The FCC took a “significant step in freeing up additional spectrum to meet Americans’ unquenchable thirst for mobile broadband service” in approving rules Thursday (CD May 15 p4) for a TV incentive auction, said CTIA Vice President Regulatory Affairs Scott Bergmann on the group’s blog. “The airwaves made available through this auction will fuel infrastructure investment, spur job creation and foster the virtuous cycle of competition and innovation -- benefiting wireless users throughout the country,” Bergmann wrote Monday (http://bit.ly/1vsYupW). “Consumers will experience better, faster and more ubiquitous wireless broadband service.” The auction will help address the expected spectrum crunch, he said: “The latest projections are staggering and demonstrate mobile data’s continued explosive growth -- 360 petabytes per month, equal to 90 million DVDs per month or 992 million text messages per second.”

Sprint agreed to pay $7.5 million, a record fine, to end an FCC investigation over whether the company violated the agency’s do-not-call rules, the FCC said Monday. The carrier agreed to a two-year plan to ensure compliance with commission requirements protecting consumer privacy (http://fcc.us/Tmxs52). “We expect companies to respect the privacy of consumers who have opted out of marketing calls,” said Travis LeBlanc, Enforcement Bureau acting chief. “Today’s settlement leaves no question that protecting consumer privacy is a top enforcement priority.” “This consent decree relates to issues resulting from technical and inadvertent human errors, which Sprint reported to the FCC,” a Sprint spokeswoman said in an e-mail. “We have conducted a thorough, top-to-bottom evaluation of our Do Not Call data management systems, and significant capital investments have been made to improve our Do Not Call/SMS Message architecture, oversight and compliance."

The FCC gave railroads some of the certainty they've been seeking as they implement Positive Train Control. The Wireless Bureau Monday released a document by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, which will govern National Historic Preservation Act review of many PTC facilities. “By tailoring and expediting the historic preservation review process under Section 106 for PTC wayside poles and infrastructure in the railroad right-of way, the Program Comment will facilitate timely completion of the important PTC railway safety initiative, as mandated by Congress, while ensuring that the effects of wayside poles and infrastructure on historic properties are appropriately considered,” the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1vuz0bF). It invited questions, with a due date of May 28. PTC is designed to protect trains from collisions with other trains, over-speed derailments and other threats to rail safety.

The FCC’s spectrum aggregation order, approved Thursday, is highly positive for AT&T, Dish Network and Verizon, Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant said Friday in a research note. “Right at the end of the proceeding, Verizon’s and AT&T’s spectrum buying opportunity went from good to very good,” Gallant said. That makes a buy of Dish more plausible, he said. “Raising the spectrum screen from 151 MHz to around 190-200 MHz should greatly reduce one major objection to a merger: that AT&T or Verizon would have too much spectrum if they acquired Dish,” Gallant wrote. “For example, Verizon currently has an average of 102 MHz per market. Adding Dish’s 56 MHz would have put Verizon well over the old 151 MHz cap in some markets but would put Verizon well under the new screen of 190-200 MHz. Being below cap increases the deal approval prospects but does not guarantee it -- FCC will still examine competitive effects of all spectrum deals.” The rules are “less helpful” to T-Mobile and Sprint but probably raise the likelihood of a successful incentive auction, the note said. The rules mean Verizon and AT&T “will be able to secure meaningful low-band spectrum” in the incentive auction, UBS said Friday. “We remain neutral on wireless amid rising competition, with [T-Mobile] our only Buy in the segment due to strong sub momentum, conservative valuation, and potential as a takeout target,” UBS said. The spectrum aggregation rules make an AT&T or Verizon buy of Dish more likely, but a Sprint/T-Mobile merger more difficult, said New Street Research in a Friday note. “Sprint is at or above the screen in most markets,” the form said. “As such, a transaction with [T-Mobile] would trigger enhanced scrutiny and significant spectrum divestitures would likely be required.” The incentive auction order “represents a significant step toward implementing a ‘win-win’ for consumers and the U.S. economy,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “This historic effort has the potential to unleash vital spectrum to meet ever-increasing consumer demand for mobile broadband services, spur investment and innovation and maintain our global leadership in mobile broadband. As a result of the Commission’s and Congress’ hard work, American consumers and businesses will benefit from a new generation of wireless services and offerings built on the foundation of new mobile broadband spectrum.”

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."

AT&T Vice President Joan Marsh expressed general support for the FCC’s spectrum aggregation and TV incentive auction rules, said a Thursday ex parte filing to the FCC. Marsh spoke Wednesday with Wireless Bureau Chief Roger Sherman, the filing said. “We understand that there are still other issues to be addressed, but we believe the spectrum aggregation and auction rules now being considered will represent a significant step forward in demonstrating to broadcasters that the Incentive Auction will attract significant carrier interest and demand,” Marsh said. “I noted that the FCC will bring 50 MHz of valuable AWS3 spectrum to auction this Fall. AT&T anticipates that it will participate meaningfully in that auction to supplement its spectrum portfolio."

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.

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.

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.

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).