AT&T said it would turn over the airwaves, or spectrum, along with $3 billion in cash to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG after pulling out of the deal as opposition mounted from the FCC, Justice Department, state attorneys general and rival carriers.

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Julius Genachowski on Wednesday made yet another call for Congress to speedily allow incentive auctions to free up badly needed spectrum for the wireless industry.

But while the content in the FCC chairman’s speech was familiar, his vehicle for delivering it was different. He’s given many speeches reading from a tablet, as he did in Vegas, but this was the first time he had done so on an Android model — a Samsung Galaxy 8.9.

“I’ve only done them on the iPad,” Genachowski said. “On my smartphones I’ve tried to make it a practice to switch them up.”

So how was it?

“It was all good,” Genachowski said, showing off his remarks on the Galaxy tab. His trusty iPad was nearby, which he used to dash off a quick email before our interview. “It was a seamless experience.”

As for the content of his talk, Genachowski focused on several points that are near and dear to his heart — first, that Congress enable the auctions quickly, and second, that it leave the FCC the option of keeping some of the spectrum freed up for unlicensed purposes.

“It would be a very serious mistake to pass incentive legislation and prohibit the FCC from using some spectrum for unlicensed (uses),” he said, echoing comments he made on a Silicon Valley swing late last year.

Such uses, he said, allow innovation that could provide for even more efficient spectrum usage than limiting it only to licensed purposes.

“We may see innovations there that lead to more efficient use,” he said. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.”

Genachowski said that allowing those with unused spectrum to auction it off could allow for the recovery of 100MHz of very high quality spectrum near the 700MHz band used for today’s 4G services.

“The work doesn’t end with incentive auctions, but incentive auctions are a sure way to provide very significant relief to spectrum.”

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Getting FCC clearance is a condition of a 15-year fourth-generation spectrum-and-equipment-sharing accord between the two companies. LightSquared has said the Sprint accord will help it save $13 billion through the end of this decade.

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The Federal Communications Commission signed off on the deal Thursday on a 3-1 vote, with minor conditions, FCC officials said. The approval means that AT&T and Qualcomm could close the deal by the end of the year.

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The product getting the okay is designed to offer broadband service, and is made by a company called Koos Technical Services. KTS has been among the companies heavily involved in working with the FCC to test white-spaces devices.

The white spaces, though not without their challenges, are seen by proponents as offering some of the same potential uses as the unlicensed regions used by Wi-Fi. Because they operate at a lower frequency range, they offer the potential to work over a longer range and perform better indoors.

“With today’s approval of the first TV white spaces database and device, we are taking an important step towards enabling a new wave of wireless innovation,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “Unleashing white spaces spectrum has the potential to exceed even the many billions of dollars in economic benefit from Wi-Fi, the last significant release of unlicensed spectrum, and drive private investment and job creation.”

Approval is limited, for now, to service in Wilmington, N.C. But it’s a first step for an area that has long been talked about as rich for new innovation.

The FCC said the approval will be expanded nationwide once the government finishes establishing procedures for those using wireless microphones (which also operate in these areas of spectrum) to coexist with devices running in the white spaces.

Regulators have been looking to open up the spectrum for some time, and have worked to address objections from the TV industry (and performers including Dolly Parton), who have worried about potential interference. The FCC voted last year to formally open the spectrum up to devices, after granting initial approval back in 2008.

(Image credit: iStockphoto | gaiamoments)

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse

Shares of Sprint are rallying by about 6 percent in after-hours trading, on word that AT&T has abandoned its $39 billion bid for T-Mobile.

That’s really only a jump of 13 cents per share — a figure that says a lot about the pickle in which Sprint remains, despite the fact that its arguments against the AT&T-T-Mobile combination have prevailed.

Sprint no longer has to deal with the threat of a merged AT&T-T-Mobile. But it still has to cope with the fact that it is a distant No. 3 to AT&T and Verizon Wireless. And, after betting on a different 4G technology, the company also has to bring up an entirely new network, all while trying to turn off its older Nextel network.

Still, there is some cause for celebration, an opportunity that Sprint did not let go to waste.

“From the beginning, Sprint has stood with consumers who spoke loudly and clearly that AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile would create an undeniable duopoly that would have resulted in higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices for the American consumer,” Sprint said today in a statement, in which it also praised federal regulators for their opposition to the deal.

Sprint and its CEO, Dan Hesse, had opposed the deal mightily before government regulators and Congress, and in the court of public opinion, investing a lot of political capital in the process.

