Wiley Rein said a group within the law firm will provide advice to companies deploying unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, for commercial use. “These systems promise to revolutionize global commerce as diverse businesses and Internet retailers race to launch UAS as a newsgathering tool for media outlets, a high-speed delivery option for consumer products, and a vital device in search and rescue operations, among other uses,” the firm said (http://bit.ly/1lNms9V). “The Wiley Rein Team is identifying, anticipating, and monitoring the full range of legal, regulatory, technological, and legislative issues that will determine how and when UAS -- also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) -- are deployed in the U.S. and around the world.” Mike Senkowski, head of the firm’s telecom practice, is heading the UAS group. CEA and the Aerospace Industries Association last month jointly wrote the Federal Aviation Administration urging “expedited” action on a long-delayed rulemaking regulating safe UAS use in U.S. airspace (CD March 28 p16).

Verizon asked the FCC to “remove as moot” an agency-imposed condition that Verizon’s voting rights in three wireless partnerships be held in trust. As part of a 2009 merger, Verizon acquired Alltel’s interests in three partnerships holding wireless licenses: Illinois Valley Cellular RSA #2-II Partnership, Northwest Missouri Cellular Limited Partnership and Pittsfield Cellular, Verizon said (http://bit.ly/1jwJqRC). “The condition requiring the voting trust was expressly premised on the fact that a single foreign entity, Vodafone, would hold a 45 percent ownership interest in Verizon Wireless and, through ALLTEL, in the three partnerships,” Verizon said. But in February, Verizon completed its $150 billion deal to buy Vodafone’s 45 percent of Verizon Wireless, the carrier noted. “Verizon Wireless is now owned 100 percent by Verizon,” Verizon said. “In addition, the stock of Verizon is held by a widely dispersed body of shareholders, and no single foreign shareholder owns more than five percent of its stock. As a result, the basis for the voting trust no longer exists.”

SureCall said its machine-to-machine signal booster is the first M2M device to be certified under revised FCC signal booster rules. Use of M2M boosters “is rapidly expanding into new industries,” said CEO Hongtao Zhan. “Being the first to receive approval for an M2M booster is certainly a great advantage for our company, but more importantly it’s beneficial for all M2M customers whose machines rely on boosters to consistently communicate data.” The device supports 2G and 3G frequencies offered by all major carriers and provides a maximum gain of 15dB, SureCall said in a news release Thursday.

Many U.S. consumers will use smartphones or tablets for their Easter shopping this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Easter Spending Survey, NRF said Wednesday. Of those who own smartphones, 23.4 percent of consumers will use their device to research products or compare prices, it said. Only 12.2 percent will make their purchases with smartphones, it said. And 19.2 percent of tablet owners will make a purchase on their device, but most will just research holiday gifts, apparel and other items (30.2 percent), it said. The survey was done for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics March 4-11. The average American celebrating the holiday will spend $137.46 this year, compared to $145.13 spent last year, said NRF. Total spending on the holiday is expected to reach $15.9 billion in the U.S., it said. Just under 6,400 consumers were polled for the survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points, said NRF.

The FCC Enforcement Bureau proposed a $10,000 fine for Acumen Communications for allegedly operating its land mobile radio station on two unauthorized frequencies. Unauthorized operations undermine the FCC’s radio licensing system and could cause interference to licensed communications, the bureau said in a notice of apparent liability (http://bit.ly/1mYg6Y3). Acumen acknowledged the unauthorized operation of WQHT586 Los Angeles on 152.405 MHz and 157.665 MHz, and, “given Acumen’s history as a repeat offender, this violation warrants stringent enforcement action,” the bureau said.

Global smartphone applications processor revenue is forecast to reach $30 billion by 2018 on a 10.8 percent compound annual growth rate, Strategy Analytics said Wednesday in a report. The market will receive a boost from LTE-Advanced, 64-bit, multi-core and semiconductor process technologies, the firm said. Meanwhile, stand-alone applications processors’ share of the market is forecast to decrease to 28 percent by 2018 from 38 percent in 2012, Strategy Analytics said. That drop is due to increased pressure from integrated vendors like Broadcom, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Spreadtrum, Strategy Analytics said (http://bit.ly/1sBx9jP).

TracFone representatives urged the FCC to make two changes to rules for its Lifeline program, during a meeting with Wireline Bureau officials. TracFone pressed for action on its May 2012 petition asking the FCC to require that Lifeline providers retain and make available, for audit eligibility, documentation which applicants are required to produce, said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1krvITP). The company also asked the agency to address its May proposal that the commission prohibit in-person distribution of handsets associated with Lifeline-supported service. “Such a prohibition will eliminate the widely-criticized practice engaged in by some providers of handing out phones on street corners, out of car trunks, at parks and fairs, and other locations,” the carrier said. “Such practices have been ... subject to numerous videos and other news reports and have besmirched the entire Lifeline industry and those who regulate it.”

Wilson Electronics’ full line of cellular signal boosters has completed FCC certification, the company said in a Tuesday news release. Wilson said it has 12 boosters certified under the new standard (http://bit.ly/PYNnEj). “This is the culmination of more than a year of hard work by our entire team in order to ensure existing products and newly developed models comply with recently adopted FCC technical standards,” said CEO Bob Van Buskirk.

Nearly 50 percent of tablet and smartphone users “don’t take basic precautions such as using passwords, having security software or backing up files on their mobile devices,” said a summary (http://bit.ly/1k035dO) of the Symantec-commissioned Norton Report on cybersecurity released Tuesday. The report surveyed 13,022 adult Internet users in 24 countries in 2013, said the summary. The “total global direct cost of cybercrime” was $113 billion, up from $110 billion in 2012, it said. Victims of cybercrime suffered an average loss of $298 per crime, compared with $197 per crime in 2012, it said. “We're living in the era of the ‘Mega Breach’ -- with a 62 percent increase in breaches in 2013 -- and attacks are getting bigger and more vicious,” said Kevin Haley, Symantec security response director, by email. “Mega Data Breaches went from 1 in 2012 to 8 in 2013 -- this marks a shift in cybercrimincal behavior from years past,” he said. “Today’s cybercriminals are using more sophisticated attacks, such as ransomware and spear-phishing, which yield them more money per attack than ever before,” said Symantec Chief Technology Officer Stephen Trilling in a news release (http://bit.ly/1hYkfI0). “If this was a test, mobile consumers would be failing,” said Marian Merritt, Symantec Internet safety advocate, in the release. “While consumers are protecting their computers, there is a general lack of awareness to safeguard their smartphones and tablets,” she said.

The FCC is the most likely roadblock to Sprint’s potential buy of T-Mobile, but a merger remains possible, even given concerns raised by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, said BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk Tuesday in a blog post. “Chairman Wheeler has voiced his skepticism about the potential for a Sprint/T-Mobile deal but we believe he is well suited to evaluate the transaction on its merits,” Piecyk wrote. “The wireless industry not only faces new competition from more Wi-Fi buildouts but can also offer new competition to the wired broadband industry. Competition is not just about lower prices but also about investment in the network, a reality that is likely to be recognized in several European markets that are evaluating the benefits of consolidation.” Piecyk said T-Mobile and Sprint together are investing less in their networks than either AT&T or Verizon individually. “Even today, Sprint offers the slowest LTE speeds in the industry as a result of its under-investment and its narrow use of spectrum,” he said. “Meanwhile, T-Mobile recently paid $2.03/MHz/POP for the worst of available 700 MHz spectrum because they did not have the capital to adequately compete in the original 700 MHz auction.”