The U.S.’s four national wireless carriers remain on track to have text-to-911 services by May, CTIA said in a filing Wednesday. CTIA executives met with a public safety adviser to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Dec. 6 to discuss E911 and cybersecurity issues. The executives noted that the carriers’ progress on text-to-911 “represents an important step toward a comprehensive Next Generation 911 system” that meets the needs of the accessibility community. The wireless industry is also actively participating in the Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council’s work to develop a new phase for its Indoor Location Test Bed for E911 technologies, CTIA said. CTIA’s Cybersecurity Working Group is also actively working with federal agencies, Congress and standards bodies on cyber issues, including working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology on the Cybersecurity Framework (http://bit.ly/1cSsdeL).

It’s important to expand hearing aid compatibility requirements to all types of devices that are functionally equivalent to telephones, the Hearing Industries Association told FCC Wireless Bureau officials Tuesday, an ex parte filing said (http://bit.ly/1lYglNG). With the rapid expansion of voice-over-LTE services, it’s important to ensure hearing aid users “do not face roadblocks during the migration to this and other new technologies,” HIA said. HIA opposes expanding the power-down option to achieve hearing aid compatibility to more than just the 1900 MHz band. “The usefulness of handsets is impaired when power is reduced, denying impaired users access to the same quality of service that other users enjoy,” HIA said.

The U.K. Office of Communications should act to improve in-building mobile phone coverage, consulting company Real Wireless said in a report to the regulator Thursday (http://bit.ly/1bUz0V2). Reliability of indoor mobile services is becoming increasingly important to consumers, and can be tackled by outdoor solutions in which users receive a mobile signal from a network outside the building, or via indoor solutions where the signal comes from some kind of access point in the building dedicated to serving only that premises, it said. In the U.K., existing indoor cellular coverage provided by outdoor macro-cellular networks is at a high level for voice and data services, but the outdoor approach has some drawbacks, the report said. Among other things, construction material variations and building geometries may make it impossible for signals to penetrate inside all buildings, and trends toward more thermal shielding required in building regulations will significantly affect coverage levels over time, it said. So while outside solutions will continue to provide a baseline level of indoor coverage, there will be greater need for dedicated in-building plans to give consumers better services, it said. Poor indoor service arises from users being long distances from their operators’ sites; inside a building with challenging construction materials or layout; or in a high-rise that suffers from interference from multiple cells, the report said. Wi-Fi installed by an end user is a popular option for boosting indoor mobile services, but has been limited to data services unless the user wants to use over-the-top alternatives to voice and messaging such as Skype, it said. Carrier Wi-Fi, where operators are involved in deploying and managing the network and which allows roaming between their cellular and carrier Wi-Fi networks, is under development, it said. Traditional consumer repeaters and signal boosters are available in Britain but can’t legally be deployed without operator permission due to possible interference, it said. New, intelligent repeaters are helping to tackle those interference issues, it said, but they are not widely available. Femtocells have been rolled out commercially by all U.K. mobile operators and targeted to particular groups of consumers, it said. Picocells, which cover large areas, target larger small and mid-sized buildings. Distributed antenna systems, an infrastructure of cables, amplifiers and antennas installed inside to distribute mobile signals in analog form, are expensive to plan and install and are suitable only for large high-capacity or corporate buildings, it said. Hybrid solutions using femtocells, picocells and Wi-Fi are also promising, it said. The study looked at areas of concern for Ofcom in in-building solutions. These included: (1) Fully integrating small cell solutions into existing networks. (2) Ensuring that security best practices are set in consumer-accessible small cells. (3) The lack of a centralized security certificates authority to authenticate the identity of small cells, which could lead to a limited supply of vendors and access point products for consumers to choose from. (4) The fact that many in-building solutions are still fairly immature and of limited availability. Among other things, the report recommended that Ofcom give consumers information and help to identify the most appropriate indoor solution, and consider making low-power, shared-access licensed spectrum available for indoor deployment. The regulator should also consider monitoring and reporting on indoor coverage levels across operators, and analyze the U.S. situation with consumer repeaters to see if it might work in Britain, the report said.

The FCC should reject an NTCA/Rural Wireless Association proposal to divide the forward auction of 600 MHz spectrum into two phases (CD Jan 9 p2), said AT&T in comments filed Thursday. Dividing the forward auction into one phase for purchasing large lots of urban spectrum and a second phase for smaller chunks of rural spectrum “adds complexity to what has already been widely acknowledged as one of the most complicated proceedings in Commission history,” AT&T said. The telco also argued that the two-phase auction would still expose buyers to aggregation risks, making it difficult for companies to provide coverage over large uninterrupted areas. Though the NTCA/RWA proposal framed the two-phase auction as still allowing carriers like AT&T to purchase large pieces of spectrum, the pieces aren’t big enough, AT&T said. The proposal would still lead to “operational difficulties inherent with such small license areas,” AT&T said.