That said, the deal’s failure doesn’t exactly help Sprint out of the messy spot it’s in.

For one thing, Sprint is still losing money. In its most recent quarter, it booked a $301 million loss on revenue of $8.3 billion, which was an improvement over the prior year’s period. On the bright side, it added 1.3 million customers — and that was before it had Apple’s iPhone in its stores to help entice new customers.

But while having the iPhone is nice, it’s not helping the bottom line. As The Wall Street Journal reported in October, Sprint has committed to buy more than 30 million iPhones, which will cost it as much as $20 billion over time, and on which it expects to lose money through at least 2014.

And that’s not even the half of it. Sprint also plans to spend big to build a new LTE network in 2012, and currently relies on WiMax as its 4G technology. With $5 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet as of the end of December, Hesse said, the company will have to go to the credit markets and borrow to get the build-out done.

Meanwhile, its relationship with the wireless broadband concern Clearwire isn’t exactly helping. Clearwire is the provider of Sprint’s 4G technology, and relies heavily on Sprint for its funding. By using Clearwire’s WiMax technology, Sprint was first to the market with 4G, something that gave it an early advantage over its rivals. But that the move also left Sprint alone as both AT&T and T-Mobile Verizon joined numerous carriers in Europe in moving to a rival 4G technology, known as Long-Term Evolution, or LTE.

Had Sprint not started the move to LTE, it likely would have faced an increasingly tough time getting device makers to bring out their latest and greatest devices for a WiMax standard that few other carriers were adopting.

So for Sprint, while one important battle is won, the war to turn the company around — and it will be a tough one — is far from over, and far from victory.

Update: Initially I identified T-Mobile as going launching an LTE network, which it’s not. I meant to say Verizon. Sorry about that.

AllThingsD’s Ina Fried contributed to this report.

“Leave the FCC the flexibility to make sure there is efficient use of spectrum, including unlicensed spectrum, so that we can adjust to the needs of the future,” Genachowski told AllThingsD in an interview. Genachowski was in town for an event announcing winners of a contest to develop community apps that make use of government data.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would include something the chairman badly wants: incentive auctions that would free up badly needed spectrum for wireless broadband. However, the bill also includes a provision that would limit the agency’s authority to manage unlicensed spectrum bands, something Genachowski opposes.

At one point during the event, held at the offices of Andreessen Horowitz, I asked for the password to the venture firm’s guest network.

“That’s why we need Wi-Fi,” Genachowski said, a reference to the fact that Wi-Fi is possible only because the FCC has been able to preserve and make available unlicensed bands of spectrum.

In a follow-up interview, he talked about the need for such spectrum.

“It takes spectrum that doesn’t lend itself for the same use (as that licensed to carriers and others) and says ‘Let’s put it out there as a platform for innovaton,’ not knowing exactly what will happen,” Genachowski said. “When the FCC first did this, no one knew that it would lead to Wi-Fi.”

Unlicensed spectrum has been used, he said, to help meet the challenges of lots of groups, including those faced by the wireless carriers that have licensed spectrum, Genachowski said.

“Wi-Fi itself has gone from something that was resisted by the licensed carriers to something that is now embraced because it is such an important part of addressing demands on spectrum. Wi-Fi offload is a critical part of the system.”

That’s Carrier IQ’s claim, anyway.

Responding to a Washington Post report claiming that the company is the subject of an official FTC investigation, Carrier IQ said this is not the case. While it is meeting with federal regulators, the company says it is doing so proactively. It wasn’t summoned to Washington as part of a formal inquiry.

“This week CarrierIQ sought meetings with the FTC and FCC to educate the two agencies about the functionality of its software and answer any and all questions,” the company said in a statement given to AllThingsD. “Although Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), co-Chairman of the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the practices of Carrier IQ, we are not aware of an official investigation into Carrier IQ at this time.”

In other words, there could be an official inquiry — the company just doesn’t know about it yet. And that may yet prove to be the case. The Washington Post says anonymous federal officials have confirmed the investigation, and the Post doesn’t often make such claims unless they’re bulletproof. So expect to hear more about this in the days ahead.

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The two companies on Monday filed a joint motion to stay their pending federal court case until at least January. The move clearly wasn’t AT&T’s idea, however. The Justice Department said last week it would seek a stay in the case given that AT&T had pulled its paperwork with the Federal Communications Commission.

