AT&T will “probably” be able to close its buyout of Leap Wireless this month, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said Thursday at a Morgan Stanley investor conference. The carriers are awaiting FCC approval of the deal, which industry observers say is likely to occur soon (CD March 4 p2). AT&T plans to bring Leap’s Cricket prepaid service nationwide “overnight” once the deal closes, Stephenson said. “We are going to be fairly aggressive here.” AT&T has said it will fold its existing Aio Wireless prepaid service into Leap’s Cricket service post-buyout. Leap’s AWS spectrum, meanwhile, “will pair very nicely with the Aloha transaction we just announced end of last year,” Stephenson said. “So we've got a very nice footprint at the AWS level.” AT&T said in January they would buy 49 AWS-1 licenses from Aloha Partners (CD Jan 8 p10). AT&T reported in two ex parte filings on additional discussions with FCC staff about the proposed deal. “In particular, we discussed rate plans that AT&T intends to offer upon launch of the New Cricket; AT&T’s spectrum holdings in various [markets]; AT&T’s LTE deployment; and AT&T’s plans to deploy Leap’s AWS and PCS spectrum to enhance AT&T’s LTE network,” said one of the filings (http://bit.ly/1cFOKNe). A second discussion focused on “Leap’s indirect, minority ownership interest in Flat Wireless,” a filing said (http://bit.ly/1gVzOx9).

New rules for level probing radars (LPRs) go into effect April 7. They were published Thursday in the Federal Register. The revised rules cover low-power radars that operate on an unlicensed basis in the 5.925-7.250, 24.05-29.00 and 75-85 GHz bands (http://1.usa.gov/NBTfmi).

SureCall, formerly Cellphone-Mate, said Wednesday its Flex2Go cellular booster kit for vehicles was certified by the FCC under the commission’s new cell booster standards. Flex2Go is the company’s first product to receive this FCC certification, SureCall said (http://bit.ly/1eWOyxW).

The FCC set a comment deadline of April 4 on a rulemaking notice asking how the agency can ensure that wireless calls to 911 provide accurate location information to dispatchers. Replies are due May 5. The FCC approved the NPRM at its February meeting (CD Feb 21 p1). The comment deadline was set in a notice published in the Federal Register Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/1q6BF8S). The FCC “seeks comment on a proposed timeframe and several aspects of implementation of text-to-911 service, particularly relating to the technical ability of interconnected text providers to comply with a text-to-911 mandate,” the notice said. “Specifically, the Commission seeks comment on a proposal that text-to-911 capability should be made available by all text providers no later than December 31, 2014, and should be provided within a reasonable time after a [public safety answering point] has made a valid request for service, not to exceed six months.” The commission also asks for comments “on several issues that we anticipate will be part of the long-term evolution of text-to-911, though it does not propose to require their implementation by a date certain,” the notice said. Written comments on the Paperwork Reduction Act proposed information collection requirements are due at the Office of Management and Budget May 5, the FCC said.

Designated entity Grain asked the FCC for clarity on whether the attributable material relationship rule applies to spectrum deals in the secondary market. Grain was part of a multiparty spectrum deal involving AT&T and Verizon Wireless last year. AT&T agreed to lease three 700 MHz B-block licenses in North Carolina that Verizon Wireless sold to Grain for $189 million. Meanwhile, AT&T sold Grain a single AWS license, with expectations it would be leased by Verizon (CD Jan 13/13 p9). Grain asked the commission to clarify how the rule applies in such secondary market deals. “The attributable material relationship rule, as it is currently drafted, is overly broad and has the potential to deny entities whom Congress would have intended to receive DE benefits from receiving such benefits,” Grain said (http://bit.ly/1oqUWhy). “For example, this rule could potentially disqualify an otherwise qualified DE by virtue of the entity’s mere participation in a leasing transaction with a non-DE that: (1) does not involve licenses acquired through DE benefits and, instead, involves only licenses acquired on the secondary market; and (2) carries no risk of a non-DE unduly influencing the DE’s activities or decision-making.” Applying the rule for such secondary market transactions would be “irrational, and contrary to the intent of Congress and the public interest,” Grain said. “A leasing transaction involving licenses that were acquired without the use of any DE benefits does not pose any danger of unjustly enriching non-DE entities.” A leasing relationship also “does not pose a danger of undue influence unless the leasing transaction involves some sort of future business relationship between the parties -- such as a joint venture, governance relationship, or agreement related to future rights in spectrum capacity -- that would confer undue influence over the DE’s activities or decision-making,” Grain said. Also, “the Commission has expressly recognized the importance of promoting secondary market spectrum transactions and the potential role for such transactions in enabling meaningful participation by minority-owned and small businesses in the wireless sector."

