NetCompetition Chairman Scott Cleland blasted presidential candidacy talk from Larry Lessig, a Harvard Law School professor and net neutrality advocate. “The political agenda hidden inside Mr. Lessig’s Trojan horse candidacy is network neutrality,” Cleland wrote Monday in an op-ed for The Daily Caller. “At least part of the reason Mr. Lessig is running for president, is because he knows the partisan net neutrality gains enjoyed at the FCC are at serious risk of defunding from Congress, of overturning in court, and/or reversal by a potential Republican President in 2017.” NetCompetition receives support from the telecom industry. Lessig announced consideration of a bid last month and plans to officially announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination Wednesday. He has said he has no intention to govern as president, simply to advance a campaign finance overhaul measure and then resign.

Voxx completed its buy of biometrics company EyeLock for about $20.2 million, it said Wednesday. Voxx said last month (see 1508190039) that it was creating an “acquiring entity” to buy a majority of EyeLock, which holds more than 70 patents and pending patents in iris authentication. Voxx CEO Pat Lavelle said the acquisition holds great potential for Voxx because "biometrics increasingly has become a desired authentication mechanism for the Internet of Things, and for increased access management and security measures.” Lavelle called EyeLock the “fastest and most secure iris-authentication technology in the market,” pegging overall category revenue forecasts at $20 billion in the next five years. Lavelle said he will work with EyeLock CEO Jim Demitrieus and his team to leverage combined resources and expand reach with existing and new distribution partners, enterprises and government agencies. Before the transaction, Voxx was the exclusive distribution partner of EyeLock’s myris devices to retailers in North America and throughout Europe, and Voxx will now play a larger role in distribution and sales, it said.

Verizon raised its Q3 dividend 2.7 percent to 56.5 cents per share, the company said in a news release Thursday. The new quarterly payout is up 1.5 cents per share from the previous quarter, and increases Verizon's annual dividend by 6 cents per share to $2.26, it said. It's the ninth year in a row the company's board approved a dividend increase, said Verizon.

The North American Numbering Council scheduled its next meeting for Sept. 30, the FCC said in a public notice Wednesday in docket 92-237. The meeting is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Commission Meeting Room.

The NG9-1-1 Institute said it's seeking candidates for open positions on its board. Nominations are due Sept. 16. Six positions are open -- one education professional, one representative of a small telecom carrier/company, two representatives of vendor/integrator/software companies, one representative at large and one representative at large representing public safety/public health. “The Institute shares and enhances the mission of the Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus to promote education regarding and the advancement of emergency services nationwide,” the group said. New board members are to be seated Oct. 21.

Apple and Cisco said they’re partnering to optimize Cisco enterprise networks for iOS devices and apps. To address the increasing demands on corporate infrastructure, Cisco networks and iOS devices will be optimized so they work together more efficiently and reliably, the companies said in a Monday news release. Apple and Cisco also are working together to make iPhone “an even better business collaboration tool in Cisco voice and video environments, with the goal of providing employees with a seamless experience between iPhone and their desk phone,” they said. With Apple’s support, Cisco will deliver experiences specially optimized for iOS across mobile, cloud and premises-based collaboration tools such as Cisco Spark, Cisco Telepresence and Cisco WebEx, they said.

AT&T will begin selling the LG G Pad X 10.1 tablet Friday online with a DirecTV app pre-installed, it said Monday. Retail store sales begin Sept. 11, it said. Customers have several payment options including a bronze G Pad X for $17.50 over 20 months with an installment plan. AT&T customers can add the G Pad X to an existing Mobile Share Value Plan for $10 per month, or it can be purchased for $249 with a two-year agreement, AT&T said. The Dual Window split screen allows side-by-side viewing of two compatible apps, AT&T said, and users can pair an Android phone to the tablet to answer calls, receive and reply to texts and follow social network activity from a phone across the room.

The FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau granted waiver requests Friday to parties similarly situated to initial waiver recipients granted relief due to uncertainty about whether a fax opt-out notice requirement applies to faxes sent with recipient consent, said an order in docket 02-278 on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Junk Fax Prevention Act. The rule remains in full effect as an easy, cost-free means for fax recipients to avoid faxes they previously wanted but no longer wish to receive, the order said. The bureau also denied several related requests for declaratory ruling insofar as they seek a ruling that the commission lacked the statutory authority to require opt-out information on fax ads sent with a consumer’s prior express permission, or, alternatively, that Section 227(b) of the Communications Act wasn't the statutory basis of that requirement. It also denied the petition for declaratory ruling and/or waiver filed by Bijora Inc., seeking a clarification that fax and text message ads sent with the prior express consent of the recipient don't require an opt-out notice.

TeleCommunication Systems' VirtuMedix platform was chosen by the Iowa Clinic to provide telemedicine services to its family medicine patients, a TCS news release said Tuesday. The new telemedicine service -- the Iowa eClinic -- uses VirtuMedix so Iowa Clinic providers can serve patients remotely from any device, the company said.

The FCC awarded AT&T more than $250,000 in damages in response to the company's complaint against multiple "sham" LECs, the commission said in a decision released Friday. The commission previously granted AT&T's complaint against the three LECs -- All American Telephone Co., ChaseCom and e-Pinnacle Communications -- that claimed they billed AT&T for access services they didn't provide -- and Thursday voted to partially grant the wireless provider's request for damages. AT&T also sought interest and consequential damages, which the FCC dismissed, saying it can pursue the additional damages in court. The total amount granted by the commission is equal to the amount AT&T initially paid the defendants for their services. The commission also dismissed the defendants' motions for dismissal and a declaratory ruling. All American Telephone Company and ChaseCom could not be reached for comment. e-Pinnacle Communications didn't comment.