October 2011

The White House finally nominated two choices for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday, tapping two longtime Washington telecom hands -- Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai.

To fill a Democratic seat at the agency, to be vacated soon by Commissioner Michael Copps, the administration chose Rosenworcel, the senior communications counsel for Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. Before heading to Capitol Hill, she worked at the FCC for as a top aide for Copps and as a bureau-level staffer.

Filling the GOP seat, vacated this year by former FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, the administration selected Pai, a partner at Jenner & Block. He is also a former FCC aide, having left the agency in April after last serving as deputy general counsel.

The FCC nominations are usually paired in a bipartisan way to give senators in both parties an incentive to vote them through. The nominees are expected to get a Senate Commerce hearing.

For a view of the nominees from industry sources, check out this story from last month.

AT&T is bringing super-speedy wireless broadband to Washington D.C., the company announced Monday.

It will light up its 4G LTE service in the capital and three other cities this Sunday, following launches in five others.

The service will be accessible on six AT&T devices. Alas, none of them are a BlackBerry or an iPhone, so many in Washington will miss out.

AT&T's 4G LTE service will deliver speeds ten times faster than the 3G speeds many smart phone users are accustomed to, according to the company.

That will give Washington a taste of the service AT&T promises to make available for 97 percent of the population if its merger with T-Mobile is approved. The Justice Department has sued to block the merger.

Verizon already offers 4G LTE service in Washington.

Samsung overtook Apple as the world's top smartphone maker, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press reports that Hulu's library of television shows is growing as it picks up content from The CW, making CBS the sole holdout of the largest six TV broadcasters.

Gawker is startled by the number of hackers and spammers are logging into Facebook.

Check out more e-Reads here.

Members of the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus are pressing Facebook to explain what information the social network collects and how long it preserves that data.

In a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, four lawmakers, including caucus co-chairs Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Ed Markey, D-Mass., say that recent data and privacy breaches have made them become "increasingly concerned that users' personal information could be vulnerable to hackers."

The lawmakers ask Facebook to provide information on what user information it collects and how it is stored. They also ask whether Facebook deletes user information upon request.

Talk about good timing. One day after legislation was proposed to crack down on infringement on foreign websites was introduced, more than a dozen venture capitalists came to Washington Thursday to complain that the measure could have drastic consequences for technology startups and innovation.

The venture capitalists were set to meet with key lawmakers and staff Thursday on Capitol Hill including GOP and Democratic House leadership and members of the House Judiciary Committee. The trip was organized by the Consumer Electronics Association, a fierce critic of the House bill and a similar Senate measure.

The House measure was introduced by House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas, with bipartisan support. Among the many provisions in the House bill and a measure passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in May that worries the venture capitalists as well as civil libertarians, Internet engineers and others is a provision that would require service providers to redirect users away from sites engaged in piracy and counterfeiting.

Brad Burnham with Union Square Ventures, which has invested in social media sites such as Foursquare and Twitter and game maker Zynga, told Tech Daily Dose that the language in the House bill is too broad and could force action by a wide range of Internet-related firms, including social media sites. He and others said they worry that the potential costs of having to comply with the law could prevent many tech startups from getting off the ground.

"It makes it infinitely harder to get startups going" in the United States, Josh Mendelsohn, a partner with a VC firm called Hattery, said. He added that if the bill passes, it may force some startups to move abroad.

The venture capitalists acknowledged that they have been slow to react to the legislation and to rally opposition. And despite their visit, they said they do not have the time or resources to match the lobbying campaign being waged by supporters of the legislation. Intellectual property owners, labor groups and other supporters of the bill have been lobbying for at least two years for measures they say are vital to protecting their products from being stolen by foreign infringers.

They argue that the current tools available to them such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which requires websites and others to take down infringing content after being notified of its existence on their sites, are of little use in targeting infringers who haves set up websites offshore.

Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., one of the House bill's chief co-sponsors, told Tech Daily Dose Thursday that he and the bill's other authors are open to making additional changes but voiced frustration that many of the bill's critics have failed to offer alternative solutions to addressing a growing problem.

The sometimes vitriolic nature of the newly political debate over LightSquared's proposed wholesale wireless network has added "tension" to its relationship with the GPS community, Jim Kirkland, vice president at global positioning systems manufacturer Trimble, said on Thursday.

"We try to keep a stiff upper lip when we read what LightSquared says in the press," Trimble told reporters. LightSquared "repeatedly misstates and rewrites history" to win approval for its proposed wireless network, Trimble added in a conference call held by the Coalition to Save Our GPS.

The group, made up of many GPS users and manufacturers, sought to rebut arguments by LightSquared that it has the licenses and permission it needs to build a nationwide, wholesale wireless network.

"LightSquared has time and again repeated its self-serving claim that it has been authorized for years to build its recently proposed nationwide terrestrial network, and that this alleged prior authorization shifts the burden of avoiding interference to GPS manufacturers and users," the group said in a statement. "LightSquared's assertion is flat out wrong."

The GPS coalition contends that the company's plans have only recently expanded to such an extent that they would seriously disrupt GPS. LightSquared and the Federal Communications Commission say the plans for a full-sized, nationwide land-based network have been known for years.

"LightSquared (and its corporate predecessors) worked for almost a decade with the GPS industry to ensure that its plans for a terrestrial broadband network could co-exist with GPS devices," LightSquared said in a letter to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in September. "The kind of interference that GPS manufacturers now complain of - overload interference - should have been just as much of a concern then as it is now, but the GPS manufacturers failed to raise the overload issue until late 2010."

The group argued that despite LightSquared's proposed fixes, there are no known ways to prevent the interference the operation could cause to GPS devices.

LightSquared contends that the GPS industry is fighting its plans in an effort to avoid paying to fix GPS devices that should have been compatible with the new system.

LightSquared has taken a more aggressive approach to its critics after getting criticism over the past few months. On Wednesday LightSquared highlighted Trimble executives who sold millions of dollars in company stock after the FCC approved certain parts of LightSquared's plan in January.

Despite a major overhaul, the federal government's jobs board, USAJobs.gov, has been ridden with problems, according to The Washington Post.

Reuters examines why few women seek jobs in cyber security and other tech fields.

The Huffington Post reports that hackers, possibly from China, attacked U.S. satellites via a ground station connected to the Internet.

The author of a new book on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told the Wall Street Journal that while Bezos is a "brilliant entrepreneur," he lacks the innovation that the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' possessed.

To read all of today's e-Reads, visit our Tech page

The White House has pulled back on environmental regulations and the Department of Health and Human Services' says it can't move forward on the CLASS long-term care program. Now some House Republicans want President Obama to add net neutrality rules to that list.