“If approved by the court, all pretrial and trial deadlines, including depositions and discovery, would be cancelled and a status conference would be held before the court on Jan. 18,” the Justice Department said in a statement. The government said that under the joint plan, AT&T will file a status report with the court by noon on Jan. 12 indicating “whether they intend to proceed with the transaction at issue in the litigation, whether they intend to proceed with another transaction, the status of related proceedings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and their plans and timetable for seeking any necessary approval from the FCC.”

In a statement on Monday, AT&T said it is working with T-Mobile on “whether and how” to proceed with the deal.

“AT&T is committed to working with Deutsche Telekom to find a solution that is in the best interests of our respective customers, shareholders and employees,” the company said. “We are actively considering whether and how to revise our current transaction to achieve the necessary regulatory approvals so that we can deliver the capacity enhancements and improved customer service that can only be derived from combining our two companies’ wireless assets.”

Until now, AT&T has plowed full steam ahead with the proposed $39 billion deal, despite objections from a long list of competitors and regulators, including the FCC, DOJ, Sprint and C Spire Wireless (formerly known as Cellular South).

With the Federal Communications Commission threatening to block the deal, and the Justice Department already suing to do the same, AT&T last month pulled its application before the FCC, in hopes that a court would take its side in the DOJ case. The company said it would deal with the FCC once a court heard its case with the Justice Department.

However, the DOJ one-upped the telecom giant on Friday, arguing that the court case should be put on hold, now that AT&T has yanked its application to the FCC to acquire T-Mobile’s licenses.

Check.

Your move, AT&T.

Update: For its part, AT&T general counsel Wayne Watts says the company is “anxious to bring to the American consumer the benefits of increased wireless network capacity and efficiencies that can only arise from combining the resources of AT&T and T-Mobile USA,” and is “eager” to present its case in court.

The decision to release the analysis — which came despite AT&T’s objections — marked the latest blow to the deal, which is on life support after a lawsuit by the Justice Department and criticism from the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC said last week it wanted to call a trial-like hearing to review the deal. AT&T responded by pulling its application at the FCC and the agency, after some discussion over the weekend, agreed Tuesday to let the withdrawal go through.

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The plan, according to the New York Times: Sell off some of T-Mobile’s assets (customers and spectrum) to Leap Wireless International.

Such a move would make Leap Wireless the fourth-largest carrier in the nation, while allowing AT&T to keep only those T-Mobile assets it really needs. But will it win AT&T the regulatory approval it needs to proceed? Seems unlikely. Transforming Leap into the nation’s No. 4 carrier doesn’t do much to preserve competition in a market in which AT&T and Verizon hold a clear duopoly.

But at this point, AT&T is evidently willing to try anything, even risking a $39 billion merger on a deal with a company that does around $700 million in revenue per quarter. And given the circumstances, who wouldn’t be making last-ditch efforts? If the deal fails to garner regulatory approval, AT&T will owe T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom $3 billion in cash and $1 billion worth of spectrum.

In a statement Friday, AT&T said commissioners won’t be able to vote a proposal announced Tuesday from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski that the $39 billion merger be sent before an administrative law judge. The carrier announced it had withdrawn its FCC application in the early hours of the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

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The Department of Justice has already filed suit seeking to block the deal, which requires approval from both agencies.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has circulated a draft opinion that would seek to have a hearing before an administrative law judge, though the commission is likely to hold that hearing only after the DOJ suit is decided. If the Justice Department is successful in its effort, the FCC move would be moot. However, AT&T now needs to go 2-for-2 if it hopes to complete the deal.

The decision is not shocking, given that the FCC had indicated it shared some of the Justice Department’s concerns.

However, what is noteworthy is just how strong the agency’s concerns are.

FCC officials said on Tuesday that the agency found in its review not only that the deal would hurt competition, but also that it represents an unprecedented reduction in competition. In every market except Omaha (where T-Mobile does not offer service), the agency found that the merger would reduce competition to a meaningful degree.

The agency staff also rejected AT&T’s claims that the deal would lead to a faster or more complete rollout of 4G. And, rather than create jobs, the FCC staff believes approval of the deal would actually lead to fewer U.S. jobs.

AT&T, naturally, said it was not thrilled with the decision.

“The FCC’s action today is disappointing,” said Larry Solomon, SVP of corporate communications. “It is yet another example
of a government agency acting to prevent billions in new investment and the creation of many thousands of new jobs at a time when the U.S. economy desperately needs both. At this time, we are reviewing all options.”

In addition to setting up a possible second court battle, the FCC findings also mean that any proposed settlement would have to satisfy two agencies, both of whom seem to see little merit — and lots of harm — in the deal. Oh yeah, Sprint and C-Spire Wireless have also filed suits of their own.

