The growth of digital content delivery is opening up huge opportunities for Sony and other companies, but “we have to add value to ownership” of that content for consumers, Robert Wiesenthal, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sony Corporation of America told the UBS investors conference in New York Tuesday. That’s “a challenge,” he said.

The FCC has a chance to clear the way for foreign investment in U.S. satellite and other communications companies by eliminating unnecessary licensing barriers, said satellite interests in filings at the FCC in docket 11-133. The FCC issued a proposed rulemaking in August on potential changes to foreign ownership rules and the licensing requirements of section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act (CD Aug 10 p11).

CBS’ retransmission revenue will hit $250 million by late 2012 and increase “every year in the future” as the network cashes in on its top-rated programming, CEO Leslie Moonves said Tuesday at the UBS conference in New York.

The draft of a new House cybersecurity bill seeks to blend elements of the White House cybersecurity proposal with some recommendations from the House Republican Cybersecurity Task Force, in an effort to pass bipartisan cybersecurity legislation this session. The proposal, which will be formally introduced next week, would establish DHS as the lead agency to coordinate the response to national cyberthreats, create a new non-governmental organization to increase information sharing between the public and private sectors and emphasize voluntary incentives for private companies to secure U.S. networks.

Senators showed support for televising the U.S. Supreme Court, but at a hearing Tuesday some voiced reservations that it may be unconstitutional for Congress to make rules for an equal branch of government. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts debated S-410, a bill requiring cameras in the courtrooms. There’s “nothing I would love more than to watch Supreme Court arguments on television,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, said at the hearing. “At the same time, as a coordinate branch of government, the Supreme Court is entitled … to determine how it operates."

The FCC created new spectrum screen standards in its review of the AT&T/Qualcomm deal and then applied those standards to its review of AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, records show and an FCC official confirmed Monday. In its staff report on the T-Mobile acquisition (CD Nov 30 p1), the FCC mentions as part of its spectrum analysis that the “Commission has routinely updated its calculus for the second part of its test -- the spectrum screen -- when ‘new’ spectrum has been made available for mobile wireless services.

Lightsquared is “very pleased” with the results of a new round of testing into whether its proposed LTE broadband wireless network interferes with GPS-equipped devices, CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said Monday at the UBS conference in New York.

The technology joint venture, marketing and strategic partnerships between Verizon Wireless and the SpectrumCo members will proceed immediately, while the companies pursue regulatory approval of their proposed $3.6 billion spectrum deal (CD Dec 5 p5), cable executives said Monday at a UBS conference in New York. “The commercial agreements … are very separate from the spectrum sale,” said Comcast Vice Chairman Michael Angelakis. “Those agreements are in place and the teams are meeting,” he said.

The Washington Independent Telecommunications Association, which represents small telcos in the state, alleged that competitive local exchange carrier PAETEC has been avoiding access charges. The group asked the state commission to stop PAETEC from its activities and revoke its authority to operate in the state. It’s uncertain what the FCC’s order on Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation would do to state access charge disputes, said the group and PAETEC.

Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., Sen. Al Franken D-Minn., and Consumer Watchdog are asking federal regulators to investigate whether mobile software firm Carrier IQ’s practices violate consumer privacy rights. And groups like the Center for Digital Democracy are calling for federal privacy legislation. The company came under fire after reports that its software, installed on many major carriers’ smartphones, collects and transmits potentially sensitive data about device users. Carriers using Carrier IQ claimed they solely use the service to improve and maintain network performance.