The FCC should move forward on real-party-in-interest disclosure requirements for all rulemaking proceedings as part of broader process reform, T-Mobile representatives said in meetings at the agency. “Requiring participants in rulemaking proceedings to disclose all real parties-in-interest will increase transparency, enhance accountability, and improve decision-making in proceedings before the Commission,” T-Mobile said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1f8SerJ). Representatives of the carrier met with David Goldman, aide to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel; Erin McGrath, aide to Commissioner Mike O'Rielly; and Diane Cornell, special counsel to Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Sprint is partnering with Recipero in an effort to prevent the trade and sale of stolen smartphones, Sprint said Wednesday. Recipero maintains the CheckMEND database, a listing of lost and stolen mobile devices. “All Sprint retail buyback portals now employ Recipero’s CheckMEND online analytics tool, in addition to checking other internal and external databases, to help identify mobile devices that have been reported lost and stolen,” Sprint said. “The agreement will also provide consumers and law enforcement greater access to Sprint data on lost and stolen phones."

Immersion doesn’t expect it will be able to grow its annual revenue about 50 percent, like it did in 2013, each year, Immersion CEO Victor Viegas told the JMP Securities Technology Conference webcast from San Francisco late Tuesday. Twenty to 25 percent revenue growth is more likely for the haptics technology company, he said. It was able to grow revenue 48 percent in 2013 due to the favorable conclusion of patent infringement suits with LG, Motorola and Samsung that resulted in Immersion being paid by the companies for not only the use of its software, but also the use of its intellectual property (IP), he said. There are “a number of opportunities” that would enable Immersion to reach the “upper end” of the revenue forecast, or “even exceed” it, “namely continued growth” of PS4 sales and inclusion of its software in devices by more OEMs, he said. Immersion gets paid 10-50 cents per mobile phone, depending on whether the device uses its IP or software, he said. It gets paid anywhere from 50 cents to $2 or $3 per device in the automotive sector, where volume is lower, he said. Under most deals in the game sector, Immersion gets paid 5 percent of the wholesale selling price of a controller, which is typically 25 cents to $2 or $3 for a high-end steering wheel, he said. The PS4 and Xbox One are using Immersion’s haptics IP, but not any of its software solutions, he said. Immersion provided Apple, early on, with a haptics solution for Macintosh computers for third-party game peripherals, but Apple isn’t currently an Immersion licensee, he said. “We have worked hard at providing them demonstrations and concepts and road maps around adding haptics” to current Apple devices, he said. “The success we're having with Samsung and others in the Android community is obviously putting some pressure” on Apple to offer similar technology in its devices, he said. Apple would like to make gaming on its devices more of a “console-like experience” and it’s hard to do that without haptics, he said. “We think there’s a real need there. The dialogue is always open. But they sometimes have a reluctance to license IP or follow with a me-too solution,” he said.

CTIA asked the FCC to delay by 60 days the deadline for filing reply comments on a Dec. 13 rulemaking on expanding access to wireless services onboard aircraft. Replies are currently due March 17. “The Notice raises a number of highly technical issues and cited various interference studies involving in-flight wireless connectivity and the use of licensed commercial mobile spectrum,” CTIA said (http://bit.ly/1oo3RjL). “It relies on European studies to tentatively conclude that Airborne Access Systems can provide in-flight wireless connectivity using licensed commercial mobile spectrum across the United States without interference -- but these studies did not analyze U.S. mobile spectrum bands or all of the air interfaces used across the U.S. bands.” CTIA said many substantial comments were filed in the initial comment round (CD Feb 13 p7). “Extending the deadline for reply comments will provide parties with additional time to conduct much needed interference and other technological analyses, consider other existing studies beyond those discussed in the Notice, and follow up on questions and issues sparked by commenters who discussed the inflight systems that have been deployed abroad,” the group said.

The FCC should freeze for six months the grant of new licenses for business communications in the 900 MHz band while industry develops a 900 MHz Private Land Mobile Broadband (PLM BB) plan, said the American Petroleum Institute, Enterprise Wireless Alliance and Utilities Telecom Council in a petition filed at the FCC. The groups proposed that 5x5 MHz of 900 MHz Industrial/Business spectrum be reallocated, with 2x2 MHz dedicated to existing Land-Mobile Radio systems and 3x3 MHz to support private LTE networks. “As the Commission is aware, access to spectrum capable of meeting these members’ internal broadband communications requirements is essential if they are to continue supporting America’s economic growth, expanded employment, public well-being, the delivery of critical goods and services, security, and workforce safety,” the groups said (http://bit.ly/1kVBSb1). The freeze would only affect applicants that don’t already have a license in a particular market, they said. “Under this approach, current 900 MHz licensees would be permitted to expand geographic coverage or channel capacity to serve ongoing business communication requirements while the PLM BB plan is more fully defined. New applicants, however, would be prohibited."