The controversial net neutrality regulations, which govern anticompetitive behavior online, have yet to go into effect but are being challenged in court and the House has voted to overturn them.

Now House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore.m and Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., want Obama to stop any implementation of the rules.

"...implementation of the net neutrality rules could derail the investment and innovation that have been the hallmark of the information economy in the United States," the pair wrote in a letter to Obama on Thursday. "The net neutrality rules at best create uncertainty in the technology sector and at worst hinder this vital economic engine from creating the jobs Americans need."

The lawmakers argue that the regulations don't meet Obama's own "common sense test."

Supporters of the rules, approved by the Federal Communications Commission in December, say they are needed to prevent Internet companies from blocking or restricting access to competitors' services. Critics, including many Republicans, say the rules are unnecessary and hurt Internet freedom by imposing unauthorized government control.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano wants an army of "cyber geeks," and she wants it now.

Napolitano made the plea during a Washington Post Live event Thursday morning, featuring former and current government officials and industry representatives.

When asked what she would do tomorrow to secure cyberspace if possible, Napolitano said she would hire every "cyber geek" who knows anything about hacking and securing computers.

DHS has been given authority to hire 1,000 new cybersecurity professionals, but budget constraints and a lack of trained people makes filling that order difficult, she said.
To help overcome the lack of resources and to help cover all the wide-ranging cyberthreats, the government must partner with the private sector, Napolitano said.

"The government has its capabilities but this will have to an area where everyone has a shared responsibility," she said. Hackers have "come close" to shutting down parts of American infrastructure that are connected to the Internet, Napolitano said.

Michael Hayden, former head of the National Security Agency and of the Central Intelligence Agency, said the NSA, the nation's largest spy agency, should be given a more active role in protecting American networks. The NSA has said it plans to hire an additional 3,000 cybersecurity employees by mid-2012.

Until given more authority and guidance, however, many government resources will remain "on the sidelines" because of the concerns over privacy and government overreach, Hayden, who is now with security consultancy Chertoff Group, said at Thursday's event.

LightSquared, which is seeking to create a wholesale, satellite-based wireless network, may have just escalated its fight with the GPS industry.
LightSquared said it was fighting back against attacks and raised some of its own issues with opponents to its plan.

The Coalition to Save Our GPS says it will address "inaccuracies" on Thursday. "LightSquared repeatedly misstates and rewrites history in order to push through its ill-conceived plan to repurpose mobile satellite spectrum (MSS) to build a nationwide terrestrial network," the group said in an invitation to journalists for a briefing.

Reuters reports that the National Security Agency is providing intelligence to Wall Street banks about possible cyber attacks aimed at financial institutions.

Microsoft and Mozilla are teaming up to offer a Firefox/Bing combo.

Netflix has cut more than a dozen jobs as it struggles to regain its footing after some big losses in subscribers, Bloomberg reports.

Apple is planning to build a big solar farm in North Carolina to power one of its data centers, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Read all of today's e-Reads on our Tech page.

The leading wireless industry association wants to defend federal Internet competition rules from consumer groups that say the regulations are too loose.

CTIA-The Wireless Association filed a motion to intervene with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. The filing adds another angle to the legal battle over the so-called net neutrality rules, which govern how Internet companies provide service.

Verizon has sued the FCC over the rules, arguing that the agency does not have the authority to regulate the Internet.

At least four other groups have also challenged the rules, but from the other side of the argument. They say the FCC's rules are too weak and arbitrarily exclude wireless networks from many of the regulations.

"CTIA wishes to defend the FCC against that challenge and any related arguments that the FCC erred in imposing too few regulatory burdens," the court filing states.

The advocacy group Public Knowledge has also asked to be allowed to defend the rules against Verizon's arguments.

Self-centered lobbying by top tech CEOs annoyed President Obama at a dinner in Silicon Valley earlier this year, according to a new biography of Steve Jobs. Jobs, meanwhile, didn't like Obama's excuses.

Another nugget from Jobs's biography has ignited speculation that the Apple co-founder's last gadget is a yet-to-be released TV, according to the Atlantic Wire.

And according to the book, Apple's top designer Jonathan Ive complained that Jobs' stole Ive's ideas, CNET reports.

Why iPads and other tablets are the end of free Internet at hotels, from the New York Times.

Sprint may be cool to the idea of new spectrum auctions, Network World reports.

See more of today's e-Reads here.

When it comes to creating great websites, freshman members of the House beat out their equally green counterparts in the Senate by a long shot, according to the latest "Gold Mouse Awards" from the Congressional Management Foundation.

Sixty-one percent of new House members snagged an A or B grade in the awards, which come out every two years. Only 31 percent of new Senators' websites scored a B (none received an A), with 46 percent of them earning dubious grades of D or F.

The Foundation gave out awards to 98 personal office, committee, and leadership websites, including those of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who won awards for both their personal office and leadership websites.

In addition to a poor showing by freshman Senators, overall a "significant number of House and Senate member websites lacked basic educational and transparency features including: links to bills sponsored and cosponsored, voting records, and basic information on how a bill becomes a law," the foundation says.

Still, overall the average grade for congressional sites this year was a solid B, way up from the average F of the 111th Congress. The office websites of Ryan and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, were named the best in their category, while Pelosi scored the top leadership website grade and the House Education and Workforce Committee was named best committee site.

The Congressional Management Foundation has been surveying congressional websites since 2001. It looks at 10 categories of criteria, including the site's usability; timeliness of content; and the amount of content and access to services.

President Obama awarded National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation to 12 scientists, engineers and inventors in a ceremony Friday at the White House.

Obama cited the recipients for "exploring the very frontiers of human knowledge" and making the world a better place.

"...thanks to the men and women on the stage, we are one step closer to curing diseases like cancer and Parkinson's. Because of their work, soldiers can see the enemy at night and grandparents can see the pictures of their grandchildren instantly and constantly. Planes are safer, satellites are cheaper, and our energy grid is more efficient, thanks to the breakthroughs that they have made," Obama said.

But he said the United States was struggling to keep up with other countries in educating the next generation of scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

"Right now, unfortunately, barely more than one in 10 of all undergraduate students are enrolled in what we call the STEM subjects -- science, technology, engineering and math -- areas that will be critical if America is going to compete for the jobs of the future. And that's troubling, because no matter how many great minds we attract from around the world, it won't be enough if we can't grow some here at home," Obama said.

