The FCC sought comment on the proposed sale of six lower 700 MHz B-block licenses from NTCH and affiliate WGH Communications to AT&T. “Preliminary review of the applications indicates that, as a result of the transaction, AT&T would be assigned 12 megahertz of Lower 700 MHz B Block spectrum in 18 counties in six Cellular Market Areas ... across parts of Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas,” the FCC said in a public notice. AT&T would hold 88-175 MHz in the counties covered, post-transaction, the FCC said (http://bit.ly/1jcdBfK). Petitions to deny are due April 3, oppositions April 14 and replies April 21. “To allow the Commission to consider fully all substantive issues regarding the applications in as timely and efficient a manner as possible, petitioners and commenters should raise all issues in their initial filings,” the FCC warned. “New issues may not be raised in responses or replies. A party or interested person seeking to raise a new issue after the pleading cycle has closed must show good cause why it was not possible for it to have raised the issue previously.”

The Technology Policy Institute urged creation of a “Government Spectrum Ownership Corporation,” or GSOC, to manage federal spectrum use, in comments filed Thursday at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Comments were due Thursday on a Feb. 14 request for information from OSTP (http://1.usa.gov/1l7jXkR). “There is a widespread consensus that spectrum in government hands is likely not being used efficiently and that some -- perhaps a significant amount -- could be reallocated to more efficient private uses,” TPI said. “However, efforts to determine the extent of this ’surplus’ and then to devise a method of freeing it from government hands confront a dilemma: the absence of a market mechanism, or even a budgetary mechanism, that could encourage this reallocation.” Its proposed GSOC is one answer, TPI said (http://bit.ly/1d3ZISf). “The GSOC would take possession of all government-held spectrum, with the existing user agencies granted annual leases (that are perpetually renewable at the option of the agency) at annual rental rates that are determined by the GSOC, based on its estimates of the relevant opportunity costs,” TPI said. “The GSOC would forward its net proceeds to the Treasury.” OSTP plans to post comments it receives on its website after reviewing them to ensure that no sensitive personal or proprietary information is posted, a spokeswoman said Thursday. CEA also supports government efforts to make more federal spectrum available for wireless broadband, President Gary Shapiro said Thursday. “As Americans use more and more smart, connected devices, we must have enough spectrum for them to communicate with their surroundings and with each other,” Shapiro said in a news release. “Unfortunately, our nation is running out of wireless spectrum. We have to find new ways to meet the ever-growing demand for broadband services and applications. Making federal spectrum available for commercial use is critical to addressing our nation’s spectrum needs."

The International Trade Commission said it’s ending a Section 337 Tariff Act investigation into patent infringement claims involving smartphones imported by HTC, with a finding of no violation, reversing an earlier finding by an ITC administrative law judge, said a notice from the agency scheduled for Thursday’s Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1ddIdzk). The judge had found the HTC Vivid and Droid Incredible 4G LTE infringed patents on electronic imaging devices held by FlashPoint. FlashPoint licenses those technologies to Apple and Motorola Mobility, which Google has agreed to sell to Lenovo. After a review, the commission found the Vivid and Droid phones didn’t actually infringe the FlashPoint patents, and ended the proceeding. The investigation had been ongoing since June 2012.

TracFone urged the FCC Tuesday to approve its petition to allow TracFone and other eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) to retain copies of documentation showing consumers are eligible for the commission’s Lifeline program. Waiving or amending the Lifeline rules to allow document retention will enable ETCs to “further ensure that they provide Lifeline service only to qualified households and to respond to audits and other inquiries from USAC [Universal Service Administrative Co.] and the Commission with auditable information,” TracFone said. All of the comments on the TracFone petition were supportive, with one of the main arguments for ending the FCC’s ban on Lifeline document retention that ETCs “are unable to defend themselves in the event of an audit or in-depth validation review” by USAC or the FCC, TracFone said. The FCC’s recent enforcement actions against several ETCs over allegations of duplicate Lifeline subscribers “indicates that there is a real threat of future enforcement actions” and that “it is imperative that ETCs be allowed to fully defend themselves by retaining evidence that they comply with all applicable rules” on Lifeline eligibility, TracFone said. All commenters agreed with TracFone that safeguards would reduce privacy concerns related to document retention, including document encryption, separate storage, access limitations and advance consent on Lifeline application forms, TracFone said (http://bit.ly/1eSQHqA).

