The FCC should not impose broad tower siting rules on local governments, said the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors in comments filed at the agency. The comments are at odds with industry arguments in the same docket (CD Feb 5 p3). “The vast majority of wireless broadband infrastructure projects are processed and deployed in a timely manner, respecting not only the needs of providers, but also the desires of the communities they serve,” the groups said. “Therefore, Commenters urge the Commission to refrain from adopting formal rules that would impose a one-size-fits-all interpretation of Section 6409, which, we believe, could prove to be unworkable to the extent that such rules could hinder deployment.” Joseph Van Eaton, a lawyer from the Best Best firm who represents cities, said in an email late Tuesday he sees room for compromise on siting rules now before the FCC. “There is definitely room for common ground,” Van Eaton said. “That’s one of the reasons we suggested that the agency allow local governments and industry to agree on best practices. And even if rules are adopted, I think we'll see broad consensus that Section 6409 does not preempt all local conditions on placement. Some industry commenters conceded, for example, that localities could maintain stealth requirements and that local authority to protect public health and safety was not implicated by Section 6409.”

Many more U.S. adults are protecting smartphones with a password, but nearly half are sharing those passwords with others and more than half are sending or receiving intimate content with those smartphones, said McAfee Tuesday (http://on.wsj.com/MrEfq9). Sixty-nine percent secure their smartphone with a password, up from 39 percent in 2012, said a news release about the survey. But 46 percent of those surveyed share that password with another individual, McAfee said. “With all the stories we've heard about intimate photos being leaked, it’s hard to believe people are still sharing their passwords,” said Gary Davis, vice president of McAfee consumer business. “Ultimately, they're increasing the risks of these photos becoming public and possibly jeopardizing their identity and reputation.” The conclusions were drawn from 1,519 online surveys conducted Dec. 3-16 of U.S. adults ages 18 to 54.

The announcement Monday that the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are moving forward on wide deployment of vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems (CD Feb 4 p4) could have negative implications for the use of the same 5.9 GHz band for Wi-Fi, Hogan Lovells said in a post on its regulatory law blog. “Regulating in the space of connected and autonomous mobility is complicated,” wrote Jacqueline Glassman, a partner who specializes in transportation law (http://bit.ly/1fM8v9t). “The federal Vehicle Safety Act, which was first enacted in 1965, is structured around a fleet of mechanically-driven motor vehicles. The Act authorizes NHTSA to promulgate performance-based standards applicable to motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment.” DOT and NHTSA make clear they are “clearing a path to ensure that: (1) motor vehicle safety remains a top federal government priority; (2) DOT and NHTSA remain the primary regulators in the space; and (3) ongoing guidance, regulation and policy continue to be based on research and science -- even if that science takes time to develop and may impede more immediate demands, such as the growing need for more Wi-Fi spectrum,” Glassman wrote.

Bidders need certainty “well in advance” of the AWS-3 auction, “scheduled to begin as soon as September 2014,” including what spectrum will be sold and what the rules of the road will be, Verizon Wireless representatives told FCC Wireless Bureau officials in a meeting last week, said an ex parte filing. “The FCC should continue to work with other government agencies to ensure that it can auction 1755-1780 MHz paired with 2155-2180 MHz,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/1eRgZJ3). “We discussed the need for potential bidders to know as much as possible about the schedule for re-locating federal users out of the 1755-1780 MHz band, as uncertainty on that issue will affect their valuation of the spectrum.” Verizon also recommended that the AWS-3 spectrum be sold in large Economic Area licenses. “If, however, the Commission were to adopt smaller license area sizes, it is imperative that auction participants be able to combine licenses through package bids,” Verizon said. “We also support auctioning the spectrum in a combination of 5x5 MHz and 10x10 MHz blocks.”

The FCC released an updated list of eligible areas for the reverse auction that will award up to $50 million in one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support (http://bit.ly/1akSPus). Bidding in the auction is to begin Feb. 25. “The updated list reflects changes to the eligible areas for Auction 902 based on authorizations of support and default determinations from the initial auction of Mobility Fund Phase I support, Auction 901,” the Wireless and Wireline bureaus said Monday in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1aX955H).