National Medals of Science were given to seven scientists from across the country, including New York, Utah, and California. Their work included research on genes, cloning and probability theory, among other areas. Recipients included:

* Jacqueline Barton, Pasadena, Calif., an expert in DNA repair.
* Ralph Brinster, Philadelphia, Penn., who makes genetically engineered mice.
* Shu Chien, San Diego, Calif., an expert on heart physiology.
* Rudolf Jaenisch, Cambridge, Mass., a leading cloning expert.
* Peter Stang, Salt Lake City, Utah, an organic chemist.
* Richard Tapia, Houston, Texas, who studied numerical analysis.
* Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, New York, N.Y., for work in probability theory.

Five people received National Medals of Technology and Innovation for projects ranging from liquefied gas production, flight safety, and rocket propulsion systems. Recipients included:

* Energy efficiency expert Rakesh Agrawal, West Lafayette, Ind.
* Semiconductor developer B. Jayant Baliga, Raleigh, N.C.
* Aircraft safety sensor designer Donald Bateman, Redmond, Wash.
* Rocket scientist Yvonne Brill, Skillman, N.J.
* Electronic technology pioneer Michael Tompsett, Murray Hill, N.J.

Obama used the event to announce a new website to help inventors commercialize their inventions.

"It's important to recognize that work, and to help make it easier for inventors and innovators like them to bring their work from the lab to the marketplace and create jobs," Obama said.

The medals are the highest honor awarded by the U.S. government to people in scientific and technology fields.

Wireless carrier MetroPCS may be the frontrunner to buy assets that AT&T could be forced to divest to win approval of its bid to buy T-Mobile USA, Bloomberg reports.

Steve Jobs' biographer told 60 Minutes in an interview that the late co-founder of Apple refused surgery for his rare form of pancreatic cancer that could have saved his life.

A CNET columnist argues that those looking for another celebrity-like figure to replace Jobs will be disappointed.

Read all of today's e-Reads on our Tech page.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Thursday that by the end of the year he will mark up legislation to update a 25-year old law dealing with law enforcement access to electronic communications.

Leahy's legislation would overhaul the 1986 law he authored known as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. It would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant to get access to all forms of electronic communications and geo-location data.

"When I led the effort to write the ECPA 25 years ago, no one could have contemplated the many emerging threats to our digital privacy," Leahy said in a statement one day before the 25th anniversary of ECPA's enactment.

Tech companies, privacy advocates and other supporters of updating ECPA say the law is out of date and provides different legal standards for different types of electronic communications such as e-mail and stored electronic data. They argue that the law's differing legal protections are hampering the growth of some new technologies such as cloud computing.

"As technology has advanced, the checks and balances limiting government surveillance have not kept pace; the changes proposed by Senator Leahy's bill will provide important protections for today's online communications," Center for Democracy and Technology Senior Counsel Gregory Nojeim said in a statement. His group helped launch a coalition last year pushing Congress to update ECPA.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced on Thursday that she has filled a recently created position overseeing cybersecurity at the agency.

Mark Weatherford will become deputy under secretary for Cybersecurity for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). He comes from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, an organization of U.S. electrical grid operators, where he served as vice president and chief security officer.

It won't be Weatherford's first government gig. He previously worked for state programs in California and Colorado and led the Navy's Computer Network Defense operations and the Naval Computer Incident Response Team.

Last month Suzanne Spaulding, a former congressional Intelligence staffer, also joined the agency as an Deputy Under Secretary for NPPD. She oversees the Federal Protective Service, Office of Infrastructure Protection, Office of Risk Management and Analysis and biometric border and immigration tracking systems.

Before the creation of Weatherford's post last month, the NPPD had only one deputy under secretary, who covered all the responsibilities.

Facebook, the Department of Labor, and several employment associations announced a partnership on Thursday designed to combine the expertise of government agencies with the audience and reach of social media.

In what could be a shot at more traditional job search websites, the partnership will "explore how job postings can be shared on Facebook and through other social websites at no charge," according to a summary of the program.

"By leveraging the power of the social Web, this initiative will provide immediate, meaningful and ready-to-use information for job seekers and employers, and a modern platform to better connect them," Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in announcing the partnership, which includes the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

She said even with the high unemployment rate, 3 million jobs are available in the U.S. right now.

Facebook vice president of global public policy Marne Levine said a new social jobs partnership Facebook page will become a "one-stop shop" for job seekers.

"We've brought employers, recruiters, college career services and government agencies together to help the millions of Americans who use Facebook to find jobs," she said at a Labor Department event to unveil the plan Thursday. In coming months, other public and private organizations are expected to join the partnership.

While other websites have been offering job postings and employment resources for years, Facebook contends that it is well suited to help people find jobs, especially by allowing employers to find people based on their interests, skills and location.

General Dynamics says it plans to hire 80 new cybersecurity contractors to protect government networks at the Defense Intelligence Agency as part of a new $86 million contract.

The work in the Washington, D.C. area and U.S. military commands around the world will be done by GD's Information Technology business unit. The contract, which extends until 2016, will cover "security, authenticity, integrity and confidentiality of the DIA's information, as well as computer network defense," according to a GD statement.

Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., co-chair of the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus, expressed concern last week over a "troubling reliance" on contractors for government cybersecurity work.

It looks like supporters of fully legalizing online poker may get a chance to make their case before Congress.

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade has scheduled a hearing for next Tuesday on Internet gambling. While the hearing is not specifically focused on online poker, the panel will likely discuss legislation introduced this summer by Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Barney Frank, D-Mass. The measure has been referred to the subcommittee.

Barton's bill would authorize online betting on poker and direct the Commerce Department to set up a licensing and consumer protection regime. While playing poker online is not illegal, it is unlawful to bet, according to Barton.

Supporters argue that millions of Americans already play poker online but often do so on offshore sites that offer few consumer protections. The American Gaming Association has pointed to the lawsuit the Justice Department filed last month against Full Tilt Poker, which was accused of cheating its members out of millions of dollars, as an example of why Congress should legalize and regulate online poker.

Congress enacted a law in 2006 banning payments for online gambling and requiring payment processors to block payments for online bets. The Financial Services Committee in the last Congress approved legislation offered by Frank, who was chairman of the panel at the time, that would have essentially unraveled that law.

C Spire, the regional wireless operator formerly known as Cellular South, will be the fourth wireless operator to get the newest iPhone, gaining access to the popular smart phone before its larger rival T-Mobile USA, Reuters reports.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company got lucky when its bid to buy Yahoo in 1998 was rejected, CNN reports.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates may be called to testify at a hearing on an antitrust lawsuit filed against the software giant by Novell, according to PC Magazine.

