The Competitive Carriers Association asked the FCC to pause the phase-down of legacy USF support for wireless carriers until Phase II of the Mobility Fund is operational. The request came in a filing at the FCC Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1md24z2). “We are very concerned that the FCC’s draft Report and Order on USF will be detrimental to wireless carriers and the consumers they serve, especially those in rural areas where USF support is absolutely necessary,” CCA President Steve Berry said in a statement. “To avoid furthering the dominance of the legacy twin Bells, the FCC must act immediately to put USF reform efforts back on track to promote competition and benefit consumers who are choosing wireless services more and more each day.” Berry also urged the FCC to eliminate the right of first refusal for incumbent price-cap carriers. “Price-cap carriers already have been given the opportunity to accept support, and giving them another ‘first opportunity’ would allow them to take advantage of the process to maximize their own revenues, to the detriment of consumers,” he said. “The FCC has the opportunity to put USF reform on the right track again. Wireless carriers got the short end of the stick the first go-round -- with a 60 percent reduction of funding despite contributing more than half of the high-cost support funding -- and it’s time the FCC focused on restoring competition rather than further skewing USF support in favor of wireline carriers."

Smartphone anti-theft steps announced by the wireless industry late Tuesday were criticized by local officials as “inadequate” and as “an incremental yet inadequate step to address the epidemic of smartphone theft.” CTIA and participating wireless companies announced (http://bit.ly/1mcQOmq) the “Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment,” in which new models of smartphones manufactured after July 2015 will have a preloaded or downloadable tool that would wipe out the authorized user’s personal data, render the smartphone inoperable to unauthorized users and prevent reactivation without the user’s permission if the device is reported lost or stolen. The “'opt-in’ proposal misses the mark if the ultimate goal is to combat street crime and violent thefts involving smartphones and tablets,” said a statement from California Sen. Mark Leno (D), sponsor of California Senate Bill 962, which would require smartphones and tablets to be disabled if reported lost or stolen (CD April 2 p14). “For stolen phones to have no resale value on the black market, the vast majority of consumers must have the theft-deterrent feature pre-enabled on their phones, using an ‘opt-out’ solution. Inexplicably, the mobile industry refuses to take this approach, which will simply prolong the epidemic of thefts we're seeing in California and the rest of the country.” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said in a joint statement (http://bit.ly/1mcVKrw) that the commitment “falls short of what is needed to effectively end the epidemic of smartphone theft. We strongly urge CTIA and its members to make their anti-theft features enabled by default on all devices, rather than relying on consumers to opt-in. The industry also has a responsibility to protect its consumers now and not wait until next year. Every week that passes means more people are victimized in street crimes that often turn violent, and more families will have to endure the needless loss of a loved one.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who introduced legislation requiring the so-called kill switches, called the commitment “another important milestone in the fight against cell phone theft. ... We need to ensure that manufacturers and providers not only make good on this commitment but continue to take steps to make sure that all consumers have access to the most advanced technologies to protect their smartphones and personal information” (http://1.usa.gov/1m7BVUP). The CTIA press release said the commitment “will continue to protect consumers while recognizing the companies’ need to retain flexibility so they may constantly innovate.”

U.S. Cellular told the FCC it should be concerned about keeping funding flowing and it should “fully implement Mobility Fund II at the earliest possible date,” in meetings with staff for the FCC commissioners, said an ex parte filing. Both mobility fund auctions to date demonstrated the need for funding, the carrier said (http://bit.ly/1eFA3R7). “In each case, demand for support far exceeded available funding,” it said. “In Mobility Fund II, when the standard will be areas that lack 4G service, many additional areas will be eligible and the resulting demand will be even higher.”

More than 50 percent of U.S. smartphone and tablet owners want tech support services that would protect against loss, theft or viruses, even though fewer than 10 percent of owners will experience those issues, Parks Associates said Tuesday in a report. It said about 55 percent are interested in virus and identity theft protection, while 50 percent want services that will repair or replace a damaged device. The most common issues device owners encountered were short battery life, lack of wireless Internet connectivity and issues with app functionality, Parks Associates said. About 40 percent of U.S. broadband households said they're likely to buy a smoke or fire detector that can be remotely monitored, while 25 percent said they're interested in connected sensors and thermostats, the firm said (http://bit.ly/RmJdYf).

More spectrum sharing may be necessary in the future for some bands that can’t be cleared, but steps need to be taken to make sharing work better, Mobile Future said in a paper released Tuesday, written by Rysavy Research (http://bit.ly/1hIGGlT). Among its conclusions is that the government “needs to use realistic and real world interference assumptions,” industry and the government need to agree on “realistic propagation models” and should take advantage of the recently established trusted-agent process.

