Once again, the topic of municipal broadband is raising hackles as availability of federal stimulus funds reignites a long-standing dispute. By assigning local government the same eligibility it gave states, nonprofits, public/private partnerships and companies pursuing stimulus money, Congress thrilled those who see government as some Americans’ last, best hope to get online. But free marketeers say the worst, last place for government of any sort is in broadband. Earlier efforts at municipal broadband saw 15 states ban municipalities from the telecom business.

Once again, the topic of municipal broadband is raising hackles as availability of federal stimulus funds reignites a long-standing dispute. By assigning local government the same eligibility it gave states, nonprofits, public/private partnerships and companies pursuing stimulus money, Congress thrilled those who see government as some Americans’ last, best hope to get online. But free marketeers say the worst, last place for government of any sort is in broadband. Earlier efforts at municipal broadband saw 15 states ban municipalities from the telecom business.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Globalstar’s attempts to overturn a 2007 FCC order requiring the company to share with rival Iridium a block of Big LEO spectrum that was previously reserved for its exclusive use. The decision, written by Judge Harry Edwards, was not a surprise based on questions asked during oral argument in February (CD Feb 18 p10).

Companies and interest groups are rethinking their FCC lobbying strategies as the likelihood seems to grow that Michael Copps will remain the acting chairman well into the summer. Industry sources said Wednesday they're still looking for issues that could be addressed before Julius Genachowski’s nomination to become the chairman clears the Senate.

The FCC must fix its audit program for the Universal Service Fund high-cost program, USTelecom and CTIA said Friday in a scathing letter to commissioners. The associations queried the accuracy of a November audit report from the FCC Office of Inspector General, which said the high-cost fund had an error payment rate of 23.3 percent. “The current audit program … results in misleading statistics generated as improper payments under the” 2002 Improper Payments Information Act, “which undermines the credibility of the audits and the USF,” they said.

Republican leaders have made no decision on a nominee for FCC commissioner, but have told a number of finalists they are still in the mix, according to industry and Hill sources. “We have no news on this,” said a spokesman for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Friday, when asked if McConnell expected to make a decision this week. The handful of staff close to the negotiations are keeping a tight lid on information, and have declined requests for interviews.

U.S. Trade Representative Kirk recently responded to a letter from the Ranking¹ Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the Ranking¹ Members from three Science and Technology Committee Subcommittees, regarding their concerns about the Obama Administration's linkage of U.S. efforts to address climate change and U.S. international trade policies and obligations.

The FTC said Wednesday it will speed up the regulatory review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule with an eye on whether the rule should be modified to address changes in the wireless marketplace, brought on by a new generation of smartphones and other advances in technology. The review of the rule was supposed to get under way in 2015 but will start instead next year, the FTC said.

The White House official charged with reviewing cybersecurity policy gave a “movie trailer” version of her upcoming report at the RSA Conference in San Francisco late Wednesday. Melissa Hathaway, the acting senior director for cyberspace for the National Security and Homeland Security Councils, said she finished Friday the 60-day review, which “included Saturdays and Sundays.” The scope of the cyberthreat is illustrated by an attack in November 2008 that illicitly emptied ATMs in 49 cities around the world in 30 minutes, Hathaway said. She said the recommendations will include a “White House organizational structure” that includes “an action plan for identifying and prioritizing work in this area,” but she didn’t specify whether it would include presidential leeway to cut off networks at risk of attack, as envisioned in a bill by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. (WID April 2 p4). “It can be said that the federal government is not organized appropriately … because responsibilities for cyberspace are distributed across a wide array of federal departments and agencies, many with overlapping authorities and none with sufficient decision authority to direct actions that can address the problem completely,” Hathaway said. “Scores of legal issues emerged” in the review, covering the “aggregation of authorities,” data-sharing with third parties and liability protections for the private sector. Her team had 40 meetings with groups, which will see “your influence in our report when it is released in the coming days,” Hathaway said. “Our outreach involved unprecedented transparency and engagement for a National Security Council initiative” that was vital to its success. Hathaway’s movie- trailer summary said the U.S. responsibility in cyberspace “transcends the jurisdictional purview of individual departments and agencies” and “requires leading at the top” from the White House, agencies at every level, business executives and schools. The U.S. has a “unique opportunity … to work with countries around the world to make the digital infrastructure a safe and secure place that drives prosperity and innovation for all nations,” she said. Hathaway was careful in describing the relationship between government and business, especially owners and operators of infrastructure. The federal government “cannot entirely delegate or abrogate its role” in defending against cyber attack, but its interests are “intertwined” with the private sector. “Information is key” to that defense, she said without specifying how much the government or business should share information with each other. They should aim to “optimize our collective research and development dollars” and work to improve market incentives for secure hardware, software and managed services, Hathaway said. Citing the book Influencer, she asked the audience to use “peer pressure” to raise interest in cybersecurity. “We need to sow the seeds for a national dialogue, nurture them, even see them in our dreams, to help this critical conversation grow.”

The FTC said Wednesday it will speed up the regulatory review of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule with an eye on whether the rule should be modified to address changes in the wireless marketplace, brought on by a new generation of smartphones and other advances in technology. The review of the rule was supposed to get under way in 2015 but will start instead next year, the FTC said.