FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel “does not prejudge transactions that have not been filed,” a Rosenworcel spokesman said Thursday. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Rosenworcel has said in private meetings that she does not believe No. 3 and No. 4 U.S. wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile US can remain viable as independent entities (http://on.wsj.com/RWkytJ). FCC and Department of Justice officials have been skeptical of a merger of the two carriers, which would leave the U.S. with three major wireless carriers (CD Feb 6 p1).

Workers at six Verizon Wireless stores in Brooklyn, New York, voted to unionize, the Communications Workers of America said Wednesday. The vote was a “huge victory,” CWA said, given what it called a decade-long effort by Verizon to do “everything possible” to prevent Verizon Wireless store workers from unionizing. CWA contends top Verizon executives were “camping out” at the six Brooklyn stores before the union vote to “inundate the workers with anti-union propaganda.” More than 40,000 Verizon workers are union members, CWA said (http://bit.ly/1gILAKO). Verizon is “disappointed that 39 employees felt this way,” a spokesman said.

The Food and Drug Administration’s proposed health information technology safety center should focus on the interoperability of mobile medical apps if it is to succeed, said American Medical Association (AMA) Chief Medical Information Officer Michael Hodgkins on the final day of the FDA’s three-day workshop on its recently released health IT framework draft. “The mobile health application environment is the Wild Wild West and nobody has found a sheriff yet,” he said. The health IT safety center, intended as a public-private partnership to do research on health IT best practices, was part of the FDA’s April-released health IT framework, which would alter the government’s approach to Internet-enabled healthcare devices by clarifying which types of devices it should closely scrutinize (CD April 4 p8). The workshop -- organized with help from the FCC and Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology -- was intended to solicit industry and medical community feedback on the draft (CD May 14 p13). Panelists told FDA officials the center must bring in individuals and issues traditionally excluded from these discussions. “I think the people that have been excluded the most are ripe to participate,” AMA’s Hodgkins said. A focus on the entire system “means any information system that contributes to” patient care, said Siemens Principal Health Informatician Jim Walker. That includes mobile apps, websites like PatientsLikeMe and social media sites, he said. Hodgkins said these are problem areas that can’t be overlooked. “We know a lot of these apps are misleading, inappropriate and dangerous in terms of their content,” he said. “We know a lot of these apps are not protecting personal health information, are not secure, and yet they're going to play a vital part [in patient care] going forward, especially as we see a shift in payment model.” These users must be drawn into the safety center, Hodgkins and Walker agreed. Having the safety center concentrate on usability and interoperability is an effective way to get them engaged, said Hodgkins. Walker suggested a model similar to the National Transportation Safety Board’s voluntary multistakeholder group, which “receives input from all across the system” on “hazards that haven’t yet become incidents,” producing reports for the government agencies.

AT&T agreed to buy Sprint’s 19 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service A-block and B-block licenses, which cover markets across the South, including Florida, Georgia and Texas. The carriers did not disclose the financial details of the deal in a joint FCC filing seeking regulatory approval. AT&T has made multiple purchases of WCS spectrum in the past, including a set of transactions that included its $600 million deal in 2012 with NextWave Wireless, along with purchases from Comcast, Horizon Wi-Com and San Diego Gas & Electric (CD Dec 20/12 p13). AT&T said in the FCC filing that the WCS spectrum would be used for “mobile broadband use,” but did not elaborate. An AT&T spokesman later said the carrier is “optimizing spectrum to help address soaring demand and continue to provide a great mobile Internet experience for our customers.” Sprint declined to comment beyond what was included in the FCC application.

CTIA and NTCA jointly asked the FCC to clarify that down payments and final payments in the AWS-3 auction will be due in early 2015. “It is unknown whether post-auction payments will be due in late 2014 or early 2015,” the associations said in an FCC filing. “This uncertainty will complicate bidders’ financial planning for the auction and their management of cash outlays, and could also affect their ability to finance their participation.” Under the Spectrum Act, the FCC must issue licenses for the AWS-3 bands by Feb. 22, 2015, they said, saying other aspects are unclear. “In recent FCC mobile wireless spectrum auctions, it has been typical for the auction to last one or two months, with the Commission issuing a Public Notice announcing the close of the auction,” they said. “The Commission has then set the ‘down payment’ and ‘final payment’ deadlines 10 and 20 business days after the Public Notice, respectively. Should the auction commence in October, it could close in mid-December. This means that both down payments and final payments for AWS-3 licenses could be due in 2014, both could be due in 2015, or one could be due in each year."