The FCC Wireless Bureau identified 23 qualified bidders for the Jan. 22 H-block auction. Bidders in Auction 96 include nTelos, CTM Spectrum, Holland Wireless and Atlantic Seawinds Communications, the bureau said in an attachment to a public notice (http://bit.ly/1cBIvvT). The bureau urged the bidders to review the auction rules, procedures and other information available at http://wireless.fcc.gov/auction/96, the public notice said (http://bit.ly/K71xQA). The bureau also identified 11 entities that are not qualified, including Triad 8, Union Telephone Co. and Pure Gold AZ, it said (http://bit.ly/1lQ9GW2).

There will be nearly 2.5 billion shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones in 2014, a 7.6 percent increase from 2013, said Gartner’s annual devices forecast released Tuesday (http://gtnr.it/1eEJ08k). Tablets and mobile phones will drive the increase, as PC shipments are expected to drop for the third straight year, said the industry researcher. It said mobile phones will account for just over three-fourths of all devices shipped, a slight drop since 2012, as the tablet market has grown. “Mobile phones are a must have and will continue to grow but at a slower pace, with opportunities moving away from the top-end premium devices to mid-end basic products,” said Research Director Ranjit Atwal. “Users continue to move away from the traditional PC (notebooks and desk-based) as it becomes more of a shared content creation tool.” The Android OS is the leading platform across all devices, expected to reach 1.1 billion users in 2014, 26 percent more than in 2013, said the report. “There’s no doubt that there is a volume versus value equation, with Android users also purchasing lower-cost devices compared to Apple users,” said Annette Zimmerman, principal analyst. Gartner said that by 2017, 75 percent of Android’s volume will come from emerging markets.

AT&T said it’s buying 49 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses from Aloha Partners. AT&T didn’t give the financial terms of the deal, which it said is meant to help the carrier “stay ahead of soaring demand for mobile Internet services.” The AWS licenses being acquired cover 50 million people across 14 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. AT&T said Tuesday it anticipates it will complete the deal in the second half of 2014 (http://soc.att.com/1dt21bw). Verizon disclosed Monday a $3.3 billion 700 MHz A block spectrum sale to T-Mobile US (CD Jan 7 p1).

FirstNet wants comments by Feb. 5 on proposed exclusions from environmental assessment processes typically required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The proposed categorical exclusions “do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and, thus, should be categorically excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement,” FirstNet said in a Federal Register notice Monday (http://1.usa.gov/1dtz3IL). Its proposed exceptions are based on the processes it completed as part of the billions in grants given through NTIA’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). “FirstNet, similar to BTOP, is mandated to plan and construct telecommunication and broadband infrastructure across the United States and its territories,” FirstNet said. “The specific activities anticipated to be undertaken by FirstNet are comparable to BTOP project implementation activities and will primarily include the installation of cables, cell tower, antenna colocations, buildings, and power units.” Several examples were given in the notice.

Ericsson and AT&T inked an agreement to improve connectivity for products and applications powered by the Ericsson Connected Vehicle Cloud. “The agreement creates a better consumer experience and helps advance the automotive cloud ecosystem by making it easier to connect in-vehicle technology and provide a path for the next generation consumer experience,” the companies said. Chris Penrose, senior vice president emerging devices, AT&T Mobility, said: “Ericsson’s vehicle cloud realizes the true potential of connected vehicle products and applications."

Chevrolet shed a little more light on its connected car strategy at a pre-CES event Sunday, saying its OnStar 4G LTE mobile hotspot, powered by AT&T Wireless, will enable seven devices in a vehicle to connect simultaneously via Wi-Fi. The technology is due to launch in 2015-model vehicles in August, said Alan Batey, global Chevrolet brand chief at General Motors. Batey said Chevrolet was the first to offer car radio in 1924, a $2,000 option in today’s dollars, and that it was fitting for Chevrolet to be at CES to unveil “the car of the future.” The company wants the connected car concept to span a broad sampling of vehicles this year, starting with its entry-level Spark vehicle and going up to the sporty Corvette, with some eight vehicles in between. The wide range is “indicative of our broad commitment to deliver more value and convenience through smart technology applications,” Batey said. Other vehicles offering OnStar 4G LTE at launch include the Impala, Malibu and Volt, followed by the Equinox, Silverado, Silverado HD, Spark and Spark EV later in the year. The majority of the 2015 Chevrolet lineup in the U.S and Canada will have a 4G LTE connection built-in at vehicle launch, Chevrolet said. AT&T didn’t provide pricing for the vehicle data plans but said current AT&T customers will be able to add a plan to a “bucket of data” through the Mobile Share plans AT&T offers for tablet users. Drivers will also be able to get a stand-alone option of 4G LTE, the companies said. Chevrolet also said its AppShop will be available this summer on select 2015 models in the U.S. and Canada with MyLink technology. Owners will be able to view available apps and download them directly to the vehicle and then organize, update and delete them. Apps will connect drivers to music, news, weather, travel information, vehicle data and more, Batey said. Apps mentioned at the press event included iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Famigo, The Weather Channel and Priceline. Regarding potential driver distraction caused by a hotspot that enables occupants of a vehicle to connect a smartphone, tablet or laptop to the Internet, Batey turned the question around and asked what was preventing drivers from connecting devices today. A spokeswoman for GM said it takes a “very strong position making sure that whatever we integrate in our vehicles is done with the safety of the driver in mind.” She said without elaborating that the company’s technical team has specific criteria that an app must meet for its driver distraction requirements.