GENEVA -- Momentum is building in ITU-R for further studies on ways to spur roll-out and use of cognitive radio systems in the various radiocommunication services, according to submissions to the Jan. 16 to 20 Radiocommunication Assembly. A proposal from some countries in the Americas does not preclude work on possible regulatory measures. Countries in the Asia-Pacific region will pursue their objectives at the World Radiocommunication Conference later this month if the assembly can’t agree on a way forward.
SILICON VALLEY -- The FTC’s eagerly anticipated privacy report probably will be out before April, Commissioner Julie Brill told us Thursday. “You will see themes that you saw before in the draft report carried forward, but there will be other things” in the report, too, she said at a Hogan Lovells event. The contents are still being discussed at the commission, Brill said. She told us later that there are no highly contentious points, but neither is there complete agreement in principle. “It’s a work in progress,” she said.
LAS VEGAS -- FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said in remarks Wednesday at CES it’s unclear whether Congress will approve incentive auction legislation. All three FCC commissioners spoke at the conference, including a keynote address by Chairman Julius Genachowski, prior to a panel featuring McDowell and Mignon Clyburn. A key topic was a proposed incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum, possible only if Congress gives the agency authority.
LAS VEGAS -- The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) dominated the discussions during a congressional panel at CES Wednesday. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., a supporter of SOPA, clashed with several of her Republican colleagues. SOPA was a huge focus of the conference, given the strong opposition of CEA.
The FCC is close to adopting rules for TV shows to be captioned online. An Internet Protocol captioning order that circulated the last work day before Christmas is likely to be approved by commissioners by Thursday, and perhaps issued that day, too. This week some on the eighth floor and in the Media Bureau, which drafted the IP order, are grappling with whether to make changes after lobbying by the pay-TV and consumer electronics industries and advocates for those with problems hearing, according to commission and industry officials.
The FCC won’t require emergency alert service participants without broadband access to get and pass onto viewers and listeners EAS alerts in a new format that’s been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. A commission order released Wednesday set rules for broadcast radio and TV, satellite radio and DBS, and cable and telco-TV equipment to be certified as complying with the new Common Alerting Protocol (CAP).
Native Americans became the first parties to oppose petitions to reconsider last fall’s universal service reforms, the record on docket 10-90 showed. The National Congress of American Indians and Navajo telecom regulators filed separate, but similarly worded, briefs to oppose RLEC’s request for exemption of some of the new rules’ guidelines for deploying broadband in tribal areas (CD Oct 28 p1).
As the use of mobile commerce becomes more widespread, ISPs, payment service companies, government agencies and other entities are increasing efforts to address challenges around privacy and security. Companies like MasterCard and Sprint Nextel have practices in place to protect consumer data and resolve customer disputes concerning mobile transactions. The FTC Division of Financial Practices is attempting to rev up its expertise in the mobile space to protect consumers.
The Mobile Marketing Association may clarify a recommendation to applications developers to get consent from users before partner businesses pull information about them from social-media sites, an industry attorney said Wednesday. The subject has come up in responses to proposed privacy guidelines that the association put out in October in response to activity in Congress and at the FTC, Ieuan Jolly of the Loeb & Loeb law firm said on a Law Seminars International teleconference. Many of the firm’s “interactive media clients” belong to the association, he told us.
The fight between the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA) and the city of Philadelphia at the FCC over a city ordinance restricting satellite antenna placement is bringing out some larger issues on the federal government’s role in municipality governance, said communications lawyers we spoke to. The SBCA, the longtime watchdog for violations of Over-the-Air Reception Devices (OTARD) rules, filed a complaint with the FCC last year that the city had violated those rules. The comment cycle on the proceeding finished recently and has included filings from several major cities and associations, plus DirecTV and Dish Network.