U.S. Cellular and partner carrier King Street Wireless expanded their 4G LTE network into new markets in Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Wisconsin, Ericsson said Tuesday. The manufacturer said it worked on the 4G LTE network expansion, including providing base stations and network implementation services. The expansion helped U.S. Cellular “support the launch of Apple devices,” said U.S. Cellular Chief Technology Officer Michael Irizarry in an Ericsson news release. Cities covered by the latest network expansion include Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Madison, Wis., and Portland, Maine.

The International Trade Commission is ending an investigation into patent infringement by imported wireless electronic devices, with a finding of no violation, said the ITC in the Federal Register Tuesday (http://1.usa.gov/1ljM0gH). Technology Products Ltd. and Phoenix Digital Solutions had in 2012 requested the ITC ban allegedly infringing imports of tablets, mobile phones and similar devices from a litany of companies including Barnes & Noble, Garmin, HTC, Huawei, LG, Nintendo, Novatel, Samsung and ZTE. An administrative law judge in September found no violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act because the products at issue didn’t actually infringe the patents. The ITC is now affirming the ALJ’s determination and ending the proceeding.

Auctions work best and raise the most when restrictions aren’t placed on who can bid, said the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy in a white paper released Tuesday. “Even when all firms enjoy foreclosure value, and even in settings where some firms serve far more retail customers than other firms, unfettered auctions can maximize economic welfare,” the paper said (http://bit.ly/1cMbPB6). “When competitors perceive the same marginal value of spectrum, unfettered auctions can be relied upon to (i.e., they always) generate the welfare-maximizing allocation of inputs.” Spectrum auctions work because “in contrast to bureaucratic allocation methods, well-designed auctions typically ensure that the input is allocated to the users who value that input most highly,” the center said. The center is supported in part by AT&T and the Verizon Foundation. The two major carriers strongly oppose spectrum aggregation limits in the upcoming TV incentive and AWS-3 auctions.

T-Mobile’s “Uncarrier” strategy made 2013 “a great year for us,” CEO John Legere said Tuesday during a conference call with investors. T-Mobile added a net 1.6 million subscribers in Q4, including a net 869,000 branded postpaid subscribers and a net 112,000 branded prepaid subscribers. The No. 4 U.S. carrier added more than 4.4 million net subscribers during 2013. Legere said that growth is proof of the “tremendous market response” consumers have given to T-Mobile’s Uncarrier strategy, in which the carrier has used new policies -- including no longer using service contracts, improving its device upgrade plan and allowing free international data roaming -- to lure customers away from its larger competitors. T-Mobile said it expects to add another 2-3 million postpaid subscribers during 2014. T-Mobile ended Q4 with a $20 million net loss primarily due to costs associated with the Uncarrier strategy, though the carrier ended the year with a $35 million net profit, according to an SEC filing. Legere declined to comment about continued speculation about the viability of a potential Sprint/T-Mobile merger, but said the carrier continues to believe the U.S. wireless industry is “ripe for further consolidation."

Signs are that FirstNet could be stalled two years after the law approving the national first responder network was enacted, former Seattle Chief Technology Officer Bill Schrier warned in a blog post. Schrier, who is FirstNet’s designated point of contact in Washington State, said the network has made a only few dozen hires to date. “Two years into a $7 billion project and only 25 full-time staff have been hired!?” he asked (http://bit.ly/OzFEwv). The public reaction to FirstNet also seems to be changing, he said. “I've been speaking to groups of public officials and police chiefs and emergency managers and firefighters and other responders in Washington State about FirstNet since May, 2013,” Schrier said. “Lately, the mood of the audiences is starting to change. ‘Yeah, yeah, we've heard you say that before, Bill, but what’s happening now? Where’s the beef?’ I'm starting to feel a bit like a computer software salesman pushing vaporware. ‘Oh yes, that feature will be in our next release slated to come out in 2017.'” In a separate blog posted by Urgent Communications, FirstNet General Manager Bill D'Agostino said real progress is being made. “Our work so far has been focused on putting the foundational building blocks in place for getting this network up and running,” he said (http://bit.ly/MrWSK7). “We want to get the job done as expeditiously as possible, but we have one opportunity to get it right and we understand this tremendous responsibility.”

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler knows the TV incentive auction won’t be easy, but the FCC is determined to get the rules of the road right, he told the GSMA Mobile World Congress. “Let there be no mistake about the degree of difficulty of this undertaking,” Wheeler said, according to prepared remarks released Monday (http://fcc.us/1hlG1nS). “We are attempting something never done before. But as with our original spectrum auctions twenty years ago, the risks are well worth taking. The Incentive Auction presents a two-part challenge of making the right fact-based policy decisions in an open and transparent manner and building user-friendly back-end systems and ensuring that they are exhaustively tested and ready to work from the start. We know the world is watching, and we will get this right.” Spectrum remains a priority for the commission, Wheeler said. “We are committed to bringing more spectrum capacity to market and fast.”

Global Satellite Communications urged the FCC to ensure that its Globalstar service isn’t affected by unlicensed users operating in its spectrum. Global Satellite is concerned about its Globalstar customers in government and emergency management “who depend on their Globalstar devices in disaster recovery situations,” it said in a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1fNUB3H).

Apple and Samsung told the U.S. District Court in San Jose they failed to reach agreement during a mediation session on part of their long-standing patent infringement dispute, said a joint court filing by the two companies Friday. The companies are seeking a settlement to avoid moving forward with a planned March 31 trial over a lawsuit in which Apple claims Samsung violated multiple Apple patents in its Galaxy S3 smartphone and other recent devices, including Apple’s Siri voice search technology. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung co-CEO J.K. Shin met for a daylong mediation session earlier this month, but the session and followup phone calls between the two companies on the mediator’s proposed settlement were “unsuccessful,” they said in the court filing. Apple and Samsung said they “remain willing to work through the mediator” to resolve the patent dispute.

Sprint representatives asked FCC officials for advice on an expected filing providing data to the FCC on special access charges. “Sprint explained that it is working diligently to prepare its data in expectation of the special access data request and asked for guidance regarding several aspects of the data collection,” Sprint said in an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1eqia1N). “Specifically, the meeting participants discussed the appropriate format in which to submit requested data on purchase price, market trials, IRUs [Indefeasible Rights of Use], and wireless backhauls. Sprint also sought clarifying details on how it will be expected to populate date, CLLI [Common Language Location Identifier], and zip4 information fields."

The Competitive Carriers Association said rules designed for the Canadian 700 MHz auction (CD Feb 24 p5) show that the U.S. can safely impose spectrum aggregation limits in the TV incentive auction. “The record-breaking results from the Canadian … auction are proof-positive that spectrum aggregation limits will encourage participation and will raise substantial revenues at auction,” said CCA President Steve Berry in a news release. “The similarities between the lead-up to Canada’s 700 MHz auction and the current arguments here in the U.S. over spectrum aggregation limits are remarkable, and I strongly encourage the FCC to look to the success of the Canadian auction and, like Industry Canada, adopt up-front spectrum aggregation limits.” CCA planned to file its arguments at the FCC Monday.