Global Satellite Communications urged the FCC to ensure that its Globalstar service isn’t affected by unlicensed users operating in its spectrum. Global Satellite is concerned about its Globalstar customers in government and emergency management “who depend on their Globalstar devices in disaster recovery situations,” it said in a letter to Chairman Tom Wheeler in docket 13-49 (http://bit.ly/1fNUB3H).

Apple and Samsung told the U.S. District Court in San Jose they failed to reach agreement during a mediation session on part of their long-standing patent infringement dispute, said a joint court filing by the two companies Friday. The companies are seeking a settlement to avoid moving forward with a planned March 31 trial over a lawsuit in which Apple claims Samsung violated multiple Apple patents in its Galaxy S3 smartphone and other recent devices, including Apple’s Siri voice search technology. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Samsung co-CEO J.K. Shin met for a daylong mediation session earlier this month, but the session and followup phone calls between the two companies on the mediator’s proposed settlement were “unsuccessful,” they said in the court filing. Apple and Samsung said they “remain willing to work through the mediator” to resolve the patent dispute.

The Competitive Carriers Association said rules designed for the Canadian 700 MHz auction (CD Feb 24 p5) show that the U.S. can safely impose spectrum aggregation limits in the TV incentive auction. “The record-breaking results from the Canadian … auction are proof-positive that spectrum aggregation limits will encourage participation and will raise substantial revenues at auction,” said CCA President Steve Berry in a news release. “The similarities between the lead-up to Canada’s 700 MHz auction and the current arguments here in the U.S. over spectrum aggregation limits are remarkable, and I strongly encourage the FCC to look to the success of the Canadian auction and, like Industry Canada, adopt up-front spectrum aggregation limits.” CCA planned to file its arguments at the FCC Monday.

Sprint representatives asked FCC officials for advice on an expected filing providing data to the FCC on special access charges. “Sprint explained that it is working diligently to prepare its data in expectation of the special access data request and asked for guidance regarding several aspects of the data collection,” Sprint said in an ex parte filing on the meeting (http://bit.ly/1eqia1N). “Specifically, the meeting participants discussed the appropriate format in which to submit requested data on purchase price, market trials, IRUs [Indefeasible Rights of Use], and wireless backhauls. Sprint also sought clarifying details on how it will be expected to populate date, CLLI [Common Language Location Identifier], and zip4 information fields."

Global mobile device market trends continue to change rapidly, Tom Mainelli, IDC research director-tablets, told the Digital Entertainment World Conference Thursday. Consumers, for example, are holding on to their mobile devices for longer periods than in the past, he said. Consumers are, on average, keeping PCs for four or more years, tablets for three or more years, and smartphones two or more years, said Mainelli. However, consumers tend to keep iPads a little longer than Android tablets, he said. “If you buy a $79 Android tablet at CVS you're probably not going to keep it for four years,” he said. Consumers will likely start pushing off replacing their smartphones even longer because “we're sort of getting to a point in hardware where” small improvements in new models “really don’t drive people to buy a new phone,” he said. “Phablets” -- mobile devices that are a cross between smartphones and tablets -- were a “punch line” in Q1 2013, said Mainelli. But they were 15 percent of global smartphone shipments in Q4 2013, he said.

The Department of Transportation is set to publish in the Federal Register Monday a notice seeking public comment on the use of cellphones on commercial flights. “Under the Department’s aviation consumer protection authority, we are seeking comment on whether voice calls on aircraft constitute an unfair practice to consumers ... and/or are inconsistent with adequate air transportation ... and if so whether such calls should be banned or restricted (e.g., not allow voice calls at night time),” says the advanced NPRM (http://1.usa.gov/1l6pxUb). The notice says the FCC has responsibility for parts of the overall issue such as “whether cell phones or other mobile devices used during flight would interfere with cellular networks on the ground.” But it said DOT has broader oversight. The Federal Aviation Administration “has authority over safety issues” and DOT’s Office of the Secretary “has authority over aviation consumer protection issues,” the notice said. An advanced NPRM is the equivalent of an FCC notice of inquiry with an NPRM to follow. While the FCC released its own NPRM in December (http://bit.ly/1p2NiwM), the FCC alone cannot allow cellphone use in flight, the notice says. “Even if the FCC determines that cell phones or other mobile devices used during flight would not interfere with cellular networks and revises its ban, FAA safety regulations would still apply,” the notice said. “The FAA is responsible for determining whether cellular technology can safely be used on aircraft. Any installed equipment such as Airborne Access Systems would be subject to FAA certification, just like any other piece of hardware. In addition, the aircraft operator would have to determine that the use of this system will not interfere with the navigation and communications systems of the particular type of aircraft on which it will be used before any restrictions are lifted.”

Verizon Communications said Friday that it completed its buyout of full control of Verizon Wireless from Vodafone, which previously owned 45 percent of the No. 1 U.S. wireless carrier. The deal, which the two telcos announced in September, was worth about $130 billion (CD Bulletin Sept 2 p1). The now-completed deal “provides us with opportunities for greater financial flexibility, enhanced operational efficiency and innovations that will benefit customers,” said Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in a statement. “We are confident it will fuel further growth in our business."

The audience for mobile advertisements has almost doubled since Q1 2013, said a report Citrix released Thursday (http://bit.ly/1d5oBaG). The software company said that although the mobile ad audience is growing considerably, only 2 percent of a mobile user’s daily data volume is generated through mobile ads. The report also found health apps are one of the fastest growing mobile app categories. But mobile games still rule, with 68 percent of responders to a Citrix survey saying they were “slightly addicted” to at least one game. Citrix’s ByteMobile analyzed the mobile data traffic, and market researcher Wakefield conducted the consumer surveys during 2014’s Q1.

Inserting unlicensed services in the 600 MHz band, without unduly expanding the size of the guard bands and duplex gap, “will impair the adjacent mobile spectrum blocks and effectively destroy the fungibility of the licensed mobile spectrum that the Commission is working so hard to repurpose through the upcoming voluntary incentive auction,” Qualcomm told the FCC Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1gm79kk). The company was responding to a filing by Google and Broadcom, which “only analyzed a single use case” of the adjacent channel out-of-band emissions of the unlicensed device into an LTE user device, Qualcomm said. Google and Broadcom “completely overlooked the impact of blocking,” Qualcomm said. “Inserting unlicensed services in the 600 MHz band would be unwise from both technical and economic perspectives, will create wide areas of interference and impair the value of the adjacent licensed spectrum, and should therefore be avoided.”

Verizon executives emphasized the importance of the FCC allowing package bidding if it adopts license sizes smaller than Economic Area licenses in the AWS-3 auction. The comments came in a meeting with Wireless Bureau staff. “If the Commission were to adopt smaller license areas, these licenses must ‘nest’ into existing EAs, and it is even more imperative that auction participants be able to combine licenses through package bids,” said an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1dSDdhP).