The FCC Wireless Bureau sought comment on a request by the Association of American Railroads to be certified as a coordinator of Business/Industrial/Land Transportation frequencies in the 800 and 900 MHz bands. “AAR indicates that to meet the growing railroad spectrum needs it has been a license holder in the 800/900 MHz band and has been coordinating the use of the licensed spectrum among various railroads,” the Wednesday notice said (http://bit.ly/1lA2Shv). The bureau sought comment in the same notice on a request by National Frequency Coordination to be certified as a frequency coordinator for Part 90 frequencies. “NFC states that it was formed in 2013 and its team has extensive experience in spectrum management and frequency coordination,” the bureau said. Comments are due June 13, replies June 30.

The 800 MHz Transition Administrator asked the FCC to extend by another six months, until Dec. 31, the “true-up” date for calculating whether Sprint owes the government money as part of the 800 MHz transition. When the FCC approved its landmark 800 MHz rebanding order in 2004 it required Nextel, pre-merger with Sprint, to pay the total value of the 10 MHz national spectrum license it got as part of the deal. The FCC set the price of the license at $4.8 billion. Subtracting the value of the spectrum Nextel agreed to give up, $2 billion, left $2.8 billion Nextel had to pay out in total rebanding costs. The FCC has been extending the true-up deadline in six-month increments since 2008. “Since the Commission released its True-Up Deferral Order, the 800 MHz reconfiguration expenditures paid by Sprint ... have increased” (http://bit.ly/1lpkxph). “A substantial number of licensees, however, have yet to complete rebanding and a true-up as of June 30, 2014 would be incomplete and would not include a significant amount of Sprint’s reconfiguration expenditures.”

CEA and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) reacted positively Wednesday to the disclosure that the Federal Aviation Administration is working with several industries to expedite allowing limited commercial operation of drones before federal rules are in place (CD May 14 p17). The associations teamed up in March to write the FAA a letter urging the “expedited consideration and approval” of a long-delayed rulemaking regulating the safe use of small commercial drones in U.S. airspace (CD March 28 p16). AIA views the disclosure that the FAA will expedite limited commercial unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations as “a positive development,” Ali Bahrami, AIA vice president-civil aviation, told us by email. “The market potential for commercial operations is huge, and this constitutes a good first step. That said, a permanent final rule regulating small UAS is a critical requirement for safe commercial operations, and we look forward to the FAA publishing the proposed small UAS rule as scheduled, in November of this year.” Much like the rest of the aviation industry, AIA members “have been anxiously waiting for the release of the proposed rule and been urging the FAA to expedite the rulemaking,” Bahrami said. The joint letter that AIA and CEA sent the FAA in March “was not the only communication with the FAA,” he said. “In fact we are in constant communication with FAA staff and feel that our concerns regarding the delayed rulemaking have been taken into consideration.” At CEA, “we commend the FAA for its commitment to work with industry to allow limited commercial use of drones,” President Gary Shapiro said in a separate email. “This is an important first step to allow productive drone use to transform industries and create jobs. As the most innovative country in the world, we should be a leader not a laggard in adopting new technology. We look forward to working with the FAA to create clear rules and a clear policy framework that unleash the explosive innovation this promising technology will bring.”

Sprint supports Comptel’s call for a “managerial framework” for future FCC action on last-mile access, copper retirement and IP interconnection as the IP transition moves forward, the carrier said in a filing at the FCC. “As Sprint has said repeatedly in its comments in various pending proceedings, the IP transition is going forward despite reluctance by some that have vested interests in delaying the inevitable in efforts to preserve legacy revenues and enhance their market power,” Sprint said (http://bit.ly/QFAzD5). “The IP transition has been led by competitive carriers that have already deployed IP networks and seek now merely to retain what has been taken for granted since the passage of the ‘96 Act, namely interconnection rights and access to last-mile facilities owned by the incumbents at reasonable rates, terms and conditions."

The FCC has all the authority it needs under the law to limit bidding by the largest carriers in the TV incentive auction, Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry said Tuesday in a blog post (http://bit.ly/1opg8J6). “The stakes are high, so high that AT&T and Verizon are now questioning the FCC’s authority to adopt its auction proposal,” Berry said. “Fortunately for consumers, the Commission has the authority and an established record necessary to move forward."