Consumer cell-signal boosters shouldn’t be permitted to operate in the 2.3 GHz wireless communications service band, AT&T told the FCC. In separate filings, the Aerospace and Flight Test Radio Coordinating Council and Sirius XM “outlined the technical challenges posed to their operations by the presence of WCS transmitters,” AT&T said in docket 10-4. “AT&T has significant experience navigating this interference environment and shares AFTRCC’s and Sirius XM’s concerns.”

Apple’s 37 percent U.S. market share in Q4 (vs. 62 percent for Android) fell 2 points from the year-ago quarter, “consistent with Apple’s own announcement of softer sales,” Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reported Monday. Apple peaked in December market share in 2014 (50 percent vs. 45 percent for Android) with the iPhone 6/6 Plus launch; the company typically has a higher share that quarter due to its fall phone launch, said analyst Josh Lowitz. Android (92 percent) and iOS (91 percent) reached their highest loyalty rates per date, measured as percent of activations with the same operating system. That continues a trend over several quarters “as customers have become comfortable with the features and consistency of their" OS, said analyst Mike Levin. “Learning a new operating system takes effort, so fewer and fewer customers have found the need to switch.” He noted quality and reliability of new phones also contribute to longer upgrade cycles. CIRP surveyed 500 U.S. subjects who activated a new or used phone October-December.

Nokia phones have returned to North America, with licensor HMD Global announcing Friday wireless providers Cricket Wireless and Verizon in the U.S. and Rogers Communications in Canada. Nokia's two-device Android smartphone lineup comprises the 2 V, the first Nokia phone on Verizon, and the 3.1 Plus, which began selling at Cricket’s website Friday for $159. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 439-powered 3.1 Plus, with a 5.99-inch HD Plus display, has an 18:9 aspect ratio geared to content streams and social media, a 3500mAh battery said to last two days between charges, a fingerprint sensor, NFC and three cameras: 13-megapixel main front, an 8-megapixel selfie and a 5-megapixel rear. The 2 V, with a 5.5-inch HD screen, has dual front-facing stereo speakers, a 4,000mAh battery, quick-charge technology, 5-megapixel front-facing and 8-megapixel rear cameras, 8 GB storage and microSD card support up to 128 GB, said HMD. No price was given for the Verizon phone, billed as “a feature-packed smartphone with tremendous battery life at an affordable price,” by Brian Higgins, Verizon vice president-device and consumer product marketing.

Sprint is in the midst of an upgrade, adding capacity to improve customers’ experience, a spokesperson emailed us responding to J.D. Power's report (see 1901170041) that Verizon won in six regions for wireless network reliability, with Sprint the last major carrier: “Our largest investment in years is under way to increase coverage, reliability and speed across the country in order to provide an improved network experience for our customers.” Sprint is rolling out “hundreds of thousands of small cells, upgrading existing cell sites,” and deploying LTE Advanced technologies nationwide, she said, saying recent new roaming agreements boosted its LTE coverage footprint by 30 percent. She cited Nielsen figures from a six-month test completed in November saying average download speeds are up 93 percent year over year, and Ookla found Sprint measured fastest for average download speeds in about 100 cities.

It's estimated $1,500 cost will be a major “stumbling block” for Motorola’s Razr foldable smartphone, expected to debut in the U.S. this year exclusively through Verizon, blogged Strategy Analytics. “The price may end up looking cheap,” as SA speculates Samsung’s first foldable phone “will likely have a retail price of at least $2,000." The Razr “will be entering a crowded field,” SA said Thursday. Besides Samsung, Huawei, LG and others have announced foldable smartphones for 2019, it said. That “actual volumes” available for sale this year “will be extremely small” makes it likely that foldable smartphones will become “the ultimate device status symbol in 2019,” it said.

Chat agents for Verizon Wireless pitched the carrier’s six-month free offer for Apple Music Wednesday, after the company announced Tuesday subscribers to its Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans would get the streaming music service for free beginning Thursday. “The promotion we offer is not a free trial, you get Apple Music free for 6 months if you have an Unlimited plan,” a chat agent told us. The monthly cost went up to $9.99 monthly after six months. Tuesday, Verizon noted it had been offering six months of Apple Music free to Unlimited customers and “starting January 17, Apple Music will be included in Beyond Unlimited and Above Unlimited plans,” plus tax. Customers opting for the lowest of the three Unlimited plans -- Go Unlimited -- will still be offered the six-month free offer for Apple Music, going up to $10 monthly after the promo period. Prices for the three subscription plans start at $40 per month for Go Unlimited (480p streaming, unlimited talk and text), $50 for Beyond (720p streaming and 22 GB data) and $60 for Above (720p streaming and 75 GB data). With the added Apple Music feature, subscribers to the top two plans can download songs or access streams on iOS and Android smartphones, smartwatches, smart speakers, computers and car playback platforms, said Verizon. “In times of congestion, your data may be temporarily slower than other traffic (only after 22 GB per month on Beyond Unlimited and 75 GB per month on Above Unlimited).” A Verizon spokesman didn't comment on the disparity in messaging but said for Beyond and Above customers who are signed up for the six-month Apple Music offer, "no action is needed for the new offer."