The move by Julius Genachowski, the FCC’s chairman, would be a setback for the two companies that are already facing opposition from the Justice Department, which filed a lawsuit to stop the deal. The FCC’s move would be another obstacle for the two companies to overcome. The agency’s hearing would happen the conclusion of the antitrust trial, according to this person.

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Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt will join the board of Kno, the online education start-up.

He is currently the principal at REH Advisors.

The Silicon Valley-based Kno began its life offering a student-aimed tablet and education platform, but now is focusing solely on the software part of its business.

The company announced plans this summer to allow those who buy textbooks from Kno to read them on Facebook and via the Web. It also has an Apple iPad app that takes the product beyond just an electronic version of a traditional textbook.

Kno’s current backers include prominent venture players like Andreessen Horowitz and First Round Capital, along with investors Mike Maples and Ron Conway. Marc Andreessen, as well as co-founders Osman Rashid (also CEO) and Babur Habib (also CTO), are also on its board.

Here is the official press release about Hundt’s appointment as a Kno director:

FORMER FCC CHAIRMAN REED HUNDT JOINS KNO INC.’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Hundt Brings Unparalleled Experience in Education and Communications

Santa Clara, CA, November 1, 2011 — Today, Kno, Inc., www.kno.com, a pioneer in education software, announced that the company has named Reed Hundt, former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to its Board of Directors.

“I’m very excited to join Kno’s Board of Directors because the company shares my passion for education,” said Reed Hundt. “While I was at the FCC, one of my highest priorities was making sure our nation’s classrooms were connected to the Internet, precisely in order to foster a software revolution in learning. I believe that Kno’s student-focused software will bring education into the 21st century and help transform the way students learn now and in the future.”

Hundt brings decades of relevant experience to Kno’s Board and is a long-time advocate for technological innovation in education. He is currently the Principal at REH Advisors, an advisory firm that serves clients on a variety of issues. Prior to establishing REH Advisors, Hundt served as an Adviser to McKinsey and Company for more than 10 years, as well as a Member of the National Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, among other distinguished roles.

Hundt served as Chairman of the FCC from 1993-1997 and played a major role in implementing the Snowe-Rockefeller program that directs more than $4 billion annually to connect all classrooms to the Internet and is hailed as one of the largest single national commitments to K-12 education in American history.

“The work Reed accomplished while Chairman of the FCC makes him an exceptional addition to our Board and his expansive knowledge of the education technology space will serve Kno tremendously in its efforts to improve how students learn,” said Osman Rashid, co-Founder and CEO of Kno, Inc.

Babur Habib, co-Founder and CTO of Kno, Inc. continued, “Hundt brings decades of relevant experience to Kno’s Board and is a long-time advocate for technological innovation in education. We look forward to working closely with Reed to help guide us as we extend our reach to professors and administrators.”

Hundt has also taught seminars at the Yale Law School, Yale School of Management, Yale College, and Columbia Business and Law Schools, demonstrating his passion of education. He also serves on the Boards of Intel Corporation, Serious Energy and UNCF, an educational assistance organization.

Hundt holds a B.A. in History from Yale College and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He also is the author of “In China’s Shadow: The Crisis of American Entrepreneurship and You Say You Want a Revolution: A Story of Information Age Politics.”

In a unanimous vote, the Federal Communications Commission’s commissioners approved a remake of the federal Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes phone service in rural America and to low-income Americans. The agency will shift the fund’s $8 billion from funding phone service to high-speed broadband service over the next few years.

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Wireless carriers have agreed to send warnings to consumers in danger of exceeding their monthly subscriber minutes or data plans under a deal with the Federal Communications Commission. The companies will provide the alerts to consumers within 12 to 18 months, FCC officials said.

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It was a significant victory for opponents of net neutrality rules because the court has been skeptical of the FCC’s authority to enforce such rules in the past.

“The FCC stands ready to defend its open Internet order in any court of appeals,” an FCC spokesman said Thursday.

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On Wednesday public interest group Free Press filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission rules in a Boston-based federal appeals court, saying they didn’t protect wireless Internet users enough.

In the complaint, the group argued the FCC acted arbitrarily when it decided to “adopt one set of rules for broadband access via mobile platforms and a different set of rules for broadband access via fixed platforms.”

The rules take effect November 20.

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The Justice Department, which filed suit Wednesday in federal court to block the acquisition, and the FCC are separate agencies with different standards for assessing mergers. But the two worked together as the Justice Department prepared its suit, and the FCC has never approved a deal that the Justice Department rejected, according to FCC officials.

