More affordable data plans drove a 46 percent jump in embedded cellular connections in tablets last year, but data consumption on tablets via embedded cellular connections lags smartphone data usage by half, said NPD’s retail tracking service. Consumers have been buying tablets with 3G and 4G connectivity “and just not activating them,” said Brad Akyuz, director-connected intelligence, but more attractive data plans have led to an uptick in connections. While there has been an increase in tablet connections, tablet users average 1 GB of data usage per month compared with 2 GB by smartphone users, NPD said. Tablets sold with data contracts grew from 7.1 million in 2012 to 10.4 million last year, despite an overall decline in sales of cellular-capable tablets from 16 percent of total tablet sales to 12 percent in 2013, NPD said. The top four carriers added roughly 1.5 million new tablet subscribers in Q4, with AT&T and Verizon accounting for nearly 90 percent of the connections, said NPD. It also reported a “healthy increase” in the number of connections through mobile and smartphone hotspots among consumers, with some 7.8 million consumers connecting tablets to the Internet via cellular hotspot, 6 million via smartphone hotspots and 1.8 million via an external mobile hotspot device.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler knows the TV incentive auction won’t be easy, but the FCC is determined to get the rules of the road right, he told the GSMA Mobile World Congress. “Let there be no mistake about the degree of difficulty of this undertaking,” Wheeler said, according to prepared remarks released Monday (http://fcc.us/1hlG1nS). “We are attempting something never done before. But as with our original spectrum auctions twenty years ago, the risks are well worth taking. The Incentive Auction presents a two-part challenge of making the right fact-based policy decisions in an open and transparent manner and building user-friendly back-end systems and ensuring that they are exhaustively tested and ready to work from the start. We know the world is watching, and we will get this right.” Spectrum remains a priority for the commission, Wheeler said. “We are committed to bringing more spectrum capacity to market and fast.”

Signs are that FirstNet could be stalled two years after the law approving the national first responder network was enacted, former Seattle Chief Technology Officer Bill Schrier warned in a blog post. Schrier, who is FirstNet’s designated point of contact in Washington State, said the network has made a only few dozen hires to date. “Two years into a $7 billion project and only 25 full-time staff have been hired!?” he asked (http://bit.ly/OzFEwv). The public reaction to FirstNet also seems to be changing, he said. “I've been speaking to groups of public officials and police chiefs and emergency managers and firefighters and other responders in Washington State about FirstNet since May, 2013,” Schrier said. “Lately, the mood of the audiences is starting to change. ‘Yeah, yeah, we've heard you say that before, Bill, but what’s happening now? Where’s the beef?’ I'm starting to feel a bit like a computer software salesman pushing vaporware. ‘Oh yes, that feature will be in our next release slated to come out in 2017.'” In a separate blog posted by Urgent Communications, FirstNet General Manager Bill D'Agostino said real progress is being made. “Our work so far has been focused on putting the foundational building blocks in place for getting this network up and running,” he said (http://bit.ly/MrWSK7). “We want to get the job done as expeditiously as possible, but we have one opportunity to get it right and we understand this tremendous responsibility.”

Global Satellite Communications urged the FCC to ensure that its Globalstar service isn’t affected by unlicensed users operating in its spectrum. Global Satellite is concerned about its Globalstar customers in government and emergency management “who depend on their Globalstar devices in disaster recovery situations,” it said in a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1fNUB3H).

Members of the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition questioned in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel whether expanding access to unlicensed spectrum is getting adequate attention at the agency. PISC cited the growing amount of carrier traffic unloaded onto Wi-Fi, said an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1hqqkKO). Despite the current and growing importance of unlicensed spectrum for the economy and a steady stream of positive statements from the commission, the advocates expressed concern that expanding access to unlicensed spectrum does not actually seem to be a priority at the Commission. The continued uncertainty and lack of action on any pro-unlicensed item makes it “harder for investors, entrepreneurs and developers to believe that the FCC is serious about developing next generation businesses and technologies in this country,” it said. Staff from Public Knowledge and New America Foundation were at the meeting on behalf of PISC.

Sprint representatives asked FCC officials for advice on an expected filing providing data to the FCC on special access charges. “Sprint explained that it is working diligently to prepare its data in expectation of the special access data request and asked for guidance regarding several aspects of the data collection,” Sprint said in an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1eqia1N). “Specifically, the meeting participants discussed the appropriate format in which to submit requested data on purchase price, market trials, IRUs [Indefeasible Rights of Use], and wireless backhauls. Sprint also sought clarifying details on how it will be expected to populate date, CLLI [Common Language Location Identifier], and zip4 information fields."

The Competitive Carriers Association said rules designed for the Canadian 700 MHz auction (CD Feb 24 p5) show that the U.S. can safely impose spectrum aggregation limits in the TV incentive auction. “The record-breaking results from the Canadian … auction are proof-positive that spectrum aggregation limits will encourage participation and will raise substantial revenues at auction,” said CCA President Steve Berry in a news release. “The similarities between the lead-up to Canada’s 700 MHz auction and the current arguments here in the U.S. over spectrum aggregation limits are remarkable, and I strongly encourage the FCC to look to the success of the Canadian auction and, like Industry Canada, adopt up-front spectrum aggregation limits.” CCA planned to file its arguments at the FCC Monday.

Apple and Samsung told the U.S. District Court in San Jose they failed to reach agreement during a mediation session on part of their long-standing patent infringement dispute, said a joint court filing by the two companies Friday. The companies are seeking a settlement to avoid moving forward with a planned March 31 trial over a lawsuit in which Apple claims Samsung violated multiple Apple patents in its Galaxy S3 smartphone and other recent devices, including Apple’s Siri voice search technology. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung co-CEO J.K. Shin met for a daylong mediation session earlier this month, but the session and followup phone calls between the two companies on the mediator’s proposed settlement were “unsuccessful,” they said in the court filing. Apple and Samsung said they “remain willing to work through the mediator” to resolve the patent dispute.

Verizon Communications said Friday that it completed its buyout of full control of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone, which previously owned 45 percent of the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier. The deal, which the two telcos announced in September, was worth about $130 billion (CD Bulletin Sept 2 p1). The now-completed deal “provides us with opportunities for greater financial flexibility, enhanced operational efficiency and innovations that will benefit customers,” said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in a statement. “We are confident it will fuel further growth in our business."

Global mobile device market trends continue to change rapidly, Tom Mainelli, IDC research director-tablets, told the Digital Entertainment World Conference Thursday. Consumers, for example, are holding on to their mobile devices for longer periods than in the past, he said. Consumers are, on average, keeping PCs for four or more years, tablets for three or more years, and smartphones two or more years, said Mainelli. However, consumers tend to keep iPads a little longer than Android tablets, he said. “If you buy a $79 Android tablet at CVS you're probably not going to keep it for four years,” he said. Consumers will likely start pushing off replacing their smartphones even longer because “we're sort of getting to a point in hardware where” small improvements in new models “really don’t drive people to buy a new phone,” he said. “Phablets” -- mobile devices that are a cross between smartphones and tablets -- were a “punch line” in Q1 2013, said Mainelli. But they were 15 percent of global smartphone shipments in Q4 2013, he said.