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., wrote FCC Chairman Ajit Pai seeking an emergency Monday briefing for committee staff on why the commission hasn't ended top wireless carriers' unauthorized location data disclosures (see 1901100046). The briefing “cannot wait” until the end of the partial government shutdown (see 1901100020), which has put most FCC activities on hiatus, because it's “in the interest of public safety and national security,” Pallone said. The agency “once again appears to have dragged its feet in protecting consumers,” he said. “While some carriers have now recommitted to stopping such unauthorized disclosure, the public can no longer rely on their voluntary promises to protect this extremely sensitive information.” The FCC “must take immediate action to ensure no wireless carrier is allowing the rampant disclosure of real-time location data and take enforcement action against carriers that violated the Commission’s rules and the trust of their customers,” Pallone said. Verizon is joining AT&T in ending location aggregation agreements, a practice criticized over claims carriers sold customers' real-time location that bounty hunters accessed, a spokesperson said Friday. Verizon noted it wasn’t among companies -- AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile -- included in the Motherboard report. Verizon and the other three major carriers agreed to end such arrangements in the summer in response to a report on data brokers enabling misuse of customer data. “We have followed through on our commitment to terminate aggregation arrangements and provide location information only with the express consent of our customers,” Verizon said. The company ended deals with data broker Zumigo and by March will end agreements with roadside assistance companies, Verizon said. T-Mobile and Sprint didn't comment.

AT&T is eliminating all location aggregation services, “even those with clear consumer benefits,” after a report carriers sold customers' real-time location data eventually accessed by bounty hunters (see 1901090066), a spokesperson said Thursday. AT&T stopped most location aggregation services last year but maintained some that “protect our customers, such as roadside assistance and fraud prevention,” the spokesperson emailed. “We are immediately eliminating the remaining services and will be done in March.”

Several telecom service providers will give federal employees a break during the government shutdown (see 1901080004), they said. AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier Communications, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and Windstream indicated in their responses to our survey and in announcements they won't disconnect such customers during the partial shuttering. It's "Frontier’s usual business practice to develop payment plans with qualified customers to keep their service uninterrupted," said a representative. Sprint care reps "will coordinate with qualified customers and our financial team to find a payment option that works and keep your service uninterrupted during the government shutdown," said CEO Michel Combes Tuesday. "T-Mobile is providing account support to customers directly affected by the U.S. government shutdown to ensure their wireless service remains available during the closure," the carrier said Saturday in a statement. That applies to government-account customers, said the carrier that's buying Sprint. "Verizon is standing by to help with flexible payment options to keep your service running," Nancy Clark, senior vice president-customer service, said Monday. Its offer is for wireline and wireless customers, said a spokesperson Wednesday. "Just because the government shutdown [sic], doesn’t mean that your phone, TV, and internet should stop working too," said AT&T Wednesday. "As long as the shutdown is in effect, our customer service team will waive late fees, provide extensions, and coordinate with you on revised payment schedules." CenturyLink "has always worked with customers having difficulty paying their bills so there is no need to offer special payment solutions for those impacted by the government shutdown," a rep said. Windstream's "normal process is to work with customers facing financial hardship to avoid any interruption of service for nonpayment," said a spokesperson. He noted its provisions in this situation are similar to Sprint's. Cox Communications "will work with individual customers on a case by case basis as always," emailed a spokesperson Wednesday. He and some other companies wouldn't say if they're committing to keeping service going for all federal employees and/or agencies during the government's shuttering or be more specific about their plans. Comcast has "mechanisms" to "work with all customers" on such issues, a rep said. Altice and Charter Communications didn't comment.

InventHelp is promoting a smartphone design for the visually impaired for license or sale to manufacturers or marketers, it said Friday. The design was developed by an inventor moved by a story about a blind individual who was robbed by someone claiming to be a police officer. "I wanted to use GPS technology to help people who are blind or visually impaired stay safe by keeping them oriented to their surroundings and enabling them to communicate easily via cell phone," said the inventor. The design is said to prevent visually impaired people from stumbling over obstacles, includes voice activation and features a tracking device if the phone is lost.