The FCC is “dedicated” to meeting President Barack Obama’s goal of putting high speed Internet in 99 percent of U.S. schools and libraries, said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Thursday at the Minority Media and Telecom Council’s Broadband and Social Justice Summit. Event panels had current and former FCC members discussing the spectrum auction, broadband deployment and other important issues facing the commission. In a brief address, Wheeler focused on the D.C. Circuit’s net neutrality decision (see above article in this issue), the IP transition and E-rate. The country’s schools and libraries will have Internet speeds of at least 100 Mbps and will be upgraded to “a gig within the next five years or sooner,” said Wheeler.

Failure to pass the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act (1.usa.gov/1aaMpOS) would marginalize the U.S. from international free trade agreements, forcing U.S. companies to compete with countries that sponsor substandard rules on intellectual property (IP) rights and digital free flow of information, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and several witnesses at a Jan. 16 Finance Committee hearing. The legislation, the 2014 iteration of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), was introduced by Baucus, Finance Committee ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., Jan. 9.

The satellite industry expects to see more take-up of broadband service on board airplanes through efforts to expand such services amid recent regulatory changes, satellite broadband providers said. Efforts from Inmarsat, ViaSat and others are helping to set the tone for satellite’s global impact, they said.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has a big decision ahead in coming months -- whether to seek en banc and, ultimately, Supreme Court review of Tuesday’s decision rejecting the agency’s 2010 net neutrality rules. Longtime FCC watchers disagree on the likelihood of an appeal. Some say an appeal carries a risk since the panel’s majority offered an expansive reading of FCC authority under Section 706 of the Communications Act. The decision is not the FCC’s alone to make because the solicitor general, not the commission, would have to file the appeal before the high court.

On Capitol Hill Thursday, public safety officials and Democratic senators urged the FCC to kick off a proceeding setting standards for wireless 911 location standards while industry representatives struck a cautious note. Hill pressure surrounding this issue has risen over the past half year, with members of Congress in both chambers writing to the FCC last fall expressing concern following a summer CalNENA report indicating poor wireless location accuracy. The Find Me 911 Coalition has beat the drum with advertisements, a Hill briefing and other efforts to raise awareness for what it deems a problem.

Federal data security legislation and high-technology payment processing features were among the suggestions industry attorneys and Internet security advocates raised to improve the recent flurry of data breaches. Legislation, if done correctly, would help companies with compliance and improve their data security, said stakeholders in interviews this week. Last week, Target upped to a total of at least 70 million the number of consumers potentially affected by one of the largest data breaches to hit a U.S. retailer. Re-evaluating the outdated mode of credit card payment processing in the U.S. would better protect companies and consumers against data theft, said experts. They also raised questions about the power of credit cards companies to effectively regulate alleged data breaches.

The FCC shouldn’t appeal the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision that struck down most of the agency’s net neutrality order (CD Jan 15 p1), said Commissioner Ajit Pai. The “better course” would be to let Congress clarify the scope of FCC authority over the Internet, he said. Pai also discussed during the appearance to be shown this weekend on C-SPAN the FCC incentive auction and repacking, broadcaster sharing agreements and hotel phone problems with dialing 911.

The House Cybersecurity Subcommittee cleared the National Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection Act Wednesday, sending HR-3696 on to the full House Homeland Security Committee. The bill, which had the support of both Republican and Democratic committee leaders, would codify the Department of Homeland Security’s existing public-private collaboration on cybersecurity, but would not give the agency new powers. It would also allow new liability protections for companies that deploy anti-terrorism technology to also deploy cybersecurity tech. The subcommittee cleared HR-3696 with multiple amendments, including two that dealt with concerns stemming from recent data breaches at Target and other national retailers.

Apple settled an FTC complaint that the company let children spend millions of dollars on in-app purchases without parental consent, said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez during a Wednesday news conference. CEO Tim Cook said the complaint “smacked of double jeopardy” since the company had already faced a civil lawsuit over the issue and taken steps to address it. Industry representatives said in interviews that the FTC’s actions simply push Apple to adhere to existing industry best practices. But privacy advocates and some lawmakers applauded the action, saying it raised awareness about a growing issue of concern as children spend more time with mobile apps.

Change is on the way for the FCC Incentive Auction Task Force. The agency is poised to add longtime cable and wireless attorney Howard Symons to the team, as vice chairman to current task force Chairman Gary Epstein, industry and agency officials told us. Meanwhile, the FCC appears poised to give small carriers a win on at least one big issue -- the geographic size of the licenses that will be offered in the auction.