Some smaller carriers would also face restrictions in bidding for low-band spectrum in the TV incentive auction under the proposed rules, not just AT&T and Verizon, the Competitive Carriers Association told FCC officials in meetings last week. CCA representatives met with aides to Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel, said an ex parte filing posted Thursday in docket 12-268. “There is little rationale for putting a small, rural competitor in the same (or worse) position than better capitalized, dominant nationwide providers,” the group said (http://bit.ly/1i0KRIy). “CCA has identified multiple examples of this result for carriers located throughout the country.” CCA proposed that the FCC adopt a national eligibility requirement in addition to a market-by-market test. “This proposal allows rural and regional providers to bid on reserved spectrum in their core markets, but does not change the two largest providers’ capability to bid on reserved spectrum in any market,” CCA said. “For example, under CCA’s proposal, AT&T would still be able to bid on reserved spectrum in Cleveland, Phoenix and Puerto Rico. Verizon would still be able to bid on reserved spectrum in Dallas, Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville.”

The FCC Public Safety Bureau plans a workshop June 2 to take advice on rules for carriers to submit annual certifications required under the commission’s new 911 reliability rules. In December, the FCC voted to require carriers to file annual audits on how they are following best practices for 911 connections (CD Dec 13 p7). The order followed the 2012 derecho, which led to 911 outages affecting emergency call centers in three states. The workshop is scheduled 1-4 p.m. at FCC headquarters in Washington.

Imposing spectrum aggregation limits in the TV incentive auction would be “perverse and unjust” since they would help “large multinational companies at the expense of their competitors,” Verizon representatives said in meetings with FCC commissioners Ajit Pai and Mike O'Rielly. T-Mobile is owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom and Sprint is partly owned by Japan’s SoftBank. “T-Mobile and Sprint are large corporations with established, well-financed corporate parents,” Verizon said in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1nMcGI4). “They and their parent corporations are more than capable of paying substantial amounts to acquire spectrum in the incentive auction if they choose to do so.” Verizon also warned that imposing limits on selling restricted spectrum licenses would hurt the auction. “Such restrictions would suppress the value of the restricted licenses at auction, further reducing competition and further increasing the risk that broadcasters do not relinquish substantial amounts of spectrum,” Verizon said. “That is because firms are less likely to participate, or to bid aggressively, if they know that they will be unable to subsequently sell their spectrum if their business plans change or do not work out."

The FCC Public Safety Bureau gave Pima County, Ariz., more time, but not as much as it had asked, to submit a frequency reconfiguration agreement (FRA) to the 800 MHz Transition Administrator as the county reconfigures its public safety radios. Pima requested an extension until Sept. 11, but got instead an extension through July 15, said a bureau order (http://bit.ly/1pPcWIr). “There is nothing we can do to change the fact that Pima has not been diligent in producing a cost estimate, therefore we have no option other than to give Pima an extension of some duration,” the bureau said. “We need not, however, accede to the lengthy extension in Pima’s Request.”

The FCC released a document Wednesday listing all handsets used by every U.S. carrier (http://bit.ly/1fR06zL) at the end of 2013. The agency also posted information on handsets offered in the U.S. during the same time frame, offering information on air interface technology, the bands they operate in and whether they are rated for use with hearing aids (http://bit.ly/1kiQhvI).

A Florida man who allegedly jammed consumer cellphone service from his car for nearly two years and interfered with first-responder communications faces a possible $48,000 fine from the FCC, the agency said in a release Tuesday (http://fcc.us/1iHV3GJ). FCC Enforcement Bureau agents identified Jason Humphreys of Seffner, Fla., as the source of the interference by using sophisticated interference detection techniques (http://fcc.us/1m7XHIX). Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies stopped Humphreys’ vehicle while he was apparently operating the jammer and seized the illegal jamming device, the release said. Humphreys’ jammer operation “could and may have had disastrous consequences” by precluding the use of cellphones to reach 911, the FCC said. Signal jammers are transmitters that intentionally interfere with cellphone calls, GPS systems, Wi-Fi networks and first-responder communications..

Verizon agreed to pay $50,000 and take other steps to end an FCC investigation of whether it violated the commission’s radiofrequency exposure (RFE) limits in Philadelphia and Hartford. The FCC found that rooftop transmitters at one site in each city “may have violated” the RFE rules, the Enforcement Bureau said (http://bit.ly/1hXavcP). “To resolve the investigations, Verizon Wireless will pay $50,000 and implement a rigorous compliance plan to protect Verizon Wireless employees, contractors, and other people who may come into contact with radiofrequency emissions from Verizon Wireless facilities,” the bureau said. “The plan includes training for Verizon Wireless employees and contractors, periodic inspections of approximately 5,000 Verizon Wireless sites, reporting requirements, and other safety measures."

