Nearly six of 10 consumers who use a smartphone or tablet while shopping prefer to look up information on their devices rather than talk to store employees, CEA said Wednesday a survey found. That preference is highest among male shoppers and those between ages 25 and 44, it said. Sixty-two percent of mobile shoppers indicate they perceive the information they gather via their mobile device as more beneficial than the information available in-store via product displays or sales literature, it said. "Mobile devices have significantly shifted consumers’ shopping behavior," CEA said. "Retailers are increasingly focusing on delivering a complete consumer shopping experience and mobile devices are now a vital piece of that puzzle." Mobile shoppers more often use their mobile devices for assistance when shopping for electronics (60 percent) than for any other product type, CEA said. Following electronics, mobile shoppers most frequently use their devices while shopping in physical retail stores for groceries (55 percent), apparel (47 percent), shoes (45 percent), and health and beauty products (39 percent), it said. While shopping specifically for electronics, mobile shoppers use their devices to compare prices (63 percent), read customer ratings or reviews (52 percent) and search the Internet for more information (51 percent), it said.

Asus mobile phones and tablets that include Bluetooth or Wi-Fi features and security codes violate a U.S. patent (8,466,795) for a personal tracking and security system owned by Pragmatus Mobile since the patent was granted in June 2013, Pragmatus alleged in a complaint filed Nov. 24 at the U.S. International Trade Commission. The complaint seeks exclusive and cease and desist orders under Section 337 of the Tariff Act. Many CE manufacturers already license the patent that Asus allegedly violates, the complaint said, listing BlackBerry, HTC, Huawei, LG, Pantech, Samsung, Sony and ZTE among the licensees. In addition, several CE makers license the technology from Pragmatus on confidential terms, including one "major" manufacturer, it said. Many of the "accused" Asus devices at issue in the complaint "are smartphones and tablets, which are not necessary for some health or welfare need," Pragmatus said in a public interest statement. If imports of the Asus devices are barred from the U.S. under an ITC exclusion order, "there are many like or directly competitive articles" that could take their place, it said. Asus representatives didn’t comment.

Bids for AWS-3 spectrum reached more than $40 billion at the end of day 12 Tuesday of Auction 97. Bids rose 0.5 percent in rounds 42-43 and 0.3 percent in rounds 44-45, UBS analysts said Wednesday in a research note. The top 25 markets commanded an average price of $3.89/MHz POP for paired spectrum, they said. Atlanta was the most active market, rising 6.2 percent from day 11, followed by Pittsburgh and Sacramento, analysts said. Despite no new bids, Chicago remained in the lead, followed by New York and Los Angeles, UBS said. Auction 97 could run at a slower pace for an extended period, it said. The AWS-1 and 700 MHz auctions lasted for 161 and 261 rounds respectively, with minimal activity after rounds 52 and 27, it said. The momentum of the action is slowing, Evercore analysts said in a research note. The end of the auction “could be soon,” they said. The focus will shift “to how the bidders will finance their bids and when they have to finance them by,” Evercore said. The bidding exceeded the reserve price shortly after the auction started last month (see 1411180061).

The FCC urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss FiberTower's appeal of a commission decision that it didn’t demonstrate substantial service for its 24 GHz digital electronic message service licenses. The commission rejected FiberTower’s argument that a licensee that provides no service can satisfy the agency’s requirement that it provide substantial service. “This argument finds no support in the statute or the commission’s orders and rules,” the FCC said in a court brief. The FCC correctly found that FiberTower hadn’t demonstrated substantial service for each of the 689 licenses at issue here, it said. FiberTower failed to demonstrate that the FCC applied its waiver and extension policies inconsistently, it said. The agency issued the decision in 2012 (see 1211080055). An oral argument is scheduled for Jan. 20, the brief said.

Hughes launched upgraded satellite Internet access plans for small- and medium-sized businesses. The Business Internet Select and Access plans feature download speeds from up to 5 Mbps to up to 15 Mbps, Hughes said Tuesday in a news release. The plans will operate over the HughesNet Gen4 service, it said.

Broadcom unveiled a global navigation satellite system location hub that supports the European Union's Galileo satellite system. Smartphones with built-in support for the new system "will experience an even higher level of accuracy and better positioning with faster times to first fix," Broadcom said Tuesday in a news release. In certain modes, Broadcom's advanced hardware design and increased memory "can reduce power consumption by up to 95 percent over traditional architectures, significantly conserving battery life in mobile devices," it said. It increases accuracy with simultaneous support for six constellations and "recognizes distinct user activity for better location intelligence," it said.

In a move to grab customers from its two biggest competitors, Sprint said Tuesday it will buy out AT&T and Verizon customers’ wireless contracts up to $350 in a “Cut Your Bill in Half” event beginning Friday. Sprint will pay customers up to $350 per line via a Visa prepaid card to cover their early termination fee or installment bill balance when they switch, it said. Sprint will offer unlimited talk and text within the U.S. over its network and match customers’ data allowance for half the cost of their current data plan. The promotional rate “will be the customer’s ongoing price” as long as they remain on the plan, Sprint said. To participate, AT&T and Verizon customers need to upload a copy of a current wireless bill to the Sprint website, visit a Sprint store with a copy of the latest bill, turn in their current phone, pick a service plan and get a new phone using one of Sprint’s leasing options -- or pay full rate for the phone, the carrier said.

Level 3 will provide Intelsat with network connectivity to its new North America headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, and to other locations. Intelsat will have access to additional network capacity and diverse routing options to enhance the IntelsatOne terrestrial fiber and teleport network linked to Intelsat's global satellite infrastructure, Level 3 said in a Tuesday news release. The agreement intends to improve information access and operational efficiency, while also ensuring business continuity and disaster recovery across Intelsat's locations, Level 3 said.

Most provisions in the October FCC order that eliminates the Dec. 31, 2016, deadline for public safety licensees using 700 MHz narrowband spectrum to transition their radio systems to 6.25 kHz technology will take effect Jan. 2, the commission said Tuesday in the Federal Register. Some rule changes included in the order await approval by the Office of Management and Budget, the FCC said. The order implements several rule changes beyond eliminating the narrowband deadline, including redesignating as available for public safety aircraft voice operations the channels in the 700 MHz band that are currently licensed for secondary trunking operations. The order allows voice operations on data interoperability channels on a secondary basis and reallocates the reserve channels on the narrowband into general-use channels (see 1410240032). The FCC said it would dismiss multiple waiver requests, including one from the Los Angeles Regional Interoperable Communications System Joint Powers Authority, as moot due to the order.

Supply chain services supplier Ingram Micro made a "binding offer" to acquire Anovo, a French-based supplier of reverse logistics and repair services for smartphones, tablets, wearables and set-top boxes across Europe and Latin America, the companies said in a joint announcement Friday. Anovo has operations in seven countries in Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K.), three in South America (Chile, Columbia and Peru), plus China, but none in North America, its website shows. The acquisition is to be completed in early 2015, the companies said. Terms weren’t released, but Anovo is expected to contribute more than $300 million annually to Ingram Micro’s revenue, they said. Europe and Latin America are "two regions that are experiencing robust growth with the proliferation of mobile devices, accessories and wearables," they said. Anovo CEO Francois Lacombe will continue to lead the company after it becomes an Ingram Micro subsidiary, they said. In a separate announcement Monday, Ingram Micro said it acquired a majority stake in Armada, which it called the largest value-added technology distributor in Turkey, with 2013 sales of more than $280 million. Ingram Micro plans to make a mandatory tender offer for the remaining shares in compliance with Turkish financial rules, the company said. Terms weren't disclosed.