The Rural Wireless Association warned the FCC that many carriers won’t be able to make a target date of Dec. 31 for being able to route emergency texts to public safety answering points (PSAPs) (CD April 8 p10). For carriers now deploying LTE-only networks, texting can’t be provided until IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) software is integrated into the LTE core, “which is dependent on the release of IMS software by major equipment and software vendors,” RWA said (http://bit.ly/1eeVkAV). “Such software has not been made available for use by small wireless carriers, and realistically it cannot be expected to be made available for national use until the nation’s two largest wireless carriers have demanded the release of IMS” from vendors, said RWA. “Implementation of data roaming on a national basis at commercially reasonable rates is necessary to justify” a carrier’s investment in IMS, it said. T-Mobile said a “primary remaining potential impediment” is that the major text control center (TCC) providers are not yet fully interconnected. “Until that happens, T-Mobile will not be able to reach PSAPs that are not served by T-Mobile’s TCC vendor,” the carrier said (http://bit.ly/1ittfCB). “The absence of full interconnection and interoperability between TCCs has the potential to affect PSAPs who wish to implement the service, as lack of interconnection and interoperability may hinder their access to all carriers. To ensure all PSAPs can benefit from the voluntary commitment, the Commission’s near-term focus should be on solidifying these interconnection arrangements.”

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.

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.

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.”

The FCC Wireless Bureau denied a waiver sought by the Port Authority of New York, which asked for additional time to build a land mobile radio station. The bureau said the authority was issued a license for the station in June 2012, requiring construction to be complete within 12 months, and a subsequent extension through Feb. 13. On March 10, the authority submitted a new waiver and extension request. “The licensee is solely responsible for complying with its construction requirements,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1mZSK1q). “Inattention to Commission rules due to oversight is not a compelling basis for a waiver. Furthermore, we note that the Commission has emphasized that requiring licensees to file extension requests on a timely basis serves important policy objectives and has upheld the dismissal of untimely requests for extension."

FirstNet’s board met for about 50 minutes in closed session Tuesday, before returning and announcing no actions had been taken. “There are matters that FirstNet will discuss from time to time that require closed meetings, and that includes when confidential and commercial information is being discussed or privileged or confidential matters, personnel matters and other legal matters,” said Uzoma Onyeije, secretary of FirstNet.

The FCC sought comment on a TextMe petition asking the agency to clarify the meaning of the term “capacity” as used in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s definition of “automatic telephone dialing system,” said a Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau notice (http://bit.ly/1hxHEvf). TextMe also asked the FCC to clarify “that users of TextMe’s service, instead of TextMe itself, make or send calls or text messages for purposes of the TCPA. In the alternative, TextMe requests that the Commission clarify that third-party consent obtained through an intermediary satisfies the TCPA’s ‘prior express consent’ requirement for calls and texts to wireless numbers.” Comments are due May 7, replies May 22. Last month, the FCC offered some clarity on other questions raised about the TCPA (CD March 31 p7). TextMe said by offering clarity, the FCC could help curb TCPA-related class-action lawsuits. “Rather than discourage the abusive marketing practices that Congress and the Commission found harmful to consumers, these lawsuits stifle innovation and threaten the development of novel tools for communication,” TextMe said (http://bit.ly/QY49EP). “Commission action is necessary to prevent the TCPA from being read so broadly as to deprive consumers of access to innovative products and services.”

Cincinnati Bell said it plans to sell spectrum and tower assets to Verizon Wireless for $210 million -- $194 million in cash and $16 million in tower liabilities. Cincinnati Bell’s spectrum holdings include 40-50 MHz in the PCS and AWS blocks in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets and 12 MHz in the 700 MHz A block in the Dayton market. The deal is set to close in the second of half of the year, subject to regulatory approvals. Cincinnati Bell said it will lease back some of the spectrum via Grain Management so it can continue to operate its wireless services for 8-12 months. Cincinnati Bell said it will provide further transition information to its wireless customers as the closing date for the deal approaches. The carrier had 340,000 wireless subscribers at the end of 2013 in the Cincinnati and Dayton markets, and adjacent areas in southeast Indiana and northern Kentucky. The deal does not affect Cincinnati Bell’s wireline operations. It had “become economically challenging for us to invest in our wireless business at the levels necessary to deliver best-in-class service to our customers,” said Cincinnati Bell CEO Ted Torbeck in a Monday news release. The deal will allow Cincinnati Bell to focus on the “growing demand” for its Fioptics services, he said (http://bit.ly/1gECDB0).

The FCC Public Safety Bureau reminded government licensees with 700 MHz narrowband spectrum they have only until June 13 to demonstrate they are providing substantial service to at least one-third of their population. The requirement covers spectrum in the 769-775/799-805 MHz bands. The licensees face a five-year benchmark filing in June and a 10-year filing in June 2019. “State Licensees that do not meet the interim substantial service benchmark, e.g., because they have failed to construct or receive funding for any facilities by the June 13, 2014 deadline, will be subject to license cancellation or modification, and recovered State License spectrum will revert to General Use subject to regional planning,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1emrHbn). “Bureau staff will issue subsequent guidance to regional planning committees to facilitate the licensing of any recovered State License spectrum."

Spectrum aggregation limits in Canada’s recent 700 MHz auction meant a more competitive auction, with higher prices and competitive carriers winning some of the spectrum, University of Maryland economist Peter Cramton said in comments filed at the FCC on behalf of T-Mobile. “The main lesson from the Canadian 700 MHz auction is that well-crafted spectrum-aggregation limits can succeed in encouraging valuable competition in the mobile industry without sacrificing auction revenues,” Cramton said (http://bit.ly/1gVIerq). “Were the Canadian auction conducted without limits, it seems likely that the regional operators would have been pushed aside by the much stronger Big 3.” Rogers “as a result of a network sharing arrangement between Bell and Telus had the most to lose if it failed to get” the A and B blocks, he said. “Rogers competed aggressively for AB and won in all the major markets paying CD$4.32 per MHz/POP, about twice the overall average auction price of CD$2.32. The C block also commanded a high price.” Like the Canadian market, the U.S. market is highly concentrated, Cramton said. “In the U.S., the Big 2 [carriers] have 67 percent market share and hold roughly 80 percent of the low-band spectrum, which is best-suited to providing coverage within buildings and in more difficult terrain. Were the Big 2 to dominate the 600 MHz auction, competition in the mobile broadband market would be harmed.” Also on spectrum aggregation, Verizon disputed arguments in a T-Mobile white paper, the T-Mobile USF Mobile Model Report (http://bit.ly/1efEsUX). “T-Mobile recently submitted a cost study analyzing deployment costs in rural markets for different types of spectrum,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/1i85oqI). “That study provides no support for T-Mobile’s claim that it or any other firm is in danger of being ‘foreclosed’ from competing effectively in any market. The economic evidence shows there is no valid basis for the Commission to abandon its longstanding and successful policy of assigning spectrum to those firms that value it most and that will put it to use promptly to serve their customers."