The FCC should stop leasing Educational Broadband Service spectrum, mostly to Sprint, and auction it instead, using the proceeds to pay for broadband in the schools, said a new paper by the Center for Boundless Innovation in Technology (CBIT). President Barack Obama has set a goal of getting 99 percent of American schools and libraries online at speeds of 100 Mbps within the next five years, said the paper by CBIT Executive Director Fred Campbell, former chief of the FCC Wireless Bureau (http://bit.ly/NuJGVq). “The current level of E-rate funding is far too limited to meet the President’s goal, however, and a substantial increase in universal service funding would threaten the affordability of broadband services in rural areas and to low-income communities,” the paper said. “Strangely, the FCC has ignored an obvious source of at least $11 billion in educational funding for which the FCC already has ultimate authority: The 117.5 MHz of spectrum allocated for the Educational Broadband Service (EBS) in the 2.5 GHz band.” CBIT said an incentive auction, like the pending auction for TV spectrum, would be the perfect tool for selling the EBS spectrum. “A portion of the auction revenues would be used to compensate existing educational licensees for relinquishing their spectrum rights,” CBIT said. “The remaining portion could be used to provide students nationwide with the world-class Internet infrastructure envisioned by the ConnectED initiative on a revenue neutral basis without threatening other universal service policy goals.” All CBIT funding to date comes from nonprofit organizations, Campbell said. Sprint provides some $24 million annually in cost-free wireless services and devices to thousands of elementary and secondary schools across the U.S. each year, a spokesman responded. “Notwithstanding CBIT’s concerns for improving wireless broadband for schools and libraries, we must note that forcing licensees to sell their 2.5 GHz spectrum -- apart from being legally dubious -- wouldn’t come close to generating the revenue needed to sustainably support broadband access for America’s educational institutions,” the spokesman said. “It is also surprising to see an advocacy group like CBIT recommend a public policy which fundamentally contradicts the free market principles it proclaims to support."

The FCC Wireless Bureau extended by one week the deadlines for initial and reply comments on ClearRF’s request for a determination of equivalent protection. The cell-signal booster maker argues that its ClearRF Model Number WRE2710 “provides equivalent protections to the Commission’s Network Protection Standard even though it does not meet the technical standards” in the agency’s rules, the bureau said (http://fcc.us/1ePvrSu). CTIA sought the extra time “to allow for a thorough technical evaluation of ClearRF’s assertions,” the bureau said. Comments now are due March 27, replies April 3.

The newly formed Dynamic Spectrum Alliance pressed the FCC to make room for both licensed and unlicensed spectrum above and below 1 GHz (http://bit.ly/1gy1Tsa). “Enabling access to both licensed and unlicensed spectrum is key to meeting increasing spectrum demands,” the group commented to the agency (http://bit.ly/1eOTDof). “In the past, such a balanced approach has fueled the wireless economy, benefiting consumers, innovators, and investors alike. Exclusive access to licensed spectrum has enabled wireless carriers to make large-scale, long-term investments in their networks and to strengthen their competitive positions. Shared access to unlicensed spectrum has enabled wireless carriers to offload both traffic and costs onto Wi-Fi networks, massively increasing available bandwidth and productivity.” The new group’s charter members include representatives from BSkyB, Google and Microsoft, with promoters including Facebook and advisers including Texas Instruments (http://bit.ly/1p8jOuL).

Cantor Telecom urged the FCC to approve rules that would allow the trading of spectrum rights in the 3.5 GHz band to maximize sharing. The firm is the telecom arm of Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services firm. The FCC has been examining whether the 3.5 GHz band can be used to promote use of small cells and sharing. Cantor said the FCC should think about allowing the establishment of an “electronic marketplace” by an experienced broker. “Cantor Telecom believes the adoption and use of a spectrum exchange through which future Priority and General Users in this band could trade and exchange spectrum based upon their needs at any given time would improve access,” Cantor said in a filing at the commission (http://bit.ly/1gqVNOD). “This type of exchange would significantly increase the liquidity of the spectrum, benefitting carriers as well as consumers ... by reducing costs and increasing the flexibility of use. Such an exchange would also support the Commission’s goal of maximizing the use of spectrum for the development of mobile broadband services."

With the FCC’s signoff Thursday (CD March 14 p5), AT&T said its buy of Leap Wireless and its Cricket brand is now complete. “In the coming weeks, Cricket will be integrated with AT&T’s existing operations to create the new Cricket,” AT&T said in a news release (http://soc.att.com/1im20fl). “The new Cricket will shake up the no-contract segment with a combination of simple, low-cost rate plans; a terrific lineup of smartphones; and a great network experience. The new Cricket will have access to AT&T’s nationwide 4G LTE network covering nearly 280 million people. AT&T will gain access to Cricket’s distribution channels and will be able to expand Cricket’s presence to additional U.S. cities."

NCTA continued to urge the FCC to move forward with an order permitting unlicensed national information infrastructure in the 5 GHz band. NCTA also stressed the importance to outdoor Wi-Fi systems of FCC rules that permit 1-watt outdoor access points in U-NII-1, it said in an ex parte filing in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1nnxpmz). NCTA was at odds with Globalstar over rule changes allowing access of additional unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band (CD March 3 p10). Globalstar said NCTA’s proposal of antenna requirements this month is a step toward resolving technical issues (CD March 10 p10). The filing recounts a meeting with NCTA, its members Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, and staff from Commissioner Ajit Pai’s office.

Oceus Networks believes a bi-directional sharing framework on the 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands that provides access to military users “could fulfill training requirements on remote bases and ranges with limited impact to auction revenues,” CEO Douglas Smith and other company representatives told Renee Gregory, aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, during a meeting Tuesday. Oceus customers, which include the military, first responders and critical infrastructure companies, have become interested in 4G LTE, and have identified a need for spectrum that would support 4G LTE, Oceus counsel Jay Chauhan said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1qA1WMP).

The International Trade Commission ended an investigation of Nokia’s patent complaint against HTC, ITC said in a notice slated for Thursday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1iBhvOK). The companies settled the patent dispute Feb. 7 (CD Feb 12 p13), ITC said: “There is no evidence that the proposed settlement will be contrary to the public interest.”

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son’s pessimistic view of U.S. wireless competition doesn’t align with reality (CD March 12 p1), said Stephen Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute, in a statement. “The reality is that consumers are benefiting from competition in the industry and the United States is the clear leader in the world in deployment and adoption of advanced 4G networks,” he said. “Consumers will continue to reap these benefits and more if the industry is allowed to innovate and isn’t saddled with unnecessary regulations in the name of protecting -- or propping up -- competitors. … Regulators must keep that in mind and not overreact to any one company’s rhetoric -- especially the FCC as it plans the incentive auction."

T-Mobile urged the FCC to adopt parties-in-interest disclosure requirements as part of process reform. In a filing at the agency Wednesday, T-Mobile said the “common sense, narrowly-defined” rules previously proposed by T-Mobile “are in keeping with the disclosure rules used for both corporate parties and amici curiae appearing in the Supreme Court of the United States and in the federal courts of appeal, and adopting such rules would promote transparency, encourage public confidence, and enhance agency decision-making” (http://bit.ly/1esCVL8). T-Mobile said its proposal would require only: “(1) disclosure of contributors that fund advocacy or support a significant portion of the filer’s budget, as well as any single entity or group of entities that accounts for more than 1/3 of the filer’s annual U.S. sales; (2) disclosure of contributors to third parties who author filed work product; and (3) disclosure of the filer’s association members and/or management team.”