AT&T fleshed out several details of its proposed wire center deregulatory trials at an FCBA event Wednesday night, characterizing the petition as a relatively modest request. “We didn’t ask for any particular relief,” said Hank Hultquist, vice president-regulatory affairs. “We didn’t ask to end the world as we know it.” In its upcoming reply comments, AT&T will try to clear up perceptions that it’s asking for pre-emption, or “to end competitors’ rates to UNEs [unbundled network elements], or interconnection, or anything else,” Hultquist said. “We're asking for a fairly narrow trial.” Representatives from various sectors of the telecom industry supported the trials, but said the FCC must ensure that public safety and consumer protections continue to apply no matter what technology is ultimately used.

T-Mobile asked the FCC to dedicate at least 50 MHz of 3.5 GHz spectrum to licensed use by carriers. But the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) said the FCC’s proposed approach in a Dec. 12 NPRM to allocate the spectrum for unlicensed use by small cells is on the right track. NAB, NCTA and other groups raised interference concerns. The commission approved the NPRM at its December meeting. It looks at the future use of the 3550-3650 MHz band and how it could be shared with military and satellite operations already in place there. NTIA has identified the band for shared federal and non-federal use in its 2010 “Fast Track Report."

The FCC approved 5-0 on Wednesday rules for cell signal boosters, designed to extend the reach of carrier networks. Commission Democrats and Republicans expressed some concerns about the order, which has been in the works since 2011 (CD Feb 20 p1). Major wireless carriers and 90 rural carriers have assured the FCC they plan to allow the use of boosters as long as they meet the technical requirements specified in the order, officials said. Public Knowledge criticized the order for not grandfathering in the use of more than two million cell boosters already being used by consumers. The order had not been posted online by the FCC by our deadline.

Commenters generally supported a process proposed by the FCC Wireline Bureau to let parties challenge census blocks misidentified by the National Broadband Map (NBM). The process would let parties challenge census blocks identified as eligible to receive Connect America Fund Phase II support, when the parties argue they're actually unserved by an unsubsidized competitor. Cable and wireless ISPs offered some tweaks to the process. USTelecom and several rural associations offered alternative proposals that would involve recommendations by state authorities.

Ukraine’s government is implementing the intellectual property rights (IPR) “action plan” it developed in consultation with the U.S. and hopes to fix remaining IP issues through forthcoming legislation, said Serhii Nalyvaiko, head of the State Intellectual Property Service of Ukraine’s control over IP objects use division, during a Special 301 review hearing Wednesday at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). Nalyvaiko’s testimony came as the USTR-led Special 301 Committee considers whether to designate Ukraine as a “priority foreign country” (PFC) under the Special 301 statute.

The FCC approved by unanimous vote Wednesday an NPRM that could add another 195 MHz to the spectrum open for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use in the 5 GHz band. The notice also proposes changes to FCC rules and equipment authorization procedures for devices used in the band. FCC officials told us more harmonization of the 5 GHz band could be helpful to industry and consumers.

ISPs and particularly cable operators came in for new criticism from net neutrality backers for what those advocates say are shifting explanations of why bandwidth caps for wireline broadband subscribers makes sense. NCTA CEO Michael Powell’s comments at a Minority Media and Telecommunications Council conference last month that such billing practices are fair drew heat in a three-page white paper issued Wednesday by the New America Foundation. An NAF official who co-wrote the paper (http://bit.ly/Yb74Ht) and an executive at an association of websites and other technology companies that support net neutrality rules said Powell’s comments are the newest wrinkle on an escalating trend of cable and telco ISPs starting to charge subscribers for how much bandwidth they use monthly. NCTA called the paper misleading.

Georgia’s House Bill 282 is reigniting controversies and conversation on whether states should limit municipal broadband networks. Other states have debated and sometimes passed such laws in the past. The bill has attracted heavy media attention since it was introduced in early February, and last Friday FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski discouraged state legislators from passing such laws (CD Feb 19 p11). The bill proposes forbidding municipal networks if a region’s residents connect at speeds of 1.5 Mbps, a provision which has attracted intense opposition as well as support.

It’s still too soon to know how the FCC’s planned incentive spectrum auction will affect TV broadcasters, Gray TV President Bob Prather told analysts Wednesday during the company’s Q4 earning teleconference. He was asked if the auction might make the competitive environment better for stations that stay in the business by forcing weaker operators to exit. “It probably would,” he said. But “I think those auctions are still way up in the air and way down the road,” he said. “I don’t think anybody knows what’s going to happen."

Dish Network has “seven years to build out” under the requirements of its 2-GHz wireless spectrum licenses, “and I don’t think the value of our spectrum goes down,” so the company is in no hurry to show its strategic hand, said Chairman Charles Ergen Wednesday on a quarterly earnings call. “The focus of the next year will be to figure out what’s the best path for us, with our preference being to partner with somebody that’s in the business today. We have plenty of time to do that and make the right decisions. The trick is not to lose a lot of money while you're trying to make the long-term strategic call.” Dish sister company EchoStar meanwhile is looking to expand its set-top box business as much as possible in Latin America and it’s also focused on Europe, said EchoStar Technologies President Mark Jackson. The Canadian business is down a little overall, he added on EchoStar’s Q4 conference call.