Sprint asked the FCC for a limited waiver of the agency’s Telecommunications Relay Services rules in order to permit federal video relay service toll-free “front door” phone numbers and 10-digit numbers into the Internet-based TRS Numbering Directory. “Permitting these federal ‘front door’ and ten-digit numbers into the database will increase the ability of taxpaying deaf and hard of hearing Americans to reach federal employees and will reduce the number of calls placed through the federal TRS fund,” Sprint said (http://bit.ly/1jaj4nH).

CTIA expressed concerns about a proposal by the Hearing Industries Association, which CTIA said would expand the breadth of the hearing-aid compatibility (HAC) rules to “universal regulatory coverage.” CTIA “has significant concerns with any requirement that all handsets offered in the United States meet HAC requirements,” the group told the FCC in an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1gWwWkj). “Such a blanket approach faces significant legal challenges, as it appears to be inconsistent with Section 102 of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010."

Apple filed for a patent for a “method to send payment data through various air interfaces without compromising user data,” in a patent application the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Thursday (http://1.usa.gov/1eNIXZL). The patent is intended for a more-secure and touch-free form of mobile payment, said the filing.

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology released modified rules for measuring spectrum emissions by level probing radar (LPR) devices operating on an unlicensed basis in the 5.925-7.250 GHz, 24.05-29.00 GHz, and 75-85 GHz bands. LPR devices are used to measure water basin levels and coal piles, among other applications, OET said (http://bit.ly/1dTpAum). “Manufacturers have had a difficult time demonstrating compliance with the rule’s low emission limits for certain types of level-measuring applications in fiberglass or polyethylene (plastic) tanks or in open air,” OET said. Certification of LPR equipment under the new rules requires “measuring emissions in the main beam of the LPR antenna, while adjusting the emission limits in Part 15 for devices so measured to account for the significant attenuation that occurs upon reflection of those emissions,” OET said. “These emission limits will protect any nearby receivers from encountering any increase in interfering signal levels."

T-Mobile representatives warned FCC officials about the dangers of package bidding, which both AT&T and Verizon Wireless have advocated for the upcoming incentive TV auction. The “drawbacks” of package bidding include “the creation of an excess supply of licenses upon the withdrawal of a package bid; the creation of new mechanisms to game the auction process; and the competitive risks associated with effectively granting package bidders an additional right to withdraw bids compared to individual license bidders,” T-Mobile said, according to an ex parte filing (http://bit.ly/1dTnCdx). “Given the risks, drawbacks and complexities associated with package bidding, participants ... discussed alternative mechanisms that can reduce exposure risk without substantially increasing gaming opportunities or computational challenges. Reasonable spectrum aggregation limits, for example, can constrain exposure risk in a manner similar to package bidding, but without unduly increasing either auction complexity or gaming opportunities."

Improved location targeting will create a “tipping point” for mobile advertising sales in 2014, said a BIA/Kelsey report released Thursday (http://bit.ly/LkbsUq). Currently, mobile encompasses 12 percent of consumer media consumption, but only 3 percent of U.S. ad dollars are spent on mobile, said BIA/Kelsey Vice President-Content Michael Boland, who wrote the study. “We see a few factors that will counterbalance this in the coming year, including location-targeted ads and the ability to measure effectiveness through attribution technologies,” he said in a release (http://bit.ly/1b6hT34). BIA/Kelsey is a local media consulting and research company. The report was produced with location-based mobile advertising company Verve Mobile.

Comments are due Feb. 14, replies March 17, on the FCC’s December rulemaking on in-flight cellphone use, after the notice was published in the Federal Register (http://1.usa.gov/1b3Xzzn). The notice is unlikely to attract much support, said lawyer Mitchell Lazarus in a Fletcher Heald blog post. “It’s possible that the Commission’s proposal has some fans somewhere who will be moved to file, but from the response the NPRM has received so far, the boo-birds are likely to outnumber the cheerleaders by a whopping margin,” he wrote (http://bit.ly/1dwsWZg).

The FCC should reject a request by ClearRF, which manufactures cell-signal boosters, for an extra six to 10 months to sell boosters that don’t conform to rules that take effect March 1, CTIA said in comments filed at the FCC. Initial comments were due Tuesday. “In these comments, CTIA demonstrates that the transition process and timeline adopted by the Commission is appropriate, and that ClearRF has failed to justify its request for a waiver and extension of time,” CTIA said (http://bit.ly/1d63Nly). “Several of ClearRF’s competitors -- while facing many of the same challenges cited by ClearRF -- have stated confidently that they will be able to deploy compliant signal boosters by the Commission’s deadline.” Verizon Wireless offered similar comments. “ClearRF has had more than a year to come into compliance,” the carrier said (http://bit.ly/LeMyFV). “Extending the deadline will result in the sale and use of more signal boosters that do not meet the Commission’s standards and will likely result in more harmful interference to wireless networks.” ClearRF told the commission it has been working diligently to develop a product that complies with the new rules (http://bit.ly/1m6HKzU).

The FCC will formally open the comment period Wednesday on its rulemaking on cellphone use on airplanes, when the NPRM’s text will be published in the Federal Register. The FCC approved the notice Dec. 12 (CD Dec 13 p1). Comments are due within 30 days after the NPRM’s Federal Register publication and reply comments are due within 60 days, according to advance text of the Federal Register notice posted Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1kA8oCZ). The FCC had already posted more than 400 comments it has received on the NPRM as of our deadline.

Thirty-six percent of consumers said they're willing to share their GPS location with retailers, said an IBM study that surveyed more than 30,000 people, said a company news release Monday (http://ibm.co/1ho1ewW). Another 38 percent are willing to share their cellphone number to receive text messages from retailers and 32 percent said they would share their social media handles, said the release.