President Barack Obama’s nominees to the vacant Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (CD Dec 19 p12) assured lawmakers Wednesday that they would seek to strike what they called a proper balance between privacy and civil liberties issues and the effectiveness of the government’s counterterrorism efforts. At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nominations, Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said that the country is grappling with “important questions about how our national counterterrorism strategy impacts the rights and liberties of U.S. citizens at home and abroad.”

LONDON -- “It’s irresistible” to move toward using the 700 MHz band for mobile broadband services, the head of the EU Radio Spectrum Policy Group said Wednesday at an IIR telecom regulation conference. The issue of using the spectrum for a “second digital dividend” (the 800 MHz band is now in the process of being set aside in EU members for wireless services)exploded at WRC-12 when many African and Arab countries pushed for its release. Europe was cautious at first but followed along “quite happily,” said RSPG Chairman Roberto Viola. The WRC decision to allow transition after WRC-15 was a major result, and the idea of being able to use the spectrum is heaven for device makers and consumers, he said.

LAS VEGAS -- Two FCC members provided a dose of optimism to broadcasters seeking changes to a draft order that would require TV stations to put their political file information online. During a panel discussion at the NAB Show late Tuesday, Commissioner Mignon Clyburn told broadcasters her office is still taking meetings on the topic. “I can affirm to you that in terms of this process, this office is still open for engagement,” she said.

Some state legislators and foes of a California bill to ban state regulation over VoIP worried the proposal would strip away consumer protection of basic services, they said during a hearing Tuesday. SB-1611 sponsor Sen. Alex Padilla (D) emphasized that the bill wouldn’t change existing consumer protection regulation. The bill passed the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, which Padilla chairs, and is heading to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski appointed Gary Epstein, a longtime telecom attorney with ties to LightSquared, to serve as co-leader of the commission’s Incentive Auction Task Force. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, instantly raised questions about the appointment. The move had raised some questions within the agency after it was unveiled internally last week, officials said. Epstein was originally slated to be appointed deputy chief of the Office of Strategic Planning. He ended up being named a special counsel to the chairman.

Wireless competition has taken a turn for the worse since the Rural Cellular Association filed earlier comments on the FCC’s annual Wireless Competition Report, RCA said in a filing. T-Mobile and NTCH, which does business as Clear Talk, also told the agency the threats to wireless competition are rising, and that should be reflected in the next version of the report. In the last two reports, the FCC declined to draw any conclusions on whether the U.S. wireless industry is effectively competitive.

Several rate-of-return carriers said Monday they would file for requests for waivers of new rules in the USF/intercarrier compensation order limiting reimbursable capital and operating costs. The form letters, sent by five carriers, all blamed “a flaw” in the quantile regression analysis caps “that penalizes companies who have been diligent to bring advanced services to rural areas.” The five new waiver requests would more than double the existing number of waiver requests Wireline Bureau Deputy Chief Carol Mattey said the FCC had received as of last week (CD April 12 p1).

FTC Commissioner Julie Brill suggested that the commission first deal with the practices of data brokers who recognize themselves as such, before delving into issues of defining who is and isn’t a data broker. Neither she nor the commission as a whole knows enough about data brokers’ collection practices now, she said Tuesday at a Broadband Breakfast Club event. Brill was asked to specify “who fits into the definition of data broker” and what action the FTC is contemplating in that area.

LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters shouldn’t be afraid to participate in the “unique opportunity” presented by the coming voluntary incentive spectrum auction, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during remarks at the NAB Show late Monday. For stations that decide to share channels with other operators or move from higher UHF frequencies to lower VHF ones, the auction will provide a “sizable cash infusion for returning some or all spectrum,” he said. “Our phones have been ringing at the FCC with broadcasters expressing genuine interest in participating and expressing thoughtful questions,” about how the auction will work, Genachowski said. “Don’t be afraid to be interested,” he said. “Others already are."

LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters hopes they might get scaled back a draft FCC order on online public-file disclosure dwindled late Monday after Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered a sharp rebuke of industry arguments against the proposed requirement. In a speech at the NAB Show (http://xrl.us/bm37ck), Genachowski countered one-by-one the arguments raised by broadcasters against putting online for all to see the political file they're required to keep publicly available on paper at stations. “Despite the proud history of broadcast journalism ... some broadcasters and a few others have strongly resisted online disclosure,” Genachowski said. “It’s the 21st Century. I call it common sense."