“It’s a DOJ decision, but there was a lot of input from [FCC Chairman Julius] Genachowski’s team,” an FCC official said Thursday of the ruling.

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AT&T has been lobbying heavily in favor of the deal, most recently pledging to add call-center jobs in the U.S. if the deal were approved. Meanwhile, Sprint and some consumer groups have vigorously opposed the deal, saying it would harm competition and lead to higher prices.

In a statement, AT&T general counsel Wayne Watts said the company was “surprised and disappointed” by the DOJ move and will seek an expedited hearing to make its case to the courts in favor of the deal.

Here’s his full statement:

We are surprised and disappointed by today’s action, particularly since we have met repeatedly with the Department of Justice and there was no indication from the DOJ that this action was being contemplated.

We plan to ask for an expedited hearing so the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed. The DOJ has the burden of proving alleged anti-competitive affects and we intend to vigorously contest this matter in court.

At the end of the day, we believe facts will guide any final decision and the facts are clear. This merger will:

· Help solve our nation’s spectrum exhaust situation and improve wireless service for millions.
· Allow AT&T to expand 4G mobile broadband to another 55 million Americans, or 97% of the population;
· Result in billions of additional investment and tens of thousands of jobs, at a time when our nation needs them most.

We remain confident that this merger is in the best interest of consumers and our country, and the facts will prevail in court.

Update: Sprint, meanwhile, was predictably pleased with the DOJ move, calling it “a decisive victory for consumers, competition and our country.”

“By filing suit to block AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile, the DOJ has put consumers’ interests first,” Sprint Senior VP Vonya McCann said in a statement. “Sprint applauds the DOJ for conducting a careful and thorough review and for reaching a just decision — one which will ensure that consumers continue to reap the benefits of a competitive U.S. wireless industry. Contrary to AT&T’s assertions, today’s action will preserve American jobs, strengthen the American economy, and encourage innovation.”

The carrier also said it will promise that no U.S. call center jobs will be lost when the deal closes. The company didn’t say where the new jobs will be based.

“At a time when many Americans are struggling and our economy faces significant challenges, we’re pleased that the T-Mobile merger allows us to bring 5,000 jobs back to the United States and significantly increase our investment here,” AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said in a statement.

Of course, critics are sure to note that there’s nothing stopping AT&T from bringing back jobs without buying T-Mobile.

The deal, which is being opposed by Sprint and a number of consumer groups, requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice.

FCC: TIPS FOR HOW TO COMMUNICATE DURING AN EMERGENCY

1. Limit non-emergency phone calls. This will minimize network congestion, free up “space” on the network for emergency communications and conserve battery power if you are using a wireless phone;
2. Keep all phone calls brief. If you need to use a phone, try to use it only to convey vital information to emergency personnel and/or family;
3. Try text messaging, also known as short messaging service (SMS) when using your wireless phone. In many cases text messages will go through when your call may not. It will also help free up more “space” for emergency communications on the telephone network;
4. If possible try a variety of communications services if you are unsuccessful in getting through with one. For example, if you are unsuccessful in getting through on your wireless phone, try a messaging capability like text messaging or email. Alternatively, try a landline phone if one is available. This will help spread the communications demand over multiple networks and should reduce overall congestion;
5. Wait 10 seconds before redialing a call. On many wireless handsets, to re-dial a number, you simply push “send” after you’ve ended a call to redial the previous number. If you do this too quickly, the data from the handset to the cell sites do not have enough time to clear before you’ve resent the same data. This contributes to a clogged network;
6. Have charged batteries and car-charger adapters available for backup power for your wireless phone;
7. Maintain a list of emergency phone numbers in your phone;
8. If in your vehicle, try to place calls while your vehicle is stationary;
9. Have a family communications plan in place. Designate someone out of the area as a central contact, and make certain all family members know who to contact if they become separated;
10. If you have Call Forwarding on your home number, forward your home number to your wireless number in the event of an evacuation. That way you will get incoming calls from your land line phone;
11. After the storm has passed, if you lose power in your home, try using your car to charge cell phones or listen to news alerts on the car radio. But be careful – don’t try to reach your car if it is not safe to do so, and remain vigilant about carbon monoxide emissions from your car if it is a closed space, such as a garage.
12. Tune-in to broadcast and radio news for important news alerts.

More information on emergency communications during Hurricane Irene from the FCC can be found here. Residents can also find more information at ready.gov, the Red Cross or FEMA.