Fierce

Picture some 17,000 miles of fiber-optic cabling -- equaling six trips between New York City and Los Angeles -- and you'll have some idea of how much infrastructure Verizon Communications has installed in the Big Apple.

That infrastructure includes interoffice and backbone network equipment, specialized fiber for large enterprises, and consumer and SMB FiOS services. The nearly 90 million feet of fiber, spanning all five boroughs at a cost of $3 billion-plus so far, "is the largest, most ambitious fiber-optic deployment in any US city," according to Kevin Service, Verizon's president for the carrier's Northeast area.

"We have invested more than $3 billion in the city alone, making it one of the most 'fiberized' cities on the planet."

As of December 2013, Verizon says it's been meeting its Cable Franchise Agreement benchmarks with the city, wrapping network upgrades in 90 percent of the Bronx, 89 percent of Brooklyn, 94 percent of Manhattan, 90 percent of Queens and virtually all of Staten Island. Also included in the statistics are FiOS connections to more than 60,000 New York City public-housing units.

Federal regulators should refrain from adopting new location accuracy rules until indoor-positioning technology is truly ready for prime time, according to the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), which represents manufacturers and suppliers of communications networks.

"Although TIA supports the development of improved location accuracy, many concerns remain regarding the impact of new requirements on innovation and whether technology is sufficiently developed to support the proposed mandate," said the organization in a filing regarding the FCC's ongoing proceeding on wireless E911 location-accuracy requirements.

Location-accuracy requirements should be based on technology "the claims for which can be confirmed with verified data using commercially available products," TIA said. The group stressed that indoor-location technologies are still quite nascent and may not be sufficiently developed to support an indoor location-accuracy requirement for determining a caller's location within 50 meters on a horizontal grid, as proposed by the FCC.

AT&T Mobility has inked an agreement to purchase all of Sprint's WCS spectrum licenses. Sprint owns 19 2.3 GHz WCS licenses in locations across the South including in markets in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and elsewhere.

The companies did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, which still requires FCC approval. Representatives from both AT&T and Sprint declined to comment beyond the companies' FCC filing on the transaction.

In its filing with the FCC on the transaction, AT&T noted only that it would use Sprint's WCS spectrum for "mobile broadband use, thereby supporting [the Commission's] goal of expanding mobile broadband deployment throughout the country."

AT&T also noted that, if the transaction is approved, it would hold up to 165 MHz of spectrum in some of the markets covered in the deal, thus putting it over the FCC's so-called spectrum screen.

US Cellular is signaling its opposition to a draft Federal Communications Commission plan for bidding rules for the 2015 incentive auction of 600 MHz broadcast TV spectrum, potentially driving a wedge between it and other smaller carriers.

In a recent FCC filing, US Cellular said it doesn't want the FCC to reserve spectrum in the auction for carrier's that don't have large low-band spectrum holdings.

"We indicated that given a choice between the current proposal and a proposal that did not differentiate between reserved and unreserved spectrum, that we would prefer the latter," the carrier wrote.

US Cellular noted that "a failure to obtain sufficient 600 MHz spectrum could materially limit our ability to deploy 5G services to our existing customer base within a competitive timeframe." The carrier also said that "any proposal to limit access to restricted spectrum during the auction must assess each carrier's spectrum holdings in the aggregate and only then, if above one-third nationwide, apply a market-by-market spectrum holdings analysis."

Crucially, US Cellular added: "Failure to adopt such a proposal will significantly limit our ability to bid for reserve spectrum across a substantial portion of our operating markets, including many of our key strategic markets."

Sprint's pledge of unlimited data is looking increasingly less sustainable, as the carrier maneuvers to rein in network traffic generated by its heaviest data users and ensure quality of service for the majority of its customers.

Postpaid as well as prepaid Sprint customers, including those on its Virgin Mobile USA and Boost Mobile sub-brands, have begun receiving notices alerting them to new data "prioritization management" the operator will employ to prevent network congestion. Prioritization can include a reduction of throughput or speed for those targeted users connected to congested sites.

The approach "will enable us to provide more customers with a high quality data experience during heavy usage times," Sprint said. "Once the customer is no longer connected to a congested cell site, or the site is no longer congested, speeds will return to normal."

The lobbying fight is heating up over whether the Federal Communications Commission will approve rules that could limit how much spectrum Verizon Wireless and AT&T can bid on in the 2015 incentive auction of 600 MHz broadband spectrum.

