Weekly Mobile News Roundup

• CTIA sided with T-Mobile and Sprint by expressing, to the FCC, their desire to see white spaces in the 700MHz spectrum licensed.  The White Spaces Coalition wants white spaces to remain unlicensed so that any capable device can access them without any kind of restrictions.  It makes sense to me that if the rest of the 700MHz spectrum is licensed that the white spaces would be too.  I find it interesting that AT&T and VZW, the major winners of the spectrum auction, haven't weighed in on the issue.

Here is our full article from 4/15.

• The Cell Tax Fairness Act was introduced by Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT).  The act, authored by CTIA, would freeze taxes on mobile phones for the next 5 years.  The act argues that taxes on mobile devices are twice the national average fro sales taxes and grow at a rate far above any other taxes as well.  Additionally, the Act argues that as mobile phone technology advances and phones are used for more than just calling that excessive taxes will unfairly stifle that growth.

Here is CTIA's press release.
Here is our article, also from 4/15.

• Yes, even more from April 15th - Nokia unveiled the 6212 Classic.  This is their NFC (Near Field Communications) handset for European networks.  NFC will allow a phone to transfer information, via touch, with another NCF-capable device.  The technology could be used to transfer photos from one phone to another or used to pay for things.  In fact, there was an NFC trial in the Bay Area.  NFC technology was tested by BART (our version of the Metro) and at selected Jack in the Box restaurants.  Does anyone remember that ad from a few years back where the guy is about to take change from a fountain to get a soda until a little girl uses her cell phone to get pay for one from the vending machine?  I'd link to it, but my YouTube karma must not be up to par.  This ad is totally unrelated to NFC, but is incredibly awesome.

Here is Nokia's press release.

• Also on April 15th (as if it being tax day didn't make it a big enough deal) Microsoft announced that it finalized its acquisition of Danger, Inc.  Danger?  Who?  The Palo Alto-based company designs mobile platforms and software.  Their biggest product?  A little something called the Sidekick - T-Mobile's exclusive handset that focuses on messaging and Internet connectivity.  It is very much the reason (in my opinion) that RiM developed BlackBerrys with cameras (the Pearl and Curve series).  Danger will be the centerpiece of MS' new PMX (Premium Mobile Experiences) team.  It looks to me like Microsoft wants to use the Danger guys to give a more social edge to their Windows Mobile devices.  If they can bring the intuitive nature of their own platform to Windows Mobile...WinMo will have a serious edge over other mobile operating systems.

Here is the press release.

• Remember a month ago when we posted that Sprint and AT&T were fighting over roaming agreements?  Sprint was accusing AT&T of trying to back out of an FCC provision that was a condition of getting their BellSouth merger approved.  Everyone, from VZW to Comcast, sided with Sprint.  Now Sprint is on the defensive end of a roaming fee battle.  On the offense is rival turned ally turned rival Verizon Wireless.  VZW is alleging that Sprint has failed to pay over $10 Million in interconnection charges.  That's the fee one operator charges another to allow roaming for its customers.  Sprint says that the only reason that VZW is suing is that they're up against a 2-year statute of limitations.  I also think that it's because Verizon wants their $10 Mil.  Funny thing is that Sprint is notorious for suspending service for even a slightly late payment, to say nothing of a payment that's 2 years overdue.  Also, there's always my theory that Verizon will try and buy Sprint if the stock goes low enough.  A $10 Million loss in court probably wouldn't help Sprint get its stock out of the toilet.

More at RCR News.

• The FCC has designated TracFone as eligible to receive Federal subsidies as a "lifeline" service.  People with low incomes can often get a discount on their wireline service so that in an emergency they aren't cut off from the outside world.  TracFone is the first wireless carrier to be given this classification.  If anything, a wireless phone seems like a more effective "lifeline" than a landline, seeing as you can take it with you.  Andrew, who totally took my gig as "wireless guy" and posted on it fantastically, wonders why major wireless carriers aren't trying to get a piece of the lifeline action.  Especially Sprint, who is struggling with an exceptionally low stock price and potential $10 Million dollar payout to Verizon.
  

Here is Andrew's awesome post from 4/18.