Correction: Where Tamara Preiss is a vice president is at Verizon 1410140004.

The American Bankers Association asked the FCC to exempt certain time-sensitive informational calls, which are placed with no charge to the called parties, from the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s restrictions on automated calls to mobile devices. The request came in a petition filed at the agency (http://bit.ly/1r4244b) Tuesday. ABA sought the exemption for calls about: “(1) transactions and events that suggest a risk of fraud or identity theft; (2) possible breaches of the security of customers’ personal information; (3) steps consumers can take to prevent or remedy harm caused by data security breaches; and (4) actions needed to arrange for receipt of pending money transfers,” said the petition. ABA President Frank Keating said the exemptions would ensure banks can protect consumers. “Effective fraud prevention requires the earliest possible contact with the customer,” Keating said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a waiver request by RECCO to permit equipment authorization and licensing of RECCO’s avalanche rescue system, which uses spectrum at 902.85 MHz. The system uses a handheld detector and passive reflectors integrated into apparel, helmets, protection gear or boots, the bureau said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/11kjowyhttp://bit.ly/11kjowy). “The signal from the reflector is received by the detector and enables search and rescue personnel to home in on the location of skiers, snowboarders, and others buried in avalanches.” But a waiver is needed because FCC rules don't permit nonvehicular location services in the 902-904 MHz band, the bureau said. Comments are due Nov. 13, replies Nov. 28. RECCO says on its website the system is used by more than 700 rescue organizations worldwide to find buried avalanche victims (http://bit.ly/11kjowy).

CTIA and PCIA jointly asked the FCC to implement a “deemed granted” rule requiring local jurisdictions to act on eligible facilities requests (EFRs) within 60 days as part of changes to wireless siting rules set for a vote at Friday’s open meeting 1410060018. The FCC now requires action within 90 days. But the wireless associations said requirements in the 2012 spectrum law made a shorter time frame appropriate by mandating approval of Section 6409(a) EFR applications (http://bit.ly/ZY3SpP). “As a result of this action, local review can be completed in minutes versus months,” the groups said. When a local government receives a Section 6409(a) application, “it need only: Confirm that the application proposes to collocate new transmission equipment or replace existing transmission equipment, as defined by the Commission; Confirm that the application involves an existing wireless tower or base station, as defined by the Commission; and Confirm that the physical dimensions of the tower or base station would not substantially change, as defined by the Commission,” the groups said. The letter was posted Monday in docket 13-238.

France’s Iliad Group formally dropped its pursuit of T-Mobile Monday, after parent Deutsche Telekom made clear it wasn’t interested. Iliad made a play for the carrier at the same time Sprint was pursuing a deal 1408010016. But Iliad said Deutsche Telekom and board members of T-Mobile US “refused to entertain” its latest offer (http://bit.ly/1v8otDx). After T-Mobile rejected Iliad’s initial bid, the company said it put together a second offer of $36 per share to buy 67 percent of T-Mobile, a $15 billion offer. Iliad’s initial offer was $33 per share for 56.6 percent of the U.S. carrier. “Iliad had the ambition to accelerate T-Mobile US’ transformation, notably by saving more than US$2 billion of cost annually,” Iliad said. “This transaction would have created significant value for both Iliad's and T-Mobile US’ shareholders.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a settlement Friday between Colorado CallComm and Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corp. over call sign WPMI283. Colorado CallComm has agreed to modify its license for the call sign to eliminate two locations, while Snapping Shoals has agreed to dismiss its petition on the call sign, the Wireless Bureau said. Snapping Shoals’ petition sought FCC cancellation of Colorado CallComm’s authority to operate on channels 938/899.9875, 939/900.000, 939/900.9125, and 939/900.9250 MHz in the Atlanta area, which are associated with Locations 6 and 7 of the WPMI283 call sign. Colorado CallComm will submit an application to modify its license to delete Locations 6 and 7 from the call sign in the FCC’s Universal Licensing System, the Wireless Bureau said (http://fcc.us/ZiZNv9).

FirstNet revised from Oct. 24 to Oct. 27 the due date for comments on how it should interpret key provisions of the spectrum law enacted in 2012, which enabled the creation of the long-awaited wireless broadband network for first responders. FirstNet is seeking to better define its relationship with the wireless industry. FirstNet’s notice and request for comment was published in the Federal Register last month (http://1.usa.gov/1xfEU2W). The authority updates the due date in a notice set for publication Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1ng0nVR). FirstNet also corrects the original notice, asking commenters to ignore text citing to how the Rural Electrification Act defines the term “rural area.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau said it plans to move to all-electronic authorizations and registrations in the agency’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) and Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) System. The FCC plans to stop mailing paper copies of current authorizations to licensees and registrants “unless it is notified that the licensee or registrant wishes to continue receiving official authorizations on paper,” the bureau said in a Friday public notice (http://bit.ly/1snpUxT). If most licensees choose electronic delivery, the commission could save nearly $304,000 a year, the bureau said in docket 14-161. The option to receive electronic delivery is available now for those ready to make the switch; early next year, it will become the default option. “We deem the electronic version of an authorization stored in ULS or the ASR System as the official Commission document,” the bureau said. The FCC sought comment on its proposals for the change, which are due at the agency Nov. 10.

The FCC should move forward on a rule change that would speed the deployment of distributed antenna systems and other wireless facilities, said AT&T Vice President Tamara Preiss in a meeting with Louis Peraertz, aide to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Consumers, public safety and the government need more wireless broadband, Preiss said, according to a filing in docket 13-238 (http://bit.ly/110LOvp). “Although spectrum is a critical input to meet this demand, spectrum alone is not sufficient,” AT&T said. “Providers must squeeze more capacity out of their spectrum resources by deploying new or improved infrastructure such as small cells and DAS facilities.” Among topics Preiss said she discussed were AT&T’s support for a Verizon proposal to exclude from historic preservation review small antenna at historic structures where similar wireless facilities are already in place. The FCC is tentatively scheduled to vote at Friday’s commissioner meeting on a wireless infrastructure order (CD Oct 8 p6). Mobile Future, meanwhile, filed comments at the FCC Friday supporting the FCC proposal. “The changes proposed by the Commission would help foster investment and innovation in our wireless networks and support the rising consumer demand that has been a hallmark of the mobile industry,” the group said. “Consumer access to high-speed wireless broadband depends on resilient infrastructure that supports those services.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a request from Copper Valley Wireless that it not be required to submit a separate letter of credit (LOC) for each of its 11 winning bids in the FCC’s Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I auction. The areas involved are all in Alaska, said the Thursday order (http://bit.ly/1CYGnuP). “Specifically, we allow Copper Valley to submit one irrevocable stand-by LOC with its longform application for Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support covering all 11 of Copper Valley’s winning bid areas.”