The FCC released a document Wednesday listing all handsets used by every U.S. carrier (http://bit.ly/1fR06zL) at the end of 2013. The agency also posted information on handsets offered in the U.S. during the same time frame, offering information on air interface technology, the bands they operate in and whether they are rated for use with hearing aids (http://bit.ly/1kiQhvI).

Verizon agreed to pay $50,000 and take other steps to end an FCC investigation of whether it violated the commission’s radiofrequency exposure (RFE) limits in Philadelphia and Hartford. The FCC found that rooftop transmitters at one site in each city “may have violated” the RFE rules, the Enforcement Bureau said (http://bit.ly/1hXavcP). “To resolve the investigations, Verizon Wireless will pay $50,000 and implement a rigorous compliance plan to protect Verizon Wireless employees, contractors, and other people who may come into contact with radiofrequency emissions from Verizon Wireless facilities,” the bureau said. “The plan includes training for Verizon Wireless employees and contractors, periodic inspections of approximately 5,000 Verizon Wireless sites, reporting requirements, and other safety measures."

A Florida man who allegedly jammed consumer cellphone service from his car for nearly two years and interfered with first-responder communications faces a possible $48,000 fine from the FCC, the agency said in a release Tuesday (http://fcc.us/1iHV3GJ). FCC Enforcement Bureau agents identified Jason Humphreys of Seffner, Fla., as the source of the interference by using sophisticated interference detection techniques (http://fcc.us/1m7XHIX). Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Humphreys’ vehicle while he was apparently operating the jammer and seized the illegal jamming device, the release said. Humphreys’ jammer operation “could and may have had disastrous consequences” by precluding the use of cellphones to reach 911, the FCC said. Signal jammers are transmitters that intentionally interfere with cellphone calls, GPS systems, Wi-Fi networks and first-responder communications..

The FCC Wireless Bureau said Tuesday Dish Network has made all required payments and the satellite operator is officially awarded the 176 H-block licenses it bought in a February auction (CD Feb 28 p3). Dish bid a total of $1.564 billion through a subsidiary, American H Block Wireless. Dish paid a low of $10,000 for the American Samoa licenses and a high of $216.955 million for the license covering New York City and adjoining areas. “Upon further review, we find that the application is complete and conforms to the Commission’s rules,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1iE83x0).

Honeywell Aerospace said it will be AT&T’s exclusive hardware provider of domestic air-to-ground communication for the carrier’s planned in-flight connectivity services. AT&T has said it plans to provide 4G LTE service to passengers in-flight by the end of 2015. Honeywell said it will build exclusive hardware for AT&T’s air-to-ground system, which will integrate with Honeywell’s GX and L-Band satellite systems. The air-to-ground system is meant to only work on domestic flights, but connectivity to Honeywell satellites could allow global connectivity, Honeywell said Tuesday (http://prn.to/1kknLuX).

Amazon launched a wearable technology store at its website that it called a “one-stop shop” for consumers to find the newest wearable technology and research wearable devices including activity trackers, smart watches and wearable cameras. The online store features established brands including Samsung, Jawbone and GoPro, along with products from “emerging” brands including Basis and Misfit, and devices from new players including Narrative and Bionym, Amazon said Tuesday. Amazon is seeing “rapid innovation” in the wearable category and its customers are increasingly visiting its website to learn more about such devices, said John Nemeth, Amazon director-wireless and mobile electronics, in a news release. Amazon’s new wearable store features a Learning Center that includes product videos and detailed buying guides.

The FirstNet board Monday named Ali Afrashteh chief technology officer. Afrashteh is a Clearwire veteran who also logged time with Sprint and Nextel, among other wireless companies, FirstNet said. Afrashteh will “manage FirstNet’s planning and deployment of technology programs and initiatives and provide expertise on strategic wireless technology and network operational planning,” FirstNet said in a news release.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected a challenge by Alpine PCS to an FCC decision to re-auction two licenses the company had bought in a 1996 auction. The FCC took that step after Alpine failed to make timely payments. The D.C. Circuit decided the case without oral argument. The court said it had affirmed the FCC’s decision in 2010, but in January 2013 Alpine filed a breach-of-contract suit against the FCC in a trial court. “The court dismissed the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction,” the D.C. Circuit said in its order (http://bit.ly/1rEQ63N). “First, Alpine claims a forum selection clause within the contracts it signed with FCC is controlling because Congress provided a waiver of sovereign immunity in 47 U.S.C. § 309(j). Second, Alpine contends the district court erred in not deferring to FCC’s interpretation of its jurisdiction, as purportedly embodied in that contract clause, in accordance with City of Arlington v. FCC. ... Because each argument is clearly foreclosed by statute and precedent, we affirm the district court’s judgment."

Mobile Future filed a paper at the FCC questioning the net effect of bidding limits the Canadian government imposed in two recent spectrum auctions -- AWS spectrum in 2008 and 700 MHz spectrum this year. “The analysis concludes that exclusionary auction rules, such as spectrum set-asides or caps, prevent efficient competition and hinder investment in the state-of-the-art wireless networks and services that consumers are demanding,” Mobile Future said (http://bit.ly/1fltxzo). “These asymmetric rules essentially add up to public subsidies that are wasted on either established players who would have bid vigorously at full market value or lost to new entrants that, similar to the European experience with preferential rules, consistently fail.” The paper cites as an example Quebecor’s purchase of licenses outside its home market in Quebec. “Quebecor has made clear the spectrum, which had no other significant bidder, was acquired for its ‘advantageous price,’ with the CEO publicly stating that it remains uncertain if it would ’sit’ on the spectrum or ‘do something with it,'” Mobile Future said. “At this stage, few analysts expect Videotron, which is owned by Quebecor, to develop a network outside of Quebec."

The Minority Media and Telecom Council asked FCC officials to revise the agency’s designated entity (DE) rules in time for upcoming auctions, said a filing at the commission. “As a result of consolidation and an unstable regulatory climate after the 2006 DE Rule changes, DEs encountered, and continue to encounter, unique market entry barriers that prevent meaningful DE participation ... in spectrum auctions,” MMTC said (http://bit.ly/1m2Qk5H). “While the 2006 DE Rules were in effect, DE participation drastically declined. As the Commission prepares for the upcoming AWS and incentive auctions, it is critical for the FCC to send a clear signal to the wireless industry (and to the financial industry) that the DE program is important to the FCC and that the FCC is making improvements that will foster diversity and competition in spectrum ownership and provide the regulatory stability that is required for investment."