New York University’s NYU Wireless research center said Ericsson became a sponsor for the center’s research and development of 5G and other wireless technologies. Students involved in the center, which is part of NYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering, “will benefit from working alongside this global innovator and leader in network infrastructure technology and wireless services,” said NYU professor Ted Rappaport in a news release. Each industry partner controls two seats on the center’s industrial affiliates’ board and gets early access to the center’s research (http://bit.ly/1qE2aSb).

The Rural Wireless Association said the FCC should “immediately halt” the phase-down of USF support for high-cost wireless carriers because the Mobility Fund Phase II won’t be “operational” or “implemented” by June 30. “It is highly unlikely for Phase II to be ‘operational’ or ‘implemented’ by June 30, 2014, given the time it has taken the FCC to disburse Phase I funding,” RWA said in a filing at the commission (http://bit.ly/1jIfJNz). “In addition, carriers are now in the second quarter of 2014. There is not enough time between now and June 30, 2014 for the Commission to adopt final Phase II rules, have them published in the Federal Register, hold an auction, authorize payments, and disburse funds before the next scheduled phase-down of legacy support.” RWA said carriers need “predictability to formulate their business decisions, and currently there is no predictability with regard to the continued availability of USF funding ... as of July 1.” U.S. Cellular told the FCC it should be concerned about keeping funding flowing and the FCC should “fully implement Mobility Fund II at the earliest possible date,” in meetings with staff for the FCC commissioners, said an ex parte filing. Both mobility fund auctions to date demonstrated the need for funding, the carrier said (http://bit.ly/1eFA3R7). “In each case, demand for support far exceeded available funding,” it said. “In Mobility Fund II, when the standard will be areas that lack 4G service, many additional areas will be eligible and the resulting demand will be even higher."

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said his company will drop all overage charges for customers. Legere urged Verizon, AT&T and Sprint to do the same. “Charging overage fees is a greedy, predatory practice that needs to go,” Legere said in a Monday news release (http://t-mo.co/1n6Yeu5). “Starting in May for bills arriving in June -- regardless of whether you're on Simple Choice, Simple Starter or an older plan, we're abolishing overages for good.” Some carrier wireless plans are “purpose-built to drive customers over that invisible line into massive overage charges,” he said. “The result has been a culture of fear, worry and surprise every time the wireless bill arrives.” T-Mobile posted an anti-overage charge petition addressed to “wireless carriers,” which had more than 4,500 signatures recorded at our deadline (http://chn.ge/1qX0sd0).

Wireless mic maker Shure said expanding Part 74 license eligibility and database registration as part of TV incentive auction rules “will be critical to professional users as the amount of UHF spectrum available to wireless microphone operations is sharply reduced due to implementation of the incentive auctions and spectrum rebanding.” Shure representatives met with various FCC officials on the rules, according to an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1iOJqte). “The Commission should avoid definitions that rely on narrow, inflexible categories such as building dimensions, number of microphones used, etc.,” Shure said. “Given that identical equipment is deployed across diverse user categories, we also suggested that the Commission avoid rule definitions that would identify or exclude productions that would be eligible or not be eligible for a license based on the type of event, such as limitations on non-broadcast, entertainment, religious, corporate, civic and government events.” Venue owners and operators, as well as event producers, responsible engineers, performers and professional sound equipment providers all should be allowed to apply for a license, Shure said.

T-Mobile wants a “regulatory guarantee that it can acquire several licenses at the Incentive Auction without any need to bid against Verizon or AT&T,” Verizon said in a filing at the FCC. Verizon took on a recent T-Mobile paper by University of Maryland economist Peter Cramton, which said spectrum aggregation limits in Canada’s recent 700 MHz auction meant a more competitive auction (http://bit.ly/1gVIerq). “T-Mobile is an established nationwide incumbent with a large, multinational parent and a demonstrated ability to acquire the spectrum it needs,” Verizon said (http://bit.ly/P0T3wV). “For example, T-Mobile recently entered into an agreement with Verizon to acquire what it describes as a ‘huge swath’ of low-frequency spectrum covering 70 percent of its customers. And the last time T-Mobile chose to participate in an auction, it dominated the bidding -- spending $4.2 billion and acquiring more spectrum than Verizon and AT&T combined. Dr. Cramton fails to support his assertion that T-Mobile needs special preferences.” T-Mobile fired back. “T-Mobile has consistently supported a one-third limit on the amount of below 1 GHz spectrum any single bidder can obtain in any individual market at auction,” said T-Mobile Federal Regulatory Vice President Kathleen Ham. “Reasonable spectrum-aggregation limits prevent foreclosure, increase auction participation, enhance auction revenues and encourage competition in the marketplace."