The FCC Technological Advisory Council Tuesday asked for expressions of interest from anyone interested in serving on a working group “committed to exploring multilayered solutions to mobile device theft.” Applications to join the group and nominations of potential members are due at the FCC July 8, said a public notice (http://bit.ly/1rvkYTP).

Information security teams generally lack knowledge and tools to detect security incidents involving mobile devices and fix the problem before major damage occurs, said AccessData and Gigaom Research Tuesday in a report. A “significant” percentage of entities take almost no steps to ensure company-issued or employee-supplied mobile devices are secure when interacting with corporate data, the report said, citing an InformationWeek survey that found only 46 percent of entities required employees using their own devices for corporate purposes to run a MDM client on the device. Fewer entities have procedures to adequately respond to a security incident involving mobile devices, the report said. AccessData and Gigaom recommended information security teams expand their training and tools to deal with mobile device-related incidents (http://bit.ly/1nzZzq4).

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology Monday asked for comment on a public trial of Comsearch’s TV white spaces database. The trial ended April 9. Comsearch told the FCC in a June report that during the 45-day trial, 63 different parties visited its site, with seven offering comments (http://bit.ly/1j8b85e). Comments to the FCC are due July 8, replies July 15, OET said in a public notice (http://bit.ly/1pbzvXL).

The FCC asked for comment on a Land Mobile Communications Council proposal that the agency extend conditional licensing authority to applicants for Part 90 site-based licenses in the 470-512 MHz and 800/900 MHz bands. But the Wireless and Public Safety bureaus refused to give LMCC a waiver it also sought pending the completion of a rulemaking (http://bit.ly/1nx8Ted). The LMCC asked for the change in a May 15 petition, arguing that it would provide greater flexibility for applicants “without compromising the quality of service available in T-Band or in the 800/900 MHz bands” (http://bit.ly/V64jw2). If approved, applicants could start using the spectrum while their applications are before the FCC, provided certain conditions are met, the LMCC said. The bureaus said Monday most applicants seeking a new station or to modify an existing public land mobile radio (PLMR) station below 470 MHz are permitted to operate the proposed station during the application’s pendency for a period of up to 180 days, stating 10 days after the application is submitted to the commission. This flexibility is not allowed for applicants in the PLMR bands above 470 MHz. LMCC said in its petition the distinction no longer makes sense. Comments are due July 23, replies Aug. 7.

LTE subscribers use “dramatically larger amounts of data than 3G subscribers,” Mobidia Technology said Monday in a report. LTE subscribers in Hong Kong averaged nearly 100 percent more data consumption than 3G subscribers during the first four months of 2014, the period covered by the report. LTE subscribers in Japan, South Korea and the U.S. had the top average data usage per subscriber, with subscribers in Japan using 3 GB per month during the study period, Mobidia said. LTE subscribers are also becoming increasingly reliant on Wi-Fi, with 75 to 90 percent of all mobile data usage from LTE phones occurring on Wi-Fi networks in major LTE markets (http://bit.ly/1izWbOr).

The FCC fined Indigo Wireless $39,000 for failing to offer to consumers the required number or percentage of hearing-aid compatible handsets in 2009. In December 2010, the FCC issued a notice of apparent liability for that amount against the carrier. In a response, Indigo questioned whether it was in violation and argued that the amount of the fine was “excessive, arbitrary, and would cause financial hardship to the company,” said an Enforcement Bureau order released Friday (http://bit.ly/1rqvI5W). The bureau said it found “no basis for cancellation or reduction of the proposed forfeiture.” The bureau disputed Indigo’s contention that any violation was not willful. “Willful noncompliance is not predicated on a finding of knowledge or intent to violate the law,” the bureau said. The fine is not out of line, said the bureau: “A carrier’s failure to offer the requisite number or percentage of digital hearing aid-compatible handset models can never be regarded as a minor violation, given the significance of the requirement.” Indigo had no comment.

The value of spectrum in the upcoming AWS-3 and TV incentive auctions is hard to predict and is based on more factors than growing demands for wireless data, said Citi analysts including Michael Rollins in a research report Sunday. The value of spectrum is also affected by the number of cell sites a carrier deploys and technology, Rollins wrote. “There is an economic trade-off between buying spectrum vs. building more sites,” he said. “In effect, the economic value of spectrum is tethered to the benefit of avoided cell site costs to serve the data traffic growth.” Rollins offered projected revenue for the auctions, predicting that a 10x10 MHz block will bring in $1.97 per MHz-POP; a 5x5 block, $1.20/MHz-POP; 10 MHz uplink spectrum, $0.87/MHz-POP; and 5 MHz uplink spectrum, $0.53/MHz-POP.

Carriers need certainty on when post-auction payments are due following the AWS-3 auction, CTIA said in reply comments to the commission. Uncertainty makes planning for the auction difficult for carriers likely to spend “millions, or even billions of dollars” for AWS-3 licenses, CTIA said Monday in a filing in docket 14-78 (http://bit.ly/1lLh1JV). “Uncertainty regarding payment deadlines could complicate and/or determine how capital is raised, how cash flow is managed, and how financials are reported,” CTIA said. “With such obstacles, full auction participation may be discouraged.” Specifically, the FCC should clarify that down payments and final payments are both due in 2015. The auction is to start Nov. 13. CTIA said auctions like the AWS-3 auction generally run one or two months.

Virgin Mobile said Friday it plans to begin offering its $20-per-month payLo mobile plans Saturday. The two plans, offered in partnership with Walmart, would allow a subscriber access to either unlimited voice minutes or text messages. The unlimited voice plan would also include 50 text messages per month, while the unlimited text plan would include 50 minutes of voice per month, Virgin Mobile said. Subscribers on the payLo plans can choose between two devices -- the Kyocera Kona or the Samsung Montage. Additional voice minutes cost 10 cents per minute, while each additional text message costs 15 cents, Virgin Mobile said. Picture messages cost 25 cents per message, while Internet access costs $1.50 per megabyte (http://wervirg.in/1qq7n05).

T-Mobile’s unlimited data plans for music streaming with Rhapsody’s new unRadio service is the “latest example of ISPs using data caps to undermine net neutrality,” said Michael Weinberg, Public Knowledge vice president, in a blog post included in a Friday email to PK supporters (http://bit.ly/1pnVVmd). Some net neutrality experts are worried the deal gives less credibility to data caps, while others see the partnership as a victory for consumers (CD June 20 p8). T-Mobile has joined AT&T and Comcast as ISPs that use “data caps as a pretext to manipulate how its users experience the internet,” said Weinberg.