Submitting refined study area boundary maps, necessary for implementation of the FCC’s Connect America Fund benchmarking rule, “would require a very substantial, industry-wide effort with (at best) speculative results,” and in any case cannot be completed by Jan. 13, Verizon told the FCC in a filing Monday (http://bit.ly/19AIKUt). Verizon was writing to support a Dec. 17 petition by several ILEC associations -- including USTelecom, of which Verizon is a member -- to stay the requirement, or grant an extension of time to reconcile study area boundaries (CD Dec 19 p12). The Wireline Bureau’s proposal that ILECs review an online map of aggregate study area boundary data and resolve and recertify overlaps and voids is “an extensive process” that can’t realistically be performed by the requested deadline, Verizon said. It’s not even clear that the data will be needed at all, the ILEC said, given that it’s intended for use as an input to the quantile regression analysis, which may itself be eliminated (CD Dec 18 p2). Even if the commission continues to use the quantile regression analysis, the Jan. 13 deadline doesn’t give ILECs and state commissions enough time to reconcile and revise their study area boundary data, Verizon said.

Several associations for deaf and hard of hearing people supported a request by cvideo relay service providers for a one-year waiver of the daily measurement of speed of answer (SoA) requirement, they told the FCC in a letter Saturday (http://bit.ly/1cij9iY). The rule and associated penalties are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The groups “appreciate the stronger SoA requirements but are concerned that significant rate reductions were imposed in the same order without taking in account the costs for the new SoA requirements,” they said. SoA measurements should be calculated daily, but meeting this requirement in the next year “may not be feasible” in some instances, and could cause providers to incur “significant costs through overstaffing” to meet the requirements, they said. The groups, including Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the National Association of the Deaf, recommended implementation of the new 30-second SoA requirement without penalty as a “testing phase” for one year.

Tribune closed on its $2.2 billion purchase of Local TV, Tribune said in a news release Friday (http://bit.ly/19sYNta). The FCC approved the transaction Dec. 20 (CD Dec 23 p3). Tribune now owns 39 TV stations, and provides services through sharing agreements to three former Local TV stations now owned by Dreamcatcher. As a result of the sale, Tribune is both the largest Fox affiliate group and the largest CW affiliate group in the U.S., the release said. “The transaction creates the largest combined independent broadcast group and content creator in the country,” Tribune said.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology granted a waiver Monday to Autoliv ASP and Caterpillar that temporarily exempts the companies from the FCC’s Section 15.515(c) emissions rules. The waiver allows Autoliv to continue manufacturing and marketing its C4 vehicular radars to Caterpillar until Dec. 31, 2014 -- and for Caterpillar to continue importing the radars until the same date. The radars comply with the FCC’s existing Section 15.515(c) emissions limits, but do not comply with revised limits set to take effect Wednesday. Autoliv and Caterpillar had told the FCC that Caterpillar’s vehicles could not safely operate without the Autoliv radars, which Caterpillar will need until it can complete a planned redesign that will allow use of dually compliant radars. The FCC said the waiver will apply to only the about 900 vehicles Caterpillar believes it will manufacture through the end of 2014 that will require the Autoliv radar systems, most of which will operate outside the U.S. or in situations that will have a “negligible” influence on satellite interference in the 23.6-24.0 MHz band (http://bit.ly/1emBsXv).

Downloads of apps for mobile devices jumped 91 percent Christmas Day, compared with an average day in the first three weeks of December, according to mobile analytics firm Flurry (http://bit.ly/1cCYjzx). Flurry said 2013 “was the biggest Christmas yet for mobile app downloads,” with downloads up 11 percent over Christmas 2012. The one-day increase goes along with a 25 percent increase in app downloads in December 2013 compared to the same month in 2012. However, the rate of year-to-year growth for the December and Christmas Day spikes has slowed, Flurry said. The slowing growth could signal “market maturation,” said the blog post. “Many consumers in Western Europe and English-speaking countries -- large mobile markets where Christmas is a big holiday -- already have a smartphone and/or a tablet,” Flurry said. “Fewer people are coming online with mobile for the very first time.” Since consumers who are already regular mobile users already have a stable of apps they trust, they are less likely to try a bunch of new ones, and less likely to be in a hurry to download the ones they use, the blog said. Successful developers going forward will be those who focus on retaining users, said Flurry.

The Department of Defense highlights the challenge faced by the government of getting enough spectrum available for all of the military’s unmanned systems, including drones and unmanned ground systems. The “Unmanned Systems Integrated Roadmap” cites broader demands by spectrum-dependent systems (SDS) used by the military (http://1.usa.gov/1kWnzEc). “U.S. military operations are now occurring in many parts of the world where adequate spectrum is not available for [command and control], sensor, and data link systems,” DOD said. “There is a significant increase in the number of SDS the United States, our partners, and our coalition forces deploy to address current, and may want to deploy to address expected future, mission areas. In addition, these SDS collect more information, and missions often require greater bandwidths to send their information directly to warfighters.” Areas where the military has to operate are becoming more spectrally “noisy” in general “because of increasingly cluttered and hostile spectrum environments.” Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) as promoted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency can help, but isn’t a cure-all, DOD said. “DSA offers the ability to change frequency band use based on the actual use or nonuse of certain bands by other adjacent SDS,” the report said. “Developmental challenges include susceptibility to countermeasures, costs of integrating with existing systems, developing standards (including regulatory aspects), and cosite Interference.”

Continued speculation about a possible Sprint/T-Mobile US merger has been a major boon for Sprint’s stock value, said Seeking Alpha in an email Friday to investors. Sprint’s stock value rose 32 percent between Dec. 13 -- the day The Wall Street Journal first reported speculation about a possible merger -- and noon Friday, Seeking Alpha said.

The Office of Management and Budget signed off on parts of the FCC’s May 24, 2012, order allowing Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs) in the 2360-2400 MHz band, and the rules took full effect Friday, said an FCC notice in the Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1cFBQTQ). The notice said OMB signed off on Sections 95.1215(c), 95.1217(a)(3), 95.1223 and 95.1225 of the rules in October. OMB examined reporting requirements, third-party disclosure requirements and recordkeeping requirements of the order under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. OMB decided the total annual burden for compliance was 9,120 hours at an annual cost of $462,600. A wireless industry lawyer told us Friday that industry is waiting for a resolution of various recon petitions and a further notice on MBANs “to be resolved before developing equipment."

The Iowa Communications Alliance will be born Wednesday, with the union of the Rural Iowa Independent Telephone Association and the Iowa Telecommunications Association. The groups voted to unify earlier this year, they said in November. Dave Duncan, Iowa Telecommunications Association president, will be the alliance’s CEO. The alliance will be a “single professional association for independent telephone and wired broadband companies in Iowa” and “provides the opportunity to strengthen telecommunications policy efforts with a combined voice to better represent technology in rural areas and synergy for increased organization effectiveness in serving the new association’s members,” the RIITA said in a notice on its website (http://bit.ly/19o2V8j).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released style4.5 million in broadband grants Thursday. The Democrat issued a statement emphasizing the significance of high-speed Internet connections. Nine projects will receive money, including Clarity Connect, Slic Network Solutions, MTC Cable and New Visions Communications. “Together, these nine projects will deliver broadband services to 29,117 households, 2,052 businesses, and 236 community anchor institutions, and will provide 614 miles of new fiber,” Cuomo’s office said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1llG3eP). Much of the money will go to support last-mile service, it said.