Facebook plans to join Germany's top information technology trade association amid growing concern among its German users over the social networking site's privacy and security policies, the Associated Press reports.

Apple launched a tribute page to co-founder Steve Jobs where it has posted the million messages the company received after Jobs' death earlier this month, according to Computerworld.

For all of today's e-Reads, go to National Journal's Tech page.

Former Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., a key player on tech and telecom issues for more than two decades, made some bold and not-so-bold predictions on Wednesday about the fate of privacy and data security legislation this Congress.

The not-so-bold prediction is that lawmakers will not pass broad comprehensive privacy legislation this Congress, a view echoed by both privacy advocates and industry critics of such proposals.

"There are some major company supporters of a privacy bill, but not the critical mass that I think is necessary to drive a bill through to passage," Boucher said in a speech at a forum sponsored by the Online Trust Alliance.

But Boucher also predicted that the House, at the very least, will likely pass a children's privacy bill offered by Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Ed Markey, D-Mass., and also a measure, approved last week by the House Judiciary Committee, that would update a 1988 law protecting the privacy of consumer video rental records.

The Markey-Barton children's privacy bill would bar companies from tracking children online for marketing purposes, restrict the collection of personal data about teens and require companies when technologically feasible to allow teens to erase publicly available personal information online about themselves. Boucher noted that the two lawmakers are polar opposites on many issues with Markey being among the most liberal lawmakers in the House, and Barton among the most conservative.

"Whenever they do agree on something, they are very powerful as a duo. And they can often drive the result and I think they will do so in this case," said Boucher, who chaired the House Energy and Commerce Communications Subcommittee in the last Congress before losing his bid for re-election in 2010.

But Boucher may be underestimating the controversy surrounding their bill. Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce subcommittee with jurisdiction over consumer privacy, and industry representatives have questioned the feasibility of the eraser provision in the Barton-Markey children's privacy bill. She also said following a hearing earlier this month that she did not plan on holding a hearing on the measure.

Boucher, who is now a partner with the Sidley Austin law firm, said he also expects there will be a strong push to enact legislation that would establish national standards for protecting personal data and for notifying consumers following a data breach. Bono Mack's Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee approved a data-breach bill on a party-line vote in July.

Boucher said the bill would require bipartisan support to make it through Congress. Bono Mack has been trying to work with Democrats to craft a compromise bipartisan bill. Boucher noted that Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who opposed Bono Mack's bill, will be pushing for legislation that is as strong his state's data breach law.

"The question for industry is do they care enough about having a uniform national standard that they're willing to accept a stronger California standard," Boucher said.

Apple failed to set a new sales record and its financial results came in below expectations -- a rare miss for the company, the Washington Post reports.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says children under 2 shouldn't watch TV, Agence France-Presse reports.

A New York Times columnist says Groupon's financial red flags were missed.

Broadcasting & Cable says major unions and studios are lobbying content creators to boost their efforts to fight intellectual property theft.

Some iPhone4S customers say their screens are tinted yellow, a problem they are dubbing "yellow gate," according to CNET.

See all our e-reads for today here.

Defense officials debated using cyberwarfare against Libya, according to the New York Times.

The Center for Public Integrity takes an in-depth look at how the charities supporting AT&T's merger with T-Mobile have received funding from the telecom giant.

Google has yet to fully master its core service - Internet search, argues a Forbes commentator.

Alibaba CEO says he has the cash to buy Yahoo, according to Business Insider.

A man in Britain has been jailed for eight months for posting what the BBC calls "religiously prejudiced abuse" on Facebook earlier this year.

More of Today's e-Reads are available on our Tech page.

Cell phone customers will get warnings when they are about to go over their monthly limits on cell phone calls and texts under an agreement to be announced Monday by the The Federal Communications Commission and major wireless carriers, the Washington Post reported Saturday.

The Post cites "two people familiar with the plan" as saying the program is led by industry and will tell consumers when they are reaching their monthly limits as well as when they are about to be charged international roaming fees. Consumer groups have long complained that customers can rack up thousands of dollars in bills without knowing it.

The FCC and the wireless trade group CTIA are expected to announce that the voluntary program will include cellphone carriers serving 97 percent of U.S. users. The FCC did not comment, the Post said. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski had been working on his own proposal for getting carriers to caution their customers about fees.

A process similar to the Base Realignment and Closure procedure should be considered help to decide which federally owned spectrum might be auctioned off for use by the private sector and help reduce the federal deficit, suggest Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill.

The Illinois duo have informed Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Tex -- co-chairs of the so-called deficit reduction "super committee" - that they "wholeheartedly" agree with four of their deficit panel's own members who wrote last week to President Obama that selling off spectrum for commercial broadband use would generate revenue for the federal government, and create jobs.

"Unfortunately, it is largely unknown how exactly federal agencies and departments are using spectrum and which spectrum could be used more efficiently," write Kirk and Kinzinger.

But Kirk and Kinzinger say they have proposed legislation establishing a process "nearly identical" to the BRAC procedure to help sort all of this out. Under such a process, a commission is set up to make recommendations, and those would kick in unless Congress passes legislation to block it.

"Once a determination is made on which spectrum the government must vacate or share, the legislation calls on the FCC to auction such spectrum, which will raise funds for the relocation process and for deficit reduction," their letter says. "Our legislation would provide the telecommunications industry with a certain path forward to reliably clear spectrum for wireless advancements that will grow our economy and improve our international competitiveness."

Remember Google Buzz? No need. Google is shutting down the social service, which was plagued by privacy issues, CNET reports.

The lines for the new iPhone wound around city blocks, according to Reuters. For the first time, Sprint customers got in line, the Associated Press notes.

Gizmodo reviews Apple's cloud service, iCloud, and finds it "not quite magical" yet.

Check out more e-Reads here.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski called on Congress for what seemed like the zillionth time on Friday to pass incentive auction legislation.

This time he tipped his hat on how he thinks the proposal can move across the finish line this year: by way of the super committee.

The policy in question--incentive auctions--would free up airwaves for mobile broadband by offering incentives for TV broadcasters to sell off spectrum, closing down channels or even going out of business.

But the popular policy--favored by lawmakers in both parties, the White House, and the powerful tech and wireless industries--has stumbled this year on its way to passage. Congress just hasn't been able to get the proposal into a viable bill despite trying stand-alone bills and trying to stick it in fast-moving packages.

Some auction proponents hope the super committee may include the policy in anything it comes up with. That idea sounds good to the FCC.