T-Mobile US has fired the latest salvo, arguing that the FCC has the authority to issue such rules and that they will enhance competition, not lead to the failure of the auction. Verizon and AT&T have said in their recent filings to the commission that they are going to fight any rules that could restrict their bidding.

In its own filing to the FCC summarizing meetings its executives had with FCC officials, T-Mobile noted that Congress vested the FCC with authority to set auction rules and that it is "not required to allow every carrier to bid for every megahertz of a spectrum band that is made available for auction.” T-Mobile argued that "access to low-band spectrum and the economies of scale that greater access would enable represent two of the most pressing needs T-Mobile must satisfy if the company is to continue to play as disruptive a role in the market for the benefit of consumers as it has played over the last two years."

In discussing the proposed rules, T-Mobile wrote that "the prospect of having more demand than supply should come as welcome news to anyone concerned about generating sufficient auction revenues or generating large payments to broadcast licensees." In the filing, T-Mobile argued that more competitive bidding "not only increases revenue, but it will encourage AT&T and Verizon to increase overall bidding in order to clear more spectrum and avoid a lack of supply. This not only increases the amount paid to broadcasters, but increases the number of broadcasters that receive payment."

The First Responders Network Authority (FirstNet) announced the hiring of its first Chief Technology Officer, Ali Afrashteh, who has been working as a consultant but previously held executive positions with Clearwire, Sprint, Nextel Communications and PCS PrimeCo.

"Ali will manage FirstNet's planning and deployment of technology programs and initiatives and provide expertise on strategic wireless technology and network operational planning," according to FirstNet. "Ali will also ensure that technical systems, policies, and processes are fully supportive of FirstNet's mission to design and deploy a nationwide public safety broadband network.”

Meanwhile, FirstNet board member Teri Takai reportedly has resigned her CIO position at the US Department of Defense, effective May 3, but will stay on at FirstNet. She is an original FirstNet board member, having been appointed to a one-year term in August 2012. She was subsequently reappointed to a three-year term, which ends in August 2016.

In other news, FirstNet board's finance committee recently approved fiscal year 2014 guidelines. The committee agreed to fund key activities, such as including business strategy development, network development, outreach and consultation and operating infrastructure.

Although members of the CableWiFi Alliance have said repeatedly that the primary incentive behind their growing Wi-Fi hotspot portfolio (which now stands at 250,000 nationwide) is to complement their customers' broadband service in the home and differentiate themselves from their telecommunications competitors, there are signs that a bigger agenda is afloat.

At the recent Cable Show, Wi-Fi was part of nearly every discussion. NCTA Chairman Michael Powell positioned the cable industry's Wi-Fi footprint as a competitor to wireless carriers when he spoke with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. And Chairman Wheeler agreed, noting: "Wi-Fi offers new opportunities in broadband and high speed data as well as voice service."

Likewise, Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian Roberts claimed that his company is the "biggest wireless provider in the country already," and said that the convergence of Wi-Fi with the cable network is a powerful tool that will be very important in the future. "It distinguishes us from the competitors and gives us a better business," he said.

Cable operators have invested a lot of time and money into growing their Wi-Fi networks. It's only a matter of time before they come up with a way to monetize this important asset.

Frontier may be a supporter of the Federal Communications Commission's Connect America Fund phase II, but, like others, it's concerned that the regulator's proposal to raise the broadband speed obligations from 4 to 10 Mbps is not a realistic proposition unless it alters the funding model.

"Any proposal to raise the CAF Phase II minimum speed obligations of broadband used for CAF Phase II from 4 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload to 10 Mbps download without any increase in funding or other change in terms is not economically feasible," wrote Kathleen Abernathy, executive vice president of External Affairs for Frontier, in a recent FCC filing. "The FCC's own USF budget does not provide adequate funding for a 10 Mbps ubiquitous deployment."

Instead of requiring 10 Mbps, Frontier said the FCC could enable service providers to extend broadband services to rural markets without having to deliver 10 Mbps to every location. It added that while a large percentage could get 10 Mbps, others could get at least 6 Mbps, and the most remote customers could get up to 4 Mbps.

Verizon Wireless is expanding the reach of its LTE network in California and Hawaii via new deals with two small carriers, Golden State Cellular in California and Mobi PCS in Hawaii.

Under the terms of the two separate deals, which both still require Federal Communications Commission approval, Verizon will essentially buy the small carriers.

According to a Verizon filing with the FCC, Verizon plans to transition Golden State Cellular's customers to its service plans within 15 months after the deal closes. According to a person familiar with the transaction, Golden State Cellular operates a CDMA network and counts around 18,000 subscribers.