Samsung remained the global smartphone market share leader in Q1 this year, as its shipments grew to 85 million from 69.7 million in Q1 last year, IDC said Wednesday. But Samsung’s share slipped to 30.2 percent from 31.9 percent in Q1 last year. Apple remained firmly No. 2, as its shipments increased to 43.7 million from 37.4 million, but its share dipped to 15.5 percent from 17.1 percent. Samsung started 2014 exactly where it started and finished 2013, as the “undisputed” global leader in the smartphone market, said IDC. By March 31, Samsung had shipped more smartphones than the next four vendors combined, said the research company. Although Samsung “relied” on its high-end smartphones within mature markets and its “deep” selection of entry- and mid-range models in emerging markets, Samsung also launched its flagship Galaxy S5 within select markets, said IDC. Apple achieved a new Q1 record by passing 40 million units, said IDC. The manufacturer had double-digit growth in Japan and across multiple developing markets, including Brazil, China, India and Indonesia, said IDC. But it had the weakest year-over-year growth among the top five smartphone vendors, who also included Huawei, Lenovo and LG, said IDC. It remained to be seen when -- “not if” -- Apple’s rumored large-screen models will ship, said IDC. Those models would be “filling a gap in the company’s portfolio that has been exploited by the competition,” said the research company. Despite growing their smartphone shipments in Q1, Huawei, Lenovo and LG continued to have single-digit shares, with LG’s slipping to 4.4 percent from 4.7 percent, said IDC. Huawei smartphone shipments grew to 13.7 million from 9.3 million, while its share grew to 4.9 percent from 4.3 percent. Lenovo’s shipments grew to 12.9 million from 7.9 million and its share increased to 4.6 percent from 3.6 percent. LG’s shipments jumped to 12.3 million from 10.3 million. Smartphone shipments from other manufacturers soared to 113.9 million from 84.2 million. Huawei’s goal for 2014 is to ship 80 million smartphones globally, and contributing to that is the company’s growing emphasis on large-screen models, said IDC. Huawei’s latest model, the Ascend Mate 2 4G, has a 6.1-inch screen, one of the largest in the industry, said IDC. Lenovo’s ability to score the largest year-over-year growth among the top five smartphone vendors was helped by continued success in Asia-Pacific despite its “nominal presence” in other markets, said IDC. The minimal presence outside Asia will “quickly change” after Lenovo’s purchase of Motorola Mobility from Google is finalized, giving Lenovo a “footprint” in markets including North America and Western Europe where it has been “notably absent,” said IDC. Total Q1 global smartphone shipments grew 28.6 percent from Q1 last year to 281.5 million units, said IDC. The smartphone market started 2014 with an “expected retrenchment” from strong holiday quarter shipment volumes despite the year-over-year growth, it said. Shipments declined 2.8 percent from Q4. But the Q1 results beat IDC’s forecast of 267.2 million units by 5.3 percent, it said.

Amazon launched a wearable technology store at its website that it called a “one-stop shop” for consumers to find the newest wearable technology and research wearable devices including activity trackers, smart watches and wearable cameras. The online store features established brands including Samsung, Jawbone and GoPro, along with products from “emerging” brands including Basis and Misfit, and devices from new players including Narrative and Bionym, Amazon said Tuesday. Amazon is seeing “rapid innovation” in the wearable category and its customers are increasingly visiting its website to learn more about such devices, said John Nemeth, Amazon director-wireless and mobile electronics, in a news release. Amazon’s new wearable store features a Learning Center that includes product videos and detailed buying guides.

Honeywell Aerospace said it will be AT&T’s exclusive hardware provider of domestic air-to-ground communication for the carrier’s planned in-flight connectivity services. AT&T has said it plans to provide 4G LTE service to passengers in-flight by the end of 2015. Honeywell said it will build exclusive hardware for AT&T’s air-to-ground system, which will integrate with Honeywell’s GX and L-Band satellite systems. The air-to-ground system is meant to only work on domestic flights, but connectivity to Honeywell satellites could allow global connectivity, Honeywell said Tuesday (http://prn.to/1kknLuX).