"I'm encouraged that the super committee is giving incentives a hard look," Genachowski said during a Q&A session at the Chamber of Commerce on Friday. "The cost of delay is massive."

Four members of the super committee expressed support for incentive auctions in a letter last week.

Telecom reform group Public Knowledge made nice with industry long enough to take some of its cash Thursday night at a fundraising dinner celebrating the group's tenth anniversary.

The group honored three people for promoting PK's goals: Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who PK commended for fighting what he sees as overly-strict intellectual property rules on the Internet; Beth Noveck, the former federal deputy chief technology officer, for open government initiatives; and Peter Jaszi, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, for his IP work.

The highlight of the evening was a roast of the outspoken and popular PK founder Gigi Sohn, a staunch advocate for net neutrality and against the AT&T merger with T-Mobile, among other issues that pit her against the giant phone and cable companies.

The roasters were some of PK's closest allies, including Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Sprint's top Washington official Vonya McCann, Tom Power, chief of staff for the telecom arm of the Commerce Department, Google policy official Rick Whitt, Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association, and Laurie Racine, who founded PK with Sohn.

Also spotted at the event was United States Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.

Some of the best lines from the roast:

Shapiro labelled Sohn the "Lady Gaga of telecom policy" because she keeps things interesting; Power wondered if PK held the event at Union Station because "the platform at Metro Center was taken;" and Markey called Sohn "the smallest human to terrorize a giant since David hit Goliath on the forehead."

Meanwhile, Copps threatened to give a speech on media reform--an act he has undertaken in iterations over the years; Whitt joked that he needed counsel for his remarks from Verizon's top Washington official Tom Tauke, poking fun at Google for allying with Verizon on net neutrality (to the disappointment of PK); and McCann took aim at the unions for siding with AT&T in its T-Mobile takeover.

Stealing the show? Maura Corbett of Glen Echo Group, the master of ceremonies, who put a twist on a Billy Joel classic. She tweaked Sohn and mocked the telecom world in "PK State of Mind."

Three decades after Congress passed a law to protect the privacy of Americans' video rental history, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation Thursday that would not only loosen the bill's restrictions but also help Netflix in its Facebook integration effort.

The bill, H.R. 2471, would amend the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act, which was passed after failed Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork's video rental history was leaked to a newspaper. The law currently bars disclosure of a user's video rental records without written permission. The proposed update, sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., would allow consumers to give their consent to the sharing of their video rental records only once instead of each time it is shared.

Goodlatte said the measure is aimed at updating the law to reflect the new ways people watch videos and share information about movies and programs they like and dislike. "It is narrowly crafted to preserve the VPPA's protections for consumers' privacy while modernizing the law to empower consumers to do more with their video consumption preferences, including sharing names of new or favorite TV shows or movies on social media in a simple way," Goodlatte said when the bill was introduced in July.

The bill would help Netflix in particular and its effort to allow its users to connect their Netflix accounts to Facebook so they can share with their Facebook friends what they are watching on the video service.

When it announced it was launching the service in September, Netflix said it was only rolling it out in Canada and Latin America because the 1988 video privacy law barred it from introducing the service in the United States. Netflix said it was hoping Congress would fix the problem. "The good news, however, is that some forward-thinking members of Congress have introduced legislation, H.R. 2471, that would allow you to make this choice," Michael Drobac, Netflix's director of government relations wrote in a blog post.

Coincidentally, two of Drobac's three campaign contributions this year went to Goodlatte and one of the bill's original cosponsors, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., each of whom got $1,000 from Netflix' top Washington representative.

Goodlatte's spokeswoman said that the bill is not necessarily aimed at helping Netflix. "It benefits any consumer who wishes to share their movie watching experiences with those who are part of their online social network," she said in an e-mail response. "While the Netflix/Facebook integration is the one that is often mentioned because it has already occurred in Canada and Latin America, this legislation will open the doors to numerous video retailers and social networking websites."

The Federal Communications Commission wrote to AT&T on Thursday telling it to send more information on whether its proposed merger with T-Mobile will kill jobs, charging that the company failed to answer that question in a previous information request.

"Indeed, AT&T to date has produced almost nothing in response to" queries about "whether the merger will result in a net increase of jobs within the territorial United States," Rick Kaplan, the chief of the FCC wireless bureau, told AT&T in a letter, requesting all analyses AT&T has produced internally about job growth.

AT&T says the merger would create jobs through new investments in its network and through its pledge to bring 5,000 call center jobs back from overseas. The company cites a study released in May by the Economic Policy Institute that says the deal will create between 55,000 and 96,000 jobs.

But AT&T has also acknowledged that it expects job redundancies if the companies are combined, which could result in layoffs. Merger opponents cite a study released in August, commissioned by Sprint, that says the merger will eliminate between 34,000 to 60,000 jobs.

The Justice Department, which filed suit against the merger in August, appears to believe the merger would kill jobs, an argument seemingly tied to concerns over industry consolidation. The department's rationale for its view is unclear since jobs are not discussed in its complaint against the merger.

"The view that this administration has is that through innovation and through competition, we create jobs," Deputy Attorney General James Cole said when the DOJ announced the suit last month. He said DOJ officials saw the suit as a way to protect jobs.

The merger is still under review at the FCC while the Justice Department faces off with AT&T in court. The FCC is unlikely to approve the deal during the court battle, according to agency officials. For the latest on the lawsuit, click here.

After trading barbs over spectrum legislation for the last year, it seems broadcasters and the wireless industry have found something that can unite them: opposition to new spectrum fees.

In a letter Wednesday to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, the chiefs of the National Association of Broadcasters and the wireless industry group CTIA called on the congressional super committee to scrap an Obama administration proposal to impose fees on some spectrum holders.

The proposal contained in the jobs bill the White House sent Congress last month called for giving the Federal Communications Commission authority to charge wireless companies, radio broadcasters, satellite firms and others who buy spectrum at auctions when they renew licenses. The proposal is projected to raise $4 billion over 10 years but would exempt television broadcasters and government spectrum users.

"This legislation ignores the considerable annual regulatory fees already borne by our respective industries and the tens of billions of dollars in private capital expended annually by wireless, satellite and commercial, non-commercial and public radio operators alike to build networks and invest in the infrastructure necessary to serve the American public," NAB CEO Gordon Smith and CTIA CEO Steve Largent, as well as the chiefs of three other groups affected by the White House proposal, wrote.

The NAB and CTIA have battled over a proposal backed by wireless operators to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband by enticing broadcasters to give up some of their airwaves for auction.

