ARRI agreed to pay $80,000 to the U.S. Treasury and implement a three-year compliance plan to end an FCC investigation of charges the company unlawfully marketed digital cameras and wireless accessories in America before they were certified by the commission. FCC rules are designed to assure that such devices don’t cause interference to other spectrum users, said an order Tuesday from the Enforcement Bureau (http://bit.ly/1lBHJoa). “These rules protect consumers by requiring manufacturers to label these devices properly and provide necessary information in user manuals so that consumers operate the devices in a compliant manner.” The Munich-based firm makes professional motion picture equipment. It had no immediate comment.

Almost three-fourths of Americans are unfamiliar with the Internet of Things (IoT), according to a survey released Tuesday by Soasta, a cloud and mobile testing company (http://bit.ly/1vI6SB7). Soasta commissioned Harris Poll to conduct the online survey, which reached 2,051 adults May 28-30. Only 6 percent of those surveyed said they were “very familiar” with IoT, Soasta said. The survey gave some examples of IoT technology, with Americans expressing the most excitement -- 39 percent -- about connected cars, according to Soasta.

The FCC Wireless Bureau gave Mobile Relay Associates part of what it asked for in its request for waiver of rules to allow MRA to operate on frequency pairs 451/456.0000, 451/456.00625 and 451/456.0125 MHz at locations in California, Florida and Nevada. The bureau noted that while the request was pending, other entities submitted waiver requests for use of one or more of the same frequency pairs or frequency pair 451/456.009375 MHz in various areas. The bureau approved a waiver “with respect to frequency pairs 451/456.00625 MHz, 451/456.009375 MHz, and 451/456.0125 MHz, but not with respect to frequency pair 451/456.0000 MHz,” said an order released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1oBBxjN). The frequencies are located on the band edges between Broadcast Auxiliary Service spectrum and Industrial/Business Pool spectrum. The bureau said that since frequency pair 451/456.0000 MHz “would overlap BAS low power auxiliary station spectrum we conclude that the purpose of the rules would not be served by assigning that channel” to private land mobile radio use as requested by MRA.

The FCC Tuesday posted a June 12 ex parte filing by CTIA on a meeting two days earlier between association officials and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Among those attending were new CTIA President Meredith Baker, former President Steve Largent and CTIA Chairman Dan Mead, CEO of Verizon. “CTIA highlighted the essential role that spectrum plays in facilitating the cycle of innovation and investment that characterizes the mobile wireless ecosystem,” the filing said (http://bit.ly/SR3V2i). It didn’t say what Wheeler’s message was to the CTIA officials. Industry officials said last week Wheeler made clear to Mead that the FCC expected Verizon to play an active role in the TV incentive auction (CD June 13 p8). The filing was made in four dockets, including 12-268, which covers the incentive auction.

A new Texas Instruments “Internet-on-a-chip” family of devices will allow manufacturers to “easily add embedded Wi-Fi and Internet to a wide range” of consumer electronics and industrial products, the company said Monday. Its SimpleLink CC3100 and CC3200 platforms for Internet of Things (IoT) applications feature the industry’s lowest power consumption for battery-operated devices with a low-power radio and advanced low-power modes, TI said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1p9aUjZ). The CC3100 can be flexibly meshed with any available microcontroller, while the CC3200 has an integrated, programmable microcontroller, allowing manufacturers to add their own code, it said. The chipsets offer “easy development for the IoT with quick connection, cloud support and on-chip Wi-Fi, Internet and robust security protocols, requiring no prior Wi-Fi experience to get a product connected,” it said.

Unlicensed spectrum and the devices that use it generate $62 billion a year for the U.S. economy, CEA said in a report Monday (http://bit.ly/1sigLXQ). “Unlicensed spectrum is the fuel that powers innovation in our increasingly digitized, interconnected and untethered world,” CEA President Gary Shapiro said. The report estimated that the devices that rely most heavily on unlicensed spectrum will grow cumulatively by 30 percent per year through 2016. Consumer demand for products like these in turn is driving the need for even more unlicensed spectrum, CEA said. Ownership of “spectrum-enabled devices” such as smartphones and tablets “is at an all-time high,” it said. It estimated that two-thirds of U.S. homes own a smartphone while tablet penetration is 45 percent. Both categories increased their penetration rates by six percentage points in just the past year, it said. “We're seeing an explosion of connected devices that rely almost exclusively on unlicensed spectrum -- the Internet of Things -- proof of the skyrocketing value of unlicensed spectrum,” said Shapiro. “As we continue to use more smart, connected devices, we need enough unlicensed spectrum for them to communicate with their surroundings and one other. With this tool, innovators can harness the power of the network to give devices more utility than they could ever have in isolation.” Typifying its strong advocacy for more commercial spectrum, CEA last week came out in support of the Wireless Innovation Act introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. (CD June 16 p14).

American Tower agreed to buy Brazilian tower company BR Towers for the equivalent of $978 million. BR Towers owns 2,530 towers and has exclusive use rights on an additional 2,110, American Tower said in a news release Sunday. The additional towers gained through the deal will generate the equivalent of $131 million in annual revenue, American Tower said. The deal is set to close in Q4, following regulatory reviews (http://bit.ly/1qXcogp). In October, American Tower bought MIP Tower Holdings, parent of Global Tower Partners (CD Oct 3 p8).

The FCC should permanently exempt temporary wireless towers from the 30-day public notice requirement and otherwise streamline approval of wireless facilities, CTIA representatives said in meetings at the FCC. “In addition to bringing more spectrum to market, expediting the wireless siting process is essential to satisfying the demand for wireless broadband services,” CTIA said in an ex parte filing it posted Monday in docket 13-238 (http://bit.ly/1jufkfs). CTIA also sought a shortened shot clock for addressing collocation requests. CTIA met with officials including Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman and aides to commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly.

Sprint said Monday it will expand its 4G LTE Rural Roaming Preferred Program through agreements with 12 rural and regional carriers. The program, developed in conjunction with the Competitive Carriers Association, will now extend roaming coverage to areas of 23 states and a population of more than 34 million people, Sprint said. The 12 carriers are C Spire, Carolina West Wireless, Flat Wireless, Illinois Valley Cellular, Inland Cellular, James Valley Telecommunications, Nex-Tech Wireless, nTelos, Phoenix Wireless, SI Wireless, SouthernLINC Wireless and VTel Wireless, Sprint said. The agreements will increase competition by giving the carriers “low-cost access” to Sprint’s network, as well as accelerate Sprint’s 4G LTE deployment in areas where deployment and roaming costs may be “prohibitively expensive,” Sprint said. The agreements follow Sprint’s agreement in May with nTelos to extend their network alliance through 2022, giving Sprint customers access to nTelos’ 4G LTE network in rural portions of western Virginia and West Virginia, Sprint said (http://bit.ly/1juEXwG).

Credit Suisse believes the long-term prospects of American Tower are the best among the top three U.S. wireless tower companies “due to its lower wireless M&A risk, exposure to high growth international markets and a balanced history of accretive acquisitions and returning cash to shareholders,” said analyst Joseph Mastrogiovanni in a note to investors. American Tower, Crown Castle International and SBA Communications are all “attractive long-term investments” due to the tower sector’s overall strength, he said. Industry participants and observers have told us they believe the U.S. tower sector is likely to do very well over the next 12 months due to increasing network expansions and network quality improvements (CD June 2 p4).