrictions and conditions on these activities to ensure that unauthorized devices are not prematurely distributed to retailers and then sold to the general public,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1o9DFdo). “These devices, if not in full compliance with the Commission’s technical requirements, could cause harmful interference to other electronics and radio communications devices.” “After an in-depth study and working with the FCC’s Spectrum Enforcement Division, Intel and the FCC have reached an agreement on a Consent Decree to address the policy exceptions made by Intel’s staff,” emailed a company spokesman. “Intel is pleased to put this matter behind us."

Accessories supplier Pong Research bowed a line of Pong cases for the Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone, the company said Wednesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1z7LGH7). Pong cases have what the supplier calls “intelligent antenna technology.” They're embedded with a micro-thin, gold-plated antenna that redirects wireless signals away from the user’s head and body, reduces exposure to potentially harmful wireless energy, and optimizes the device’s outbound signal to the tower, the company said. They've been tested in FCC-certified labs, and have been “proven to reduce exposure to wireless energy while also increasing a device’s outbound signal strength,” it said.

National Frequency Coordination formally withdrew its request at the FCC to be approved as a Part 90 frequency coordinator. The request had been slammed by various groups, including the Utilities Telecom Council, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council and APCO (CD July 2 p10). NFC said it may “submit a new application that fully addresses concerns raised” about its application. The filing in docket 14-75 was made by NFC Tuesday and posted by the FCC Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1xhO4cy).

The FCC should “make as much funding available for as many experiments as possible” as the agency does a series of rural broadband experiments, Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry said in a meeting with Jonathan Chambers, chief of the Office of Strategic Planning. Berry said many CCA members submitted informal expressions of interest to take part in the experiment, said an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 10-90 (http://bit.ly/1rcAyGG). An order is circulating that would set aside up to $100 million for such experiments (CD June 30 p3) .

SouthernLINC Wireless debuted a push-to-talk (PTT) app that connects any domestic wireless carrier’s smartphone to the SouthernLINC Wireless network. The app, Mototalk, allows users to send push-to-talk calls from SouthernLINC Wireless phones wherever a 3G, 4G or Wi-Fi data network is available, SouthernLINC said Tuesday in a news release (http://bit.ly/1mRl3B4). The app also allows iPhone and Android users from another U.S. carrier to download and use it to communicate via PTT with a SouthernLINC phone, it said.

The FCC Office of General Counsel said in a filing with a federal court that a credit collection agency violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by autodialing an electric utility’s customer after he failed to pay an electric bill. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked the FCC for an advisory opinion as it weighs Albert A. Nigro v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau. National Grid had hired MAB to collect an outstanding balance of $67 allegedly owed by Nigro’s deceased mother-in-law. MAB transmitted an autodialed message to Nigro 72 times over nine months, the FCC said Monday in 2nd Circuit docket 13-1362 (http://bit.ly/1vsEoZT). In December 2010, Nigro filed a complaint against MAB in federal district court, arguing that MAB had violated the TCPA by transmitting autodialed and prerecorded messages to a cellphone without his consent, the FCC said. The lower court sided with MAB and Nigro appealed. The FCC said the appeals court should reverse. “Nigro did not supply his cellular telephone number in the course of ’the transaction that resulted in the debt owed,'” the FCC said. “The mere fact that Nigro provided his number to National Grid did not convey his consent to be called regarding that debt,” the agency said. “Nor is there any other evidence showing that Nigro had consented to the debt collection calls at issue in this case."