The 700 MHz waiver order released by the FCC last Monday approved the interoperability showings of Charlotte, N.C., and Harris County, Texas. The order otherwise did little to smooth their way to starting early first responder networks, officials said. Meanwhile, government and public safety officials told us, there appears to be no real accounting of how much the 21 700 MHz waiver recipients have spent so far on the groundwork to build out networks that may well never start.

Radio broadcasters, having stepped up online streaming, now look to promote mobile devices capable of receiving over-the-air FM signals, both for stations to save money on royalty costs and for wireless subscribers to save money on data plans. Most of the commercial stations owned by major U.S. radio broadcasters that responded to our survey stream transmissions in real-time online, and many but not all of the properties have apps for multiple mobile platforms. Those companies’ executives said they hope consumers will learn they could listen to nearby FM stations on smartphones, and that carriers react by adding devices with the chips.

The Federal Communications Bar Association will become more technology-focused as more technology companies join and it begins to utilize social media, members and officials told us. The Young Lawyers Committee is expanding recruitment and increasing opportunities, they said. The annual charity auction will emphasize partnership, and its organizing committee is using more social media, which may also prove useful for the FCBA Foundation, members of the association said. Though the FCBA is developing, “I think in a lot of ways a lot about the bar will stay the same,” former president Yaron Dori said.

The FCC “is doing its part” to help cable operators deliver faster broadband speeds and higher broadband capacity through a notice of proposed rulemaking and other recent actions that will lead to more efficient cable system operations, Chairman Julius Genachowski said at the commission meeting Friday. The NPRM will modernize cable signal quality and leakage rules that were designed for analog systems, the commission said. With the agency doing its part, “it is imperative that the operators do theirs and we see ongoing expansion of broadband speed, capacity and availability,” Genachowski said. He pointed to the commission’s recent DTV viewability order, the subject of a recent lawsuit by broadcasters opposed to it (CD Aug 3 p5), as another example of the commission helping cable system efficiency.

The U.S. formally opposed attempts to wrest control of the Internet away from its current governing organizations in favor of the United Nations’ ITU, the U.S. delegation to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) said in documents filed Friday. The Dec. 3-4 meeting in Dubai will focus on revising the ITU’s treaty-level International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs), last revised in 1988. The U.S. State Department released the documents to the public after the filing (http://xrl.us/bnjbef).

The FCC review of Verizon Wireless’s buy of AWS licenses from SpectrumCo and Cox appears to be reaching its final stages, as FCC officials work through issues raised by the commercial agreements tied to the AWS license sales. Meanwhile, the Rural Telecommunications Group raised concerns about a “flurry of activity” in the secondary spectrum market, with AT&T proposing several spectrum buys, and asked the FCC to halt consideration of the Verizon/cable transactions, the Verizon/T-Mobile spectrum swap and other pending deals “until parties have the opportunity to weigh the numerous transactions contemplated by AT&T."

ISPs working with the FCC on its ongoing broadband speed measurement program are concerned about the introduction of formalized “Principles for Open Measurements,” presented at the agency’s July 25 meeting of stakeholders. ISP representatives we spoke to questioned the value of implementing such formal principles this far into the program, which has already produced two successful Measuring Broadband America reports (CD July 20 p1). ISPs also worried the new principles could turn the group from a flexible and collegial gathering of stakeholders to a more formal and rigid body.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has reached out to Department of Defense officials first hand on making more spectrum available for wireless broadband, he said in a press conference following the FCC’s meeting Friday. DOD is a major spectrum user and a key player in talks with federal officials over freeing up more spectrum for sharing or reallocating for a future auction. Half the meeting had a wireless focus, with the FCC approving an order designed to spur greater use of microwave for wireless backhaul. The meeting was the third August session in a row where the commission addressed wireless backhaul rules.

Proposed rules by the NTIA on a technical panel and dispute resolution boards mandated by Congress to speed the conversion of federal spectrum to commercial use, and spectrum sharing “will bring needed clarity” to the process, but need to do more to ensure the transition occurs as Congress intended, T-Mobile said in comments at the agency. The rules the NTIA proposed in mid-July would define terminology for the transition regulations, lay out how the transition’s technical panel would work and establish resolution boards to solve transition-related disputes (http://xrl.us/bni6f6). NTIA posted the comments Thursday, a day after the submission deadline. The changes on which NTIA sought comment were part of spectrum bill enacted in February.

AT&T moved another step toward closing its spectrum gap with Verizon Wireless Thursday, announcing it was buying NextWave Wireless in a deal which will strengthen AT&T’s position in the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) band. In June, AT&T and Sirius XM reached an agreement, which will allow part of the 2.3 GHz WCS band to be used for LTE (CD June 19 p1). However, the transaction must be approved by federal regulators. Early signs are it will face opposition from small carriers and other industry players concerned about AT&T expanding its spectrum holdings.