Even as the Bush administration mulls over ways to use the public airwaves more efficiently, the Federal Communications Commission might allot more of the spectrum for wireless Internet use.
At the urging of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the trade group that actively promotes Wi-Fi and other 802.11 technologies, the FCC is seeking public comment about whether it should change the rules to allot an additional 255 MHz of spectrum for unlicensed use to the wireless industry. (Unlicensed use means that the wireless industry would not need to purchase a license the way cellular carriers are required to do in order to sell wireless Internet service to customers.)
The change in rules would increase the availability of airwaves for wireless broadband by 80 percent.
But the FCC's decision, which could be made as early as the end of the year, coincides with similar proposals now being considered by the Bush administration to make more efficient use of the public airwaves -- which are increasingly in short supply and are coveted by the wireless industry, the Department of Defense and other government agencies.
The FCC, however, said its recently proposed rules were developed with input from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which allocates federal government spectrum, and from the Department of Defense.
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Tax windfall for AT&T: AT&T Wireless has received a $511 million federal tax refund stemming from some steep financial losses a year ago, the company said on Friday.
AT&T Wireless, the country's No. 2 carrier, said the tax refund resulted from a consolidated tax net operating loss for the tax year that ended Dec. 31, 2002. Two months ago, the company reported a profit of $142 million, or 5 cents a share, compared to a loss of $176 million, or 7 cents a share, the previous year.
The loss was carried back for a refund of taxes paid by AT&T, as the common parent of an affiliated group that included AT&T Wireless. AT&T Wireless then struck a deal with AT&T to receive its share of the refund.
While the company today is profitable and has catapulted itself from the No. 3 spot to second-largest cell-phone company in the country, AT&T said it would use the tax refund to further strengthen its balance sheet and liquidity position. The announcement, however, did not seem to help its stock value. As of Monday afternoon, AT&T Wireless shares (AWE) were down a percentage point to $7.48 each.
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FCC slaps Nokia with fine: Nokia has agreed to pay a $60,000 fine to the FCC for selling cell phones that do not meet federal guidelines for making 911 calls, according to Cellular-News.
The phone in question, the Nokia 6385, uses a system that is supposed to connect all 911 calls within 17 seconds. In December, Nokia discovered a possibility that in certain circumstances the 6385 could not always meet the 17-second requirement. Nokia contacted the FCC's wireless telecommunications bureau staff to let them know of the problem, for which Nokia offered several solutions.
The phone maker estimated that close to 15,000 of the handsets were in circulation and said it notified all 6385 owners and distributors of the glitch. It offered a free software fix to the customers. It also promised the FCC that it would retrain those groups in its company responsible for software development of handsets on the 17-second requirement and on the FCC's rules related to emergency call processing.
Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak told Wired News that the company was not commenting beyond Cellular-News' report.
"It's already out in the open," Nowak said. "We pretty much handled it."
Even though the FCC accepted Nokia's remedies, it also asked the handset maker to pay $60,000 for not meeting the rules.
