LAS VEGAS -- The FCC’s goal of completing an incentive auction for broadcast spectrum by 2014 could come at the expense of a more fully developed band plan, said NAB Executive Vice President Rick Kaplan, on a panel at the Consumer Electronics Show. Kaplan and others spoke Wednesday about the challenges involved in the incentive auction process, much of which is yet to be determined. The most important thing will be getting a plan right, not getting a plan done, said Kaplan.

As the FCC prepares its mobile measurement smartphone app for a March release, officials are optimistic about recruiting enough public volunteers for a large sample size and a “continuum” of reports that could include heat maps. This is a “much more complex project” than the FCC’s fixed broadband measurement program, said Walter Johnston, chief of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Division in the Office of Engineering and Technology. Unlike in the fixed context, where the researchers collected the data and released one major report, the mobile report won’t be a “single event” but rather “a continuum of trying to maximize the use of this data,” Johnston said. Although similar “at least philosophically” to the fixed broadband report, the mobile effort might “evolve towards different data products -- different reports, perhaps -- over time,” he said.

Sprint Nextel said it will be the first major carrier to activate FM receivers in a “broad array” of smartphones. That’s a victory for broadcasters who have been trying for years to reach such an agreement with a carrier. Certain Android and Windows smartphones on Sprint will soon come with the NextRadio app, which will allow listeners to tune local FM stations (http://xrl.us/bn9yro). The app will also let broadcasters develop new products and ways to engage listeners, said Jeff Smulyan, CEO of Emmis Communications, who has been spearheading broadcast industry efforts to get more wireless phones FM-enabled. The pact drew praise from Washington.

Dish Network’s bid for Clearwire could appear favorable to the FCC in the commission’s effort to place more wireless competitors in the market, said satellite, broadband and wireless industry attorneys and executives. The DBS company offered to buy at least 25 percent of Clearwire’s stock at $3.30 per share. Dish’s proposal could be affected by the FCC’s ongoing proceeding to evaluate spectrum holdings, some attorneys said.

The National Broadband Map, riding on hundreds of millions of dollars in funding and a month shy of two years old, still struggles with the occasional inaccuracy, some contractors who helped assemble it told us. Many stakeholders said the process is becoming more accurate. They said accuracy will become more significant as the FCC ties large USF subsidies to the map’s data. NTIA and the FCC collaboratively run the map, which launched in February 2011 and is updated every six months, said its description (http://xrl.us/bn8xc6).

LAS VEGAS -- Work on a revised version of the Stop Online Piracy Act will continue, after the fight over the legislation emerged briefly as a top battle in Congress last year, said Public Knowledge President Gigi Sohn during a Tuesday panel discussion at the Consumer Electronics Show. “Absolutely we will see the ‘Son of SOPA’ and the more controversial provisions of SOPA will all be stripped,” Sohn said. “A lot of us … will be told that we're unreasonable for opposing this new very reasonable bill. So expect it to happen. It’s already in the works."

Congress and the White House have trained their sights on the videogame and other media industries as part of their effort to stem violence in the U.S., Capitol Hill and administration officials told us this week. They said Democratic members of the executive and legislative branches are looking into what effect violent videogames, TV and movies have on the development of children and those prone to violence. The push follows the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. It’s likely lawmakers will hold hearings this session to bring attention to the issue and unclear whether they'll propose legislation to increase regulatory scrutiny over those industries, media lawyers and lobbyists said.

LAS VEGAS -- Most Americans use their phones mostly to access the Internet and for data, rather than to make actual voice calls, said economist Coleman Bazelon of The Brattle Group during a Consumer Electronics Show panel Tuesday. He and other speakers on a panel discussing wireless touched on a key topic of CES 2013, the overwhelming importance of data to fueling wireless growth. Bazelon has consulted for CEA and CTIA on spectrum issues.

A status hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 7 in the case of Bartholomew Caso, 62, who pleaded not guilty last month to charges of selling unregistered securities in Preferred Spectrum Investments. Investigators for the Palm Beach (Fla.) Police Department said Caso had told investors that Preferred “purchased license applications from the Federal Communications Commission for airway frequencies."

Carriers asked the FCC to allocate more money to Phase II of the Mobility Fund, arguing in reply comments this week that $500 million annual support for wireless eligible telecom carriers to accelerate mobile deployment is not nearly enough, and pales in comparison to the support offered to ILECs. But Verizon Wireless cautioned that consumers and business could suffer if the fund gets too large.