Quick news from around the Web.
Auction Watch: After 98 rounds, the last of which included 152 new bids, the FCC's AWS-3 auction has raised a total of $43,957 billion in provisionally winning bids. Page. AWS-3 auction primer.
Samsung in Talks to Launch Apple Pay Competitor http://t.co/H6QZpXokQp by @DelRey
— Re/code (@Recode) December 16, 2014
> A group of former Google executives are launching Hi.Q, a free app for iPhones and iPads that offers health and medical questions. Article
> Verizon Communications and Google announced a multi-year agreement to cross license their patents. Article
> Nest users can now set their temperature through Google Now. Article
> Xiaomi won a partial reprieve on a sales ban in India. Article
> Export Development Canada is loaning Vodafone around $850 million to purchase BlackBerry phones and services. Article
> The Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) urged the FCC to "consider the technical and economic realities that improved location accuracy requirements present for smaller carriers and their customers." Release
> Thanks to Microsoft's new Gestures Beta app, Lumia users can place a call just by picking up their device. Article
Mobile Developer News
> Circa's CEO has a news flash for developers who want to get their app reviewed. Editor's Corner
> The recent Cyber Monday saw app usage grow by 30 percent in the U.S. and 10 percent around the world, according to a report from Quettra, trumping app usage on Black Friday, which saw an overall lift of 25 percent in the U.S. and 5 percent worldwide. Article
Telecom News
> Verizon Enterprise Solutions continues to play into the bring-your-own-cloud mentality by now carrying its Secure Cloud Interconnect (SCI) service over the HP Helion Managed Cloud Service and the Salesforce Customer Success Platform. Article
> Corning is continuing on its buying streak by acquiring TR Manufacturing, a move that will deepen its optical portfolio with additional fiber component capabilities and vertical targets. Article
Cable News
> Continuing to plod steadily along a steady but very slow growth path, UltraViolet announced Monday that it has surpassed 20 million user accounts. Article
> One of the pay-TV industry's linchpin programmers, Sony Pictures, rendered its most aggressive response yet to an unprecedented three-week-old network hacking crisis. Article
And finally… Apple employees are getting a special gift from the company this holiday. Article