A key senator is questioning the Obama administration's claim that an international agreement aimed at curbing piracy and counterfeiting does not require congressional approval.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee's International Trade Subcommittee, wrote President Obama Wednesday about the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. The agreement, which the United States recently signed, was negotiated with more than 30 countries and is aimed at improving cooperation in efforts to fight piracy and counterfeiting.

The administration has maintained that ACTA is a "sole executive agreement" that doesn't change U.S. law and therefore doesn't require congressional approval.

Wyden begs to differ. "It may be possible for the U.S. to implement ACTA or any other trade agreement, once validly entered, without legislation if the agreement requires no change in U.S. law," he wrote. "But regardless of whether the agreement requires changes in U.S. law ... the executive branch lacks constitutional authority to enter a binding international agreement covering issues delegated by the Constitution to Congress' authority, absent congressional approval."

Wyden urged Obama to either declare that ACTA is not binding on the United States or provide Congress with a more precise legal rationale of why the deal does not require congressional approval.

ACTA critics have raised similar concerns. They also attacked the process used to negotiate the agreement as too secretive and voiced concern with provisions aimed at curbing online infringement of intellectual property.

"Hopefully, Senator Wyden's letter will alert the administration to the serious constitutional issue facing it and compel it to engage its constitutional and international law experts ... to ensure that the [U.S. Trade Representative] does not disregard this country's constitutional mandates in its fervor to hastily enter a broad ranging and controversial agreement restraining US policy options," said Sean Flynn, associate director of American University's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a new agency push to get Americans connected to high-speed Internet in a speech Wednesday at the Pew Charitable Trusts.

He said the concern is that even when Americans have access to broadband service, many fail to adopt the technology. One-third of all Americans--100 million people--don't have broadband at home, according to Genachowski.

A lack of "digital literacy," he said, is a main reason many people don't adopt the technology. To fight that issue, the agency helped secure a commitments from nearly a dozen companies to train people in technology skills.

For instance, Microsoft will offer training for its software products in schools, libraries and community colleges. Best Buy promised to offer basic technology training in 20 cities over the next year.

Genachowski framed the effort as once piece of a much larger puzzle.

"No single program or actor alone - government, nonprofit, or private sector - can solve this national challenge. It will take all of the above, playing smart, mutually re-enforcing roles, acting boldly for both the near-term and long-term, and building on the increasing volume of best practices and data," he said.

Constructing LightSquared's national broadband network will support 15,000 jobs for five years, a company executive will say on Wednesday as he makes LightSquared's case before the House Small Business Committee.

Many of those jobs will be with contractors or other small businesses, LightSquared vice president Jeff Carlisle says in testimony prepared for the hearing.

Beyond that, "many of LightSquared's business partners are themselves small business, who will provide valuable broadband services to their customers and support new jobs," he will say.

LightSquared is fighting for its corporate life as some lawmakers have begun to investigate the company's ties to federal officials. LightSquared's planned wholesale wireless network, which will use satellites as well as ground transmitters, has been shown to interfere with global positioning systems and the company's plans must get final approval from the Federal Communications Commission.

In his planned testimony, Carlisle will argue that the interference issues have been solved, and that GPS manufacturers should shoulder some of the burden of paying to fix the problem.

"As we have stated before, and as has been clearly shown in recent weeks, the interference issue is a question of engineering choice by GPS manufacturers, and can be addressed through proper design," Carlisle says in his statement. He accuses GPS companies of scaring their users. "The manufacturers themselves should step up to cover this cost, as it was their technology choice that created the situation."

Other witnesses at Wednesday's hearing will include representatives of the Leesburg (Virginia) Executive Airport Commission, the Agriculture Retailers Association, and the Aircraft Electronics Association.

BlackBerry outages have hit Latin America, the fourth continent this week, according to Reuters.

Research In Motion shareholders increasingly want the BlackBerry-maker to sell itself, merge, or split into smaller companies, Bloomberg reports.

The House is now able to stream live video to smart phones and tablets, according to Mashable.

More e-Reads can be found here.

The Technology CEO Council is expected to announce Monday that Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of computer maker Dell, has been tapped as its new chairman.

Dell succeeds IBM Chairman and CEO Samuel J. Palmisano as head of the council, an advocacy group made up of chief executives from major tech firms and aimed at promoting U.S. innovation and competitiveness. This is the second time Dell has chaired the group, having last held the post from 2001-2003.

"At this time of economic uncertainty and challenges, it's more important than ever that the business community work closely with elected leaders and policymakers to help our economy grow and prosper and create jobs for Americans," Dell said in a statement.

Among the issues the council is pushing for include changes to the nation's tax structure, expanded free trade, reforms to the U.S. immigration system, and increased use of technology in government, health care and energy. Other members of the group include the leaders of Applied Materials, Intel, Motorola Solutions and Xerox.

A computer virus has been plaguing the U.S. military's drone fleet, Wired reports.

Sprint will stop selling Clearwire devices at the end of next year, the Associated Press reports.

European regulators approved Microsoft's $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype on Friday, Reuters reports.

The Occupy Wall Street protests are using Meetup.com to organize, Mashable says.

All of today's e-Reads are here.

In what may be an early victory for Verizon, a judicial panel announced Thursday that lawsuits against federal Internet competition rules will be heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

That's where Verizon filed its challenge to the net neutrality regulations, which govern how Internet providers provide access. The telecom giant argues that the Federal Communications Commission has no authority to regulate such issues.

Other groups, which take the opposite view and argue that the FCC didn't go far enough, filed lawsuits in five other courts. Those will all be combined and heard in the D.C. court, which was chosen randomly in a lottery system overseen by a panel of judges.

It is seen as a potentially favorable court because in 2010 it ruled that the FCC did not have the authority to prevent Comcast from blocking a website.

The National Association of Broadcasters appears to have hit a raw nerve with its claims that a new Citibank study backs up broadcasters' contention that there is no spectrum crisis.

Groups that have been pushing Congress to pass legislation to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband lashed out at the NAB in response to a letter it sent Wednesday to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The panel is considering including spectrum legislation in its deficit reduction package. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the auctions authorized by Senate spectrum legislation could raise more than $24 billion.

"Citigroup's analysis suggests that spectrum crisis claims that have been manufactured by the wireless and consumer electronics industries - and advanced by the FCC - simply do not withstand scrutiny," NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith wrote.

AT&T's Tim McKone called on NAB to stop denying reality, while Jot Carpenter of the wireless industry group CTIA argued that NAB "has consistently misrepresented the facts." And Jonathan Spalter of the Mobile Future Coalition said NAB was "offering flabby facts and analysis" by relying on equity analysts to make its case instead of engineers and other wireless industry experts.

