The FCC and NTIA jointly summarized their July 18 public notice on coordination procedures for the AWS-3 bands, in the Federal Register Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1oDDsin). FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai had sharply criticized Chairman Tom Wheeler for allowing the Wireless Bureau to approve the public notice on coordination on the 1695-1710 MHz and 1755-1780 MHz bands using delegated authority (CD July 21 p11).

Sprint won’t participate in the FCC’s upcoming AWS-3 auction but “will continue to evaluate the opportunities presented by the upcoming 600 MHz incentive auction,” a spokesman said Friday. Industry observers had anticipated that Sprint wouldn’t get involved in the AWS-3 auction due in part to its interest in next year’s incentive auction (CD Sept 12 p1). Friday started an eight-week “quiet period” when “few to no” secondary spectrum transactions are likely to occur because parties interested in bidding in the AWS-3 auction can’t speak to one another during the two months before the auction’s Nov. 13 start date, said Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche in a note to investors. The “explosive” growth in mobile data usage since the U.S.’s last significant spectrum auction in 2008 and significant uncertainty about the incentive auction mean carriers will “see this as their last chance to get their hands on some spectrum for a while (at least from the government),” Fritzsche said.

One tower executive predicted some 90,000 cell sites will be built in the U.S. in the next five years, and tower companies continue to express a preference for macro rather than small cell sites, said Wells Fargo analyst Jennifer Fritzsche Thursday in a research report, citing discussions her firm hosted at CTIA. The “densification” of AT&T’s and Verizon’s networks is “still in the early stages,” with Sprint and T-Mobile “not even starting this effort,” she said. “In terms of challenges -- a continued theme was on the aging of some of the tower assets,” she said. “The point was made that many of the current towers were built at a time when cell sites were much smaller. The analogy was made that carriers are trying to put a VW Bug on top of a popsicle stick."

The Canadian National Railway Company (CNRC) agreed to pay a $5.25 million civil penalty to settle the FCC Enforcement Bureau’s investigation into the company’s purchase and use of hundreds of wireless radio facilities in the U.S. without prior FCC approval, the FCC said Thursday. Some of the CNRC’s radio operations had been ongoing since 1990 under CNRC’s predecessors, more than two decades before the company disclosed the violations, the FCC said. “Today’s action sends a clear and strong message to the railroad industry, as well as other industries that rely on wireless technology, that they will face very serious consequences when they fail to comply with the Commission’s Rules,” Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1pcfIRQ).

Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan alerted Congress Sept. 8 that OMB authorized $69.9 million be released from the Spectrum Relocation Fund to several government agencies, he told Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in a letter. The money went to the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and Interior, all with an eye toward the AWS-3 auction. “We are pleased that OMB Director Donovan has approved funding to allow the affected agencies to continue planning for Auction 97,” said Wireless Broadband Coalition Executive Director David Taylor in a statement. “Doing so avoids potential delays in the relocation process and sets the stage for a successful auction -- one that promises to fully fund federal agency relocation costs while protecting critical national security communications capabilities. Auction 97 has the potential to benefit consumers and taxpayers, generate billions in additional funding for FirstNet, promote US broadband deployment, and create thousands of jobs in the US."

Representatives from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers (AAM), the Association of Global Automakers (AGA), GM and Toyota met Sept. 4 and 5 with aides to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and the other four FCC commissioners, along with Office of Engineering and Technology Chief Engineer Julius Knapp and other OET staff. The auto industry representatives said in an ex parte posted Tuesday that they briefed FCC staff on the status of Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) operations in the 5.9 GHz band. The industry representatives also discussed their participation in the IEEE Tiger Team discussions exploring the feasibility of unlicensed use of the 5.9 GHz band (http://bit.ly/YxBlqz).

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) said it granted approval for Google to operate its TV band database with new registration procedures for protected facilities (http://bit.ly/ZhbAuu). Google’s new registration procedures replace procedures used by Spectrum Bridge, another approved TV band database administrator that currently manages registration of protected entities on Google’s behalf. OET began a 45-day limited public trial of the new registration procedures June 2 (CD May 29 p6). Google is providing requisite registration facilities for protection registration online, OET said Wednesday.

Amazon said Prime members in the U.S., U.K and Germany can view Prime Instant Video on Android phones after downloading the latest update of the Amazon App for Android (http://bit.ly/1qCxB1h). Android smartphone users will have access to more than 200,000 movies and TV show episodes via the Prime Instant Video player app at no cost in addition to Prime membership, which was raised in April to $99 per year, the company said Tuesday.

Apple revealed plans for a new mobile payment system called Apple Pay during a Tuesday event in which the company unveiled a number of new products, including the iPhone 6. (See separate report above in this issue.) “We're totally reliant on the exposed numbers and the security codes that all of us know aren’t secure,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook during his presentation. Apple Pay allows users to scan a credit card, Cook said, uploading the information into their phone or Apple Watch -- a new wearable smart watch the company announced Tuesday. Cook said this process will be more secure because it generates a different code each time a user pays, reducing credit card information exposure. Apple has faced FTC action over unauthorized in-app mobile purchases, agreeing to refund at least $32.5 million in January (CD Jan 16 p12). Apple account security was also questioned after the hacking of dozens of celebrities’ Apple accounts. Apple Pay will be available in October, said the company’s website (http://bit.ly/1tIjfyR).

A day before the anticipated debut of the iPhone 6, T-Mobile vowed Monday to “beat the big carriers’ best trade-in values on used devices” and help consumers “get the very best deal on the hottest new devices.” Consumers can now have peace of mind when they're ready to upgrade, “knowing that their trade-in at T-Mobile is the best deal they'll find anywhere compared to AT&T, Sprint and Verizon,” T-Mobile said (http://bit.ly/1ufQbgI). The industry will soon see introduction of “some of the most phenomenal devices ever,” T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a statement. “That means a whole lot of Americans trading-in their devices and upgrading. For years, the big carriers have been ripping off their customers with low-ball trade-in values, so we're putting an end to that and guaranteeing we'll give customers what they deserve -- the best value in the industry.” To make good on its guarantee, “T-Mobile will track the market every day to ensure we keep our promise,” the company said. “If a customer can find a better trade-in offer from a major national carrier, T-Mobile will beat that offer, give them the difference back and because we value this help from our customers we will top it off with another $50!” The offer begins Sept. 17 and will run “for a limited time,” it said.