AT&T said it would offer a cheaper mobile data plan aimed at families with multiple smartphones or other mobile devices. AT&T said Saturday its new “Mobile Share Value” plans would cost less than its standard shared data plans when it includes at least a 10 GB-per-month bucket of shared mobile data. A value plan at the 10 GB tier would cost from $130 per month to cover two smartphones, with each additional device on the plan costing an extra $15. A 50 GB plan would cost $405 per month for two devices (http://soc.att.com/LDrrwQ). It’s unclear how the other three top U.S. wireless carriers will react to AT&T’s plans, which are “still at a premium to Sprint and T-Mobile US, but a clear discount to Verizon,” said Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche in a note to investors. AT&T added a net 566,000 postpaid wireless subscribers during Q4, ending the quarter with a net $6.9 billion profit on $33.2 billion in revenue.

General comments from the Department of Justice, culminating in remarks by Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer Thursday (CD Jan 31 p14), sound an “ominous” note on the prospects for how regulators would view a Sprint/T-Mobile deal, Stifel Nicolaus said Friday in a research note. “We believe DOJ has been sending an increasingly ominous message about a possible Sprint/T-Mobile merger, starting with broad DOJ comments last year about preferring a wireless market with four national carriers,” Stifel said. “We believe that Sprint/T-Mobile could fight DOJ opposition in court, but their efforts could be complicated by potential resistance from the FCC -- as were AT&T/T-Mobile’s -- and this time the FCC has the added incentive of wanting to ensure the four national wireless carriers bid in upcoming spectrum auctions."

The FCC’s rules on indoor location accuracy for wireless calls to 911 “have to change” and the agency will take up rules mandating benchmarks for carriers to meet at its Feb. 20 meeting, Chairman Tom Wheeler said in a blog post. “When the original 911 rules for wireless providers were first adopted, they were built on the assumption that the primary place consumers would use their wireless phones would be outside,” Wheeler said (http://fcc.us/LwLsVR). “But today, the vast majority of wireless calls are made from indoors, including 911 calls made from wireless phones. Commercial location-based services are raising consumers’ expectations -- if a smartphone app can locate them within seconds, why can’t a 911 call center?” States led by California have raised concerns that current requirements aren’t good enough. In comments filed at the FCC last year, carriers urged the FCC to proceed with caution and to base next steps on work already under way by the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CD Sept 17 p13). The FCC held a workshop in November where Wheeler said the agency would do more. “I have been pro-911 and pro-911 location since the beginning of the location challenge,” he said at the time (CD Nov 19 p1).

T-Mobile’s buy of 700 MHz A-block licenses from Verizon is only a first step as the acquirer looks to buy more low-band spectrum, said Vice President Kathleen Ham in a blog post. “We believe the acquisition of Verizon’s A-Block will provide us with a good base of low-band spectrum, but it does not eliminate our need to continue to add to our portfolio,” Ham wrote (http://bit.ly/MlYsxD). “Even though interference and other problems previously associated with the A-Block are rapidly diminishing, thanks in part to an interoperability deal brokered by the FCC with AT&T and DISH, not all of the spectrum will be immediately usable.” The buy gives T-Mobile “just 6 MHz of low-band spectrum on average nationwide -- much less than the big two,” AT&T and Verizon, she said. “Clearly, low-band spectrum will remain highly concentrated in the hands of the two largest carriers.” The buy was announced in early January (CD Jan 7 p1).

With rumors of a Sprint/T-Mobile deal continuing to swirl, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, is expected to go out of his way Thursday night to discuss the importance of DOJ blocking the earlier AT&T/T-Mobile deal. Baer’s comments came in prepared remarks he is to deliver to the New York State Bar Association. “Since AT&T terminated its effort to eliminate T-Mobile as a rival, T-Mobile has spearheaded increased competition in wireless services,” Baer said. “Shortly after the merger was abandoned, T-Mobile announced a $4 billion investment in modernizing its network and deploying 4G LTE service. It then made a series of moves to offer cheaper and better customer contracts, including offering plans without annual contracts and selling Apple’s iPhone 5 on better terms than the competition."