The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) said it formed an Emergency Location Task Force to improve location accuracy for wireless 911 calls. The task force is forming to support the goals included in the indoor location accuracy road map released in November by APCO, NENA and the top four U.S. wireless carriers (see 1412150061). The task force will focus initially on standards to support the road map commitments but also will collaborate with other organizations to “seek broader implementation and adoption of solutions, including with the Third Generation Partnership Project,” ATIS said in a Friday news release.

Sprint had 967,000 net additional subscribers in Q3, marking a turnaround for the company, it said in a news release Thursday. The company will provide full results for Q3 in February.

The FCC will take up an order on ensuring that accurate caller location information is automatically provided to public safety officials for all wireless calls to 911, the agency said in releasing its tentative agenda for its Jan. 29 meeting. Chairman Tom Wheeler in a blog post Thursday said the order he's circulating takes advantage of the "'roadmap'" proposed by APCO, AT&T, CTIA, the National Emergency Number Association, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon (see 1411190064) for improving location accuracy for calls made indoors. But recognizing the "valid criticisms raised by some public safety stakeholders," the report and order provides "confidence-building measures and backstop thresholds that set clear targets and deadlines for improving indoor location and hold parties accountable for results," Wheeler wrote. The agency also will hear a presentation on its new Consumer Help Center (see 1501050038). Wheeler's proposal, announced Wednesday (see 1501070046), to increase the broadband benchmark speed to 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload and to issue a notice of inquiry on improving broadband deployment was not on the agenda. The proposal is a vote on circulation, an agency spokesman said.

Wells Fargo Securities said it sees “impressive momentum in sub growth” at T-Mobile in Q4. But, it said in an analyst research note Tuesday, “the question remains how this sub growth translates to profitability and margins.” Wells Fargo said T-Mobile had 2.1 million total net additional subscribers relative to Q3. In another analyst research note Wednesday, Wells Fargo said T-Mobile "intends to hit its FY2014 EBITDA guidance of $5.6-5.8 billion."

Colorado tower building company Centerline Solutions said it bought wireless project management firm Cascadia PM, expanding Centerline’s operations in Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington. Centerline already had a presence in Hawaii and Washington, along with offices in Arizona, Colorado and New York. Centerline didn’t reveal the terms of the deal. Centerline’s clients have included all four major national wireless carriers.

T-Mobile found a way to pique interest at CES: The self-proclaimed uncarrier is giving away bags of cash. To highlight T-Mobile’s new 10 GB data plan, the carrier is sponsoring the #DataStash DASH at the conference. At the top of every hour, T-Mobile is tweeting the location of the prizes. The first three people who show up get a bag. “One of them is filled with $1,000 cash and the other two are packed with prizes such as new smartphones, tablets and free T-Mobile service,” T-Mobile said in a news release.

TIA filed a petition for reconsideration Friday with the FCC to seek revisions to the commission’s 700 MHz narrowband transition order to reflect that it may not be feasible for a manufacturer to have completed all the requirements for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program certification at the time it submits a device to the FCC for approval. TIA said in its filing that it strongly supports the CAP compliance program but it feels the rules need to be revised “to more fully reflect the product development process in which devices are mature enough for submission for FCC type acceptance before CAP certification testing is feasible.” Most of the rules in the order, which eliminated the Dec. 31, 2016, deadline for public safety licensees using 700 MHz narrowband spectrum to transition their radio systems to 6.25 kHz technology, took effect Friday (see 1412020053).

Replying to a petition by Marriott and others seeking FCC guidance on how they can protect the security and quality of their Wi-Fi networks, the Open Technology Institute at the New America Foundation and Public Knowledge said in comments posted Tuesday that network operators “have many alternative and permissible ways to combat cybersecurity threats and criminal activities -- including notification of the relevant law enforcement authorities. By contrast, nothing could more undermine the stability of our wireless infrastructure than to authorize a set of trigger-happy vigilantes to engage in wide-area jamming at will.” The groups said hotels “employ security guards to help manage their property and provide a first line defense against theft, trespass or other threats to their guests. No one imagines that these private security guards should have SWAT-team style weapons and body armor, or that hotels should force guests through a TSA-like body scan to prevent terrorist attacks. Similarly, hotels (and other operators) have more than adequate means to protect their networks without resorting to jamming. The concerns articulated by the Hotel interests do not justify a resort to willful interference with non-hotel Wi-Fi networks or devices.” Marriott and co-petitioners, the American Hospitality and Lodging Association and Ryman Hospitality Properties, have said the hotel doesn't intend to block guests’ ability to access the Internet through their own Wi-Fi services (see 1501010001).

Apple hasn’t announced a definitive 2015 launch date yet for the Apple Watch, but that’s not stopping a small Evansville, Indiana, supplier from laying claim to fielding what it calls "the first great Apple Watch accessory." The supplier, Standzout, is using a CES exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s North Hall to demonstrate prototypes of an Apple Watch docking station it calls the Bandstand, the company said in an emailed media alert Sunday. Calling the Apple Watch "the new king of wearables," though it hasn’t yet reached the commercial market, Standzout said the Bandstand has been designed "from the ground up to make the experience of using the Apple Watch easier, more natural, and more beautiful." The Bandstand is designed to be "the nightly home" for an Apple Watch, it said. It will include integrated charging using Apple’s inductive charger, plus additional ports to allow the user to charge two other USB devices simultaneously, including an iPad, the company said. "It also features a pivoting watch platform, to adjust the angle of the watch for visibility from any angle." With the built-in charging for the Apple Watch and two additional USB devices, Standzout expects to price the Bandstand "around the $99.99 range," CEO Brandon Barnard emailed us Sunday. "We are still early in development to offer exact pricing." Availability of the Bandstand will come "within weeks of the Apple Watch release for reasons of needing to evaluate for exact fit and testing," Barnard said. Asked for his company's latest intelligence on when it thinks Apple Watch will debut, Barnard said: "We have no other information other than what is publicly available." What Apple originally touted as wireless charging technology for the Apple Watch isn't wireless at all because it uses a wire with a magnet on the end (see 1409160022). Referring in the media alert to Apple's long-term status as a CES exhibitor holdout, Standzout said: "This year's CES is jam-packed with amazing tech from hot companies around the world. You're going to be busy. But one of the year's biggest stories, the Apple Watch, isn't likely to make an appearance. "

The FCC’s AWS-3 auction restarted Monday after its holiday break. the number of new bids has dropped to less than 20 per round. The FCC will increase the number of rounds per day Tuesday to ten from eight to further accelerate the conclusion of the auction. BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said in a note to investors, “At this rate, we could see a conclusion by the end of the week.”