The FCC should adopt “decisive” rules that implement and enforce Section 6409(a) of the of the 2012 spectrum law, PCIA’s government affairs staff told members of the FCC Wireless Bureau in a meeting Friday (http://bit.ly/1hCBTOL). The FCC has been seeking to clarify the section, which allowed for federal governance of state and local reviews of eligible requests for modification of existing wireless towers or base stations (CD Oct 29 p15). Specific rules that “define statutory terms and specify application procedures, timelines, and remedies consistent with congressional intent will promote predictability, remove uncertainty, and avoid unnecessary and costly litigation,” PCIA said in an ex parte filing released Wednesday. As the FCC defines what constitutes a modification that will “Substantially Change the Physical Dimensions,” it should apply the 2001 Collocation Programmatic Agreement’s test with modifications that will reflect the 2004 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, PCIA said. The commission should also “tie” the baseline tower size to a structure’s last zoning approval or the date the FCC instituted rules, depending on which is later. The FCC should approve all eligible “legal, non-conforming structures” within 45 days “without exception and without discretionary review,” but jurisdictions may still require adherence to building codes, PCIA said. The group also urged the FCC to implement Section 332(c)(7) and the Shot Clock, arguing that the group’s members “continue to experience undue delay as a result of additional information requests and moratoria.” To prevent backup, the FCC must establish a “floor” for application readiness, PCIA said. The group also requested the FCC streamline its environmental and historic review process for distributed antenna systems and small cells by “categorically” excluding facilities that meet a tech-neutral, volume-based definition.

Globalstar again said the FCC should adopt safeguards to minimize the risk of harmful interference to the company’s licensed services from the deployment of outdoor access points in the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure band. Neither the commission nor parties to this proceeding “truly know what new technologies and new services will be developed [for] this unlicensed spectrum over the next 15 years,” it said in an ex parte filing posted Tuesday to docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1gAdZB5). The commission should work to find solutions to increasing Wi-Fi congestion in the U.S., but it must ensure that Globalstar’s licensed mobile satellite services operations are protected from harmful interference, it said. Globalstar also urged the FCC to deny and dismiss Iridium’s petition to revisit the band plan in the Big Low Earth Orbit. Globalstar utilizes the full L band and the full S band in its Big LEO spectrum on a daily basis “throughout its global coverage area to provide critical voice and data communications,” it said. Last week, Globalstar and BNP Paribas met with International Bureau Chief Mindel De La Torre and other bureau staff, it said. The FCC is tentatively scheduled to vote March 31 on an order about spectrum cable operators, and allies seek to use for Wi-Fi that’s been the subject of conflicts with Globalstar (CD March 3 p1).

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."

In spectrum licenses, “size matters,” and offering smaller blocks for sale will mean a more competitive AWS-3 auction, said T-Mobile Vice President Kathleen Ham Wednesday in a posting on the carrier’s blog. “Verizon and AT&T are advocating for big blocks covering big geographic areas,” Ham said (http://bit.ly/1dquzDv). “However, an auction with too many large blocks is a configuration that has the real potential to dissuade competitive carriers from participating in the auction. By contrast, smaller spectrum blocks with a mix of large and small geographic areas will provide the greatest opportunity for a wide variety of bidders to participate and obtain licenses that match their licensing needs.” The FCC faces a Goldilocks choice as it designs the auction, Ham said: “It should keep in mind that neither bigger nor smaller is always better. Rather, if the spectrum block and geographic area sizes are just right, the auction will surely be a success."

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).

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.