Publisher Simon & Schuster has announced it is pushing up the publication date for a biography on Steve Jobs, who died Wednesday, according to PC Magazine.

The New York Times examines why there will not be another Steve Jobs any time soon.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony is close to cutting a deal to buy out Ericsson from their joint mobile-phone venture

Could Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg be a contender for the Nobel Peace Prize?

All of today's e-Reads are available on our Tech page.

The Federal Communications Commission is moving to dismiss Verizon's challenge to the agency's open Internet rules.

The FCC filed a motion Wednesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to dismiss Verizon's lawsuit challenging rules barring wireline broadband providers from discriminating against Internet content, services or applications.

"We look forward to defending our open Internet framework in court. This strong and balanced framework has brought certainty and predictability, stimulating investment across the broadband economy," an FCC spokesman said Thursday. "Verizon's legal challenge is not only misguided; it threatens to destabilize an important and growing part of our economy at a critical time."

Verizon officially relaunched its legal bid to overturn the so-called net neutrality rules last week. Its original lawsuit filed in January was derailed after a federal court said the company could not file a challenge until the rules were published in the Federal Register, which the FCC did on Sept. 23.

In its motion to dismiss, the FCC argued that Verizon lacks jurisdiction to challenge the rules to the federal appeals court because it would not modify "radio licenses" as Verizon has claimed.

Universal Service Reform is headed to Capitol Hill.

The Senate Commerce Committee is planning a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission's effort to overhaul an $8 billion phone fund, slated for Oct. 12, according Hill and industry sources.

Congressional Democrats have expressed concerns that the plan won't sufficiently protect consumers. Public interest advocates say phone users may see their rates go up if the agency adopts a plan from telecom companies.

Genachowski will release an outline of his proposal in a speech on Thursday. The commission will vote on the proposal on Oct. 27.

The House unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday that mandates the return of federal stimulus money designated for broadband development if officials find fraud, waste, or abuse.

"This legislation is a taxpayer protection measure and will ensure that our law is definitive and quick to reclaim funds if there is reason to terminate an award for reasons of waste, fraud or insufficient performance," the bill's sponsor, Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., said in a statement.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which previously passed the bill, didn't pass up the chance to cite the ongoing controversy over stimulus funds given to the green energy company Solyndra.

The House approved the bill with unanimous consent, despite grumbling from Democrats who said the measure was unnecessary.

"It is unclear why new legislation is necessary to ensure that this policy continues," Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said in a statement. Nevertheless, they said they supported the "very modest enhancements" made by the bill.

More than two weeks after testifying before a Senate panel, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has yet to put to rest some of the questions that senators had for him about his company's conduct.

Schmidt was questioned by the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee last month over allegations that Google favors its own products and services in its search rankings - an issue that the Federal Trade Commission also is investigating.

A handful of senators indicated after the hearing that they were not satisfied with Schmidt's testimony. They include Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who told Tech Daily Dose this week that he wasn't satisfied with Schmidt's response to questions about the company's settlement with the Justice Department over allegations that it provided advertising services to illegal Canadian pharmacies. As a result of the settlement, Google agreed to pay a $500 million forfeiture.

When pressed for more details on the Canadian pharmacy controversy, Schmidt repeatedly told Cornyn at the hearing that Google's agreement with the Justice Department wouldn't allow him to comment further.

Cornyn said Tuesday that he believes Google misinterpreted the agreement. He said he has submitted additional questions to Schmidt in writing. When asked if he wanted another hearing on the issue, Cornyn said, "We'll let him answer the questions in writing and see how they turn out."

A spokeswoman for Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said the subcommittee has not received responses yet to follow-up questions submitted to Schmidt after the hearing.

Schmidt may not have done himself any favors when he complained to The Washington Post recently about the hearing and being "hauled in front of the Congress for developing a product that's free, that serves a billion people." In the interview with the Post, Schmidt also said that many members of Congress don't understand the tech industry.

"For every one of these Internet-savvy senators, there's another senator who doesn't get it at all. And it's not a partisan issue. It's true in both parties," Schmidt told the Post when asked about why Google has invested so much in lobbying and political contributions.

Schmidt was asked about those comments during an interview Wednesday at a day-long conference sponsored by The Atlantic and the Aspen Institute. He said Google understands and respects that Congress has a job to do.

A House Homeland Security subcommittee will hear testimony on Thursday from a panel of government and industry officials on the security implications of cloud computing systems.

With White House backing, federal agencies are increasingly looking to cloud networks, which store information in remote data centers rather than onsite. Proponents say cloud computing has the potential to save money and streamline government IT programs, but concerns over security continue to dog the technology.

"In light of the administration's 'Cloud First Policy' and the announced transition by the Department of Homeland Security to cloud computing, my subcommittee will be examining how government information is being managed and secured in the cloud environment," Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies Chairman Dan Lungren, R-Calif., said in a statement. "We also want to hear how the private sector is implementing this shared technology option, its cost savings and risk concerns."

Witnesses at Thursday's hearing include: Richard Spires, chief information officer for the Department of Homeland Security; the General Services Administration's David McClure; Greg Wilshusen, director of Information Security Issues for the Government Accountability Office; James Bottum, Clemson University CIO; CA Technologies vice president Timothy Brown; Computer Sciences Corporation's James Sheaffer; and John Curran, CEO of the American Registry of Internet Numbers.

On Wednesday, a House GOP task force unveiled its proposals for cybersecurity legislation, including updating policies to reflect advances in cloud computing.

Public Knowledge wants in on Verizon's lawsuit against federal Internet competition rules. But the advocacy group isn't joining the chorus of challenges. It wants to defend the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality regulations.

"The rules are worth defending, and the FCC's authority to make rules is worth defending," said Public Knowledge legal director Harold Feld.

Verizon argues that the FCC doesn't have the authority to enact the rules, which regulate how Internet companies provide access. Public Knowledge filed a motion to intervene in the case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

"PK actively participated in the Preserving the Open Internet; Broadband Industry Practices proceedings below and represents members who would be adversely affected by a reversal of the Order because their activities or businesses depend upon access to an open Internet," the motion reads. "Therefore, PK's interests will be substantially affected by this Court's review of the Commission's Order."

Public Knowledge did not join the other consumer advocacy groups, Free Press and Media Access Project, which have filed lawsuits against the net neutrality rules as well. Their lawsuits contend that while the FCC has the authority to regulate Internet access, it did not go far enough to prevent anticompetitive behavior online.

The chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee said Tuesday he is making progress in narrowing differences with the panel's Democrats on spectrum legislation.

The Communications and Technology Subcommittee had hoped to schedule a markup this week on legislation aimed at freeing up more spectrum for mobile broadband and to help build a national broadband network for public safety. But after meeting with key Energy and Commerce Democrats on Tuesday, subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said he is planning to move legislation by the end of the year.

"I appreciate the progress we are making, and we will continue working in good faith to develop legislation that creates jobs, establishes a public safety network, and reduces the deficit. Members on both sides of the aisle are committed to getting the policy right, which is why we continue to avoid any arbitrary deadlines for action," he said in a statement. "However, I have set a personal goal to advance legislation by the end of this year and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to achieve that goal with the strongest, most effective bill we can produce."

Since releasing competing drafts of the legislation in July, Republican and Democratic leaders on the Energy and Commerce Committee have been trying to work out their differences.

One of the key differences centers on whether to reallocate a swath of spectrum known as the D-block to public safety for a national broadband network. The Republican version offered by Walden would maintain current law and auction the D-block to commercial bidders. Walden and other Republicans would rather see the funding from a D-block auction go toward deficit reduction. They also say that public safety has already been given plenty of spectrum for their network.

"That's one of the big issues that's unresolved. Energy and Commerce ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif, said of the D-block issue during a brief interview Tuesday. "There are a lot of issues. That's why I don't think we're going to mark up this week." The draft bill released by Waxman and Communications and Technology Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., would reallocate the D-block to public safety as would bipartisan legislation approved by the Senate Commerce Committee in June.

Walden met with Waxman and Eshoo Tuesday to discuss the spectrum bill. "Anna Eshoo and I want to reach a bipartisan agreement, and I think the Republicans feel the same way. This issue shouldn't be partisan," Waxman added.

One possible compromise on the D-block issue could involve public safety giving up some other less critical spectrum in exchange for receiving the D-block, according to one source following the issue closely.

Public safety officials say the D-block spectrum is ideally suited for the creation of a national broadband network and can be paired with spectrum they already have. They say such a network will greatly enhance their ability to respond to emergencies by allowing firefighters to download blueprints of a burning building, for example, or enabling paramedics to send a patient's vital signs en route to an emergency room.

"We know the members of the subcommittee are working hard toward a compromise," said Sean Kirkendall, a spokesman for the Public Safety Alliance, which represents sheriffs, police and fire chiefs, and other emergency first responders. "At the end of the day, we need to see the D-block allocation and funding. But we do continue to believe there's room for compromise."

The Defense Department announced a new top official on Tuesday to oversee its cyber programs.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta appointed Eric Rosenbach, a former Senate staffer and private security consultant, as deputy assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs.

Rosenbach will oversee DOD efforts to develop and implement cyber-related policies, strategies, and plans. Over the summer, Robert Butler ended his two-year stint in the job.

Rosenbach previously worked for D.C.-based Good Harbor Consulting, as well as national security advisor for Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and as a staff member on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

On Tuesday, members of the House Intelligence Committee called on government officials to do more to combat cyberthreats, especially alleged spying by China.

Apple's not-so-big announcement left many junkies underwhelmed, including this Forbes commentator.

More reaction here, from Reuters.

The cellphone industry is taking San Francisco to court over posters warning of cellphone radiation, the San Fransisco Chronicle reports.

The world's largest astronomy project is up and running in the Chilean desert, according to AFP.

More of today's e-Reads are available on our Tech page.

One of Facebook's top lobbyists and a prominent privacy advocate, Timothy Sparapani, is stepping down, the company said Monday.

Sparapani came to Facebook in 2009 after working on privacy issues for the American Civil Liberties Union. He leaves as the social network copes with mounting privacy questions on Capitol Hill and around the country.

A Facebook spokesman did not disclose why Sparapani was leaving but cited a "desire to pursue new opportunities."

"Tim Sparapani decided to transition out of the company last month," said Facebook's Andrew Noyes in a statement. "He has made a lasting impact by helping build our DC team and policy portfolio. We are sad to see him go... and we wish him well."

When Sparapani joined Facebook he was one of only two D.C. employees. Since then, the company has increased its Washington and lobbying presence, including hiring former White House spokesman Joe Lockhart. Among the new hires is Louisa Terrell, former special assistant to the president at the White House. Terrell, whose hiring was announced in mid-September, was named as director of public policy with a focus on the Senate.

Facebook has also brought on privacy lawyer Erin Egan as senior policy adviser and director of privacy.

Yahoo has signed up ABC news to provide news content for its site.

A Silicon Valley investor and senior administration officials warned the White House that President Obama might be embarrassed by a visit to solar start-up Solyndra because of its financial problems. the Washington Post reports.

LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja on C-SPAN.

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LightSquared, the company struggling to build a wholesale broadband network using both satellite and land-based technology, said Monday it had chosen Sharp to make compatible smart phones, tablets and other gadgets to use its network.

"Sharp has a rich history of producing unique products that push the extremes of design and functionality, and we're proud that they will be developing innovative devices for LightSquared's 4G-LTE network," LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said in a statement.

"LightSquared's wholesale-only business model and open network will provide Sharp with a platform from which they can aggressively expand into the U.S. wireless market with an exciting portfolio of smartphones and tablets."

Most recently, LightSquared promised it would create 75,000 jobs if its network was approved, but its plans are on hold because of evidence its transmission could interfere with GPS devices.

Opponents of AT&T's merger with T-Mobile are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to move to block the deal.

Representatives from Sprint, DISH, and Public Knowledge met with FCC officials in recent days to push that argument.

When the Justice Department filed suit against the merger in August, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he also had concerns about the potential anti-competitive effects of the deal. The agency has signaled that it is unlikely to approve the merger while the Justice suit is ongoing.

TechAmerica CEO Philip Bond is leaving his post at the industry group to join a D.C.-based lobbying firm.

Bond will become a partner at Petrizzo Bond, Inc., currently called Petrizzo Strategic Group, on Nov. 1. Bond will also become the company's CEO and president.

Bond said he plans to represent companies in IT, health, life science, and other industries. "This kind of innovation is America's best hope for long-term growth," he said in a statement.

Bond helped oversee the organization of TechAmerica, which calls itself the largest technology industry advocacy group, in 2009. It was formed by combining AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association), the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, the Information Technology Association of America, and the Government Electronics & Information Technology Association.

Bond previously worked at Monster, the online career site, and as under secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce for Technology.