NCTA asked the FCC to review the Wireline Bureau decision that model-based Connect America Fund Phase II support will be made available to ILECs in any area where an unsubsidized provider “does not comply with exactly the same service obligation requirements that would be imposed on the subsidized LEC” (http://bit.ly/1laLOMt). The “practical consequence” of the decision is that areas where cable providers have invested “significant private capital” to deploy broadband “erroneously will be treated as if they are unserved,” NCTA said Monday.

Turksat and Eutelsat signed an agreement to increase satellite resources and services for Turkey. Eutelsat will redeploy Eutelsat 33A in May from 33 degrees east to 31 degrees east, “where it will be operated by Turksat under its satellite network filings,” Eutelsat said in a press release (http://bit.ly/JZCCPY). Turksat operates two satellites at 42 degrees east and it plans to launch Turksat 4A and Turksat 4B next year, Eutelsat said.

Neustar added area code 854 for portions of South Carolina served by the existing 843 code, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1ienhsG). Neustar had forecast that numbers in the 843 area code would be exhausted by the end of 2015, it said.

NAB bought the assets of the Content and Communications World and the Satellite Communications Conference and Expo (SATCON) New York-based events from JDEvents. The conferences will complement NAB’s existing trade shows and events, NAB said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1fBJI76). The association’s goal is to grow both the attendee and exhibitor base “of what has emerged as an important East Coast venue for the content community,” it said.

The FCC should expand the kinds of spectrum included in its screen to evaluate potential spectrum concentration issues, Verizon officials said in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly. The FCC should update the screen “to include all suitable and available spectrum,” said an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1jBGbv4). “They noted that Sprint is aggressively deploying its 2.5 GHz Broadband Radio Service and Educational Broadband Service spectrum to provide 4G LTE service, confirming that this spectrum must be added to the screen. The Commission should also add to the screen the 40 MHz of AWS-4 spectrum held by Dish. As it stands today, the spectrum screen cannot provide a meaningful tool to evaluate potential spectrum concentration issues because it omits substantial amounts of spectrum that are available for, and are actually being used to provide, commercial mobile broadband services."

The Senate Commerce Committee sent S.Res. 157 to the full Senate Thursday. The bill, which the committee cleared in late July, would express the sense of the Senate that phone service must be improved in rural areas and that no entity may unreasonably discriminate against users in those areas. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced S.Res. 157 with Sens. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and Tim Johnson, D-S.D., has expressed concerns that call completion issues persist despite FCC action (CD July 31 p1).

Verizon Wireless federal regulatory executives touted during a meeting with FCC staff Wednesday the carrier’s improvement in delivering timely location information for public safety answering points. The executives told an aide to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and staff from the Public Safety Bureau that the carrier is “part of the solution” and was taking steps to continue improving the location information it sends to PSAPs, Verizon Wireless said in a filing. Those steps include making caller location information available within an average of 12-15 seconds, and within 25 seconds for 99 percent of all 911 calls where info is available. Verizon Wireless said it’s also working with E911 vendors to improve chipset sensitivity to GPS signals and working on enhancements to its A-GPS location accuracy solution for voice over LTE. Verizon Wireless also “remains on track” to make text-to-911 available to PSAPs by a voluntary May 15 deadline. The carrier will offer PSAPs three text-to-911 options, including two that are already available. The third option will be ready in Q1, Verizon Wireless said. Each of the options will include bounceback message capability (http://bit.ly/1lamshL).

Time Warner Cable and Tribune signed a new multi-year retransmission consent agreement for Tribune stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Diego and Indianapolis. “The agreement also covers Time Warner Cable’s continued distribution of Tribune’s superstation WGN America,” the companies said in a press release (http://bit.ly/JZds3K).

The multiyear iPhone deal that Apple signed with China Mobile will also have “implications” for Sprint, Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche said Monday. The iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c will be available via China Mobile’s network of retail stores and at Apple retail stores across mainland China starting Jan. 17, Apple said Sunday in a news release. It’s “clearly a meaningful” announcement for Apple, said Fritzsche. China Mobile is the world’s largest mobile operator, with more than 760 million customers, making it seven times larger than Verizon, she said. China Mobile, like Sprint, is deploying the TDD LTE 4G service on the 2.5 GHz spectrum, she said. Until now, the iPhone hasn’t supported the 2.5 GHz band, she said. With the “significant scale” that China Mobile “brings to the table, it is our understanding that future versions of the iPhone device will now support this band,” she said. That’s a “significant positive” for Sprint shares, she said. Apple, however, didn’t immediately comment on its plans. Of the “Big 4” carriers, Sprint is the only one using the TDD version of LTE, she said. The iPhone “continues to be the most embraced high end” smartphone in the U.S., so having the device support the spectrum band and the TDD LTE technology “should strengthen Sprint’s competitive position in future quarters,” she said. Sprint shares, however, closed 1.8 percent lower Monday at $9.68.

Meredith Corp. signed a definitive agreement to buy the broadcast assets of TV stations in Phoenix and St. Louis from Gannett and Sander Media. Gannett also completed its acquisition of Belo. The agreement with Meredith stems from a Department of Justice consent decree, which required Gannett to divest a St. Louis station to get approval for its Belo acquisition (CD Dec 17 p6). The stations -- KTVK Phoenix, KASW Phoenix, and KMOV St. Louis -- will be sold for $407.5 million, Meredith said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1hzeX3R). “At the closing, Meredith will simultaneously convey KASW-TV to Sagamore Hill of Phoenix, LLC, which, through its affiliates, owns and operates two television stations in two markets,” Gannett said in a separate press release (http://ganne.tt/1c2USgP). The purchase of Belo “nearly doubles Gannett’s broadcast portfolio and creates the largest independent station group of major network affiliates in the top 25 markets,” it said (http://bit.ly/1cNF4zr).