Public Knowledge said the FCC should ask wireless and wireline carriers a series of questions about data caps. The Friday letter follows reports that the 4G version of the new iPad 3 is a data hog, quickly pushing many subscribers to exceed their data caps, often after only a few hours of streaming video. The FCC’s lack of follow up is “simply inexcusable,” said PK President Gigi Sohn. “The FCC will continue to monitor developments in this space,” an agency spokesman said Friday.

The number of entities involved in transactions processed in the mobile space raises many concerns and issues about oversight, consumer protections and privacy as electronic payments move toward a sophisticated mobile payments system, technology policy experts said Friday on Capitol Hill. Consumer protections already exist in the traditional payment world, said Mark MacCarthy, Software & Information Industry Association vice president. “Liability of unauthorized use is limited” for credit card account holders, he said at an event by the Advisory Committee to the Congressional Internet Caucus. However, there are carriers, payment card companies and other entities involved when it comes to mobile payments, he said.

AT&T criticized the FCC for 1,900 call center layoffs at T-Mobile USA, saying the jobs would have been saved if the agency had approved the carriers’ deal to combine. T-Mobile has already re-emerged as a “vibrant competitor” in the short period since the deal collapsed, the FCC said. T-Mobile is closing seven call centers in three months and plans additional restructuring, the carrier said late Thursday. “It should be obvious that AT&T is speaking for themselves and not for T-Mobile,” T-Mobile USA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Tom Sugrue said. “These decisions, while difficult, are about optimizing our business to better compete for the future."

DVRs, TVs and videogames with Internet access or other advanced communications services functions aren’t primarily ACS devices and shouldn’t be subject to new FCC disabilities accessibility rules, two trade associations said. The CEA sought a waiver from ACS rules under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act for models of Internet Protocol-enabled sets and IP-enabled digital video players that are first made anytime before July 1, 2016. The Entertainment Software Association wants an exemption under the same section of the CVAA covering at least eight years of videogames and services, under provisions of an October order (CD Oct 12 p8) from the agency implementing CVAA and setting up a waiver process.

SILICON VALLEY -- Instead of being “held hostage” by companies like Google, perhaps consumers should be paid directly for their location information, a Verizon Wireless executive said. With Google, “you have to share if you want to use location at all,” said Laura Diaz, Verizon manager-new market development and strategy. Users should own data about where they go, but instead it’s applications providers that are making money on them, she said late last week at the GPS-Wireless Conference. Diaz said it would be a “great idea” if a consumer could say in effect, “fine: Take my data,” but pay up.

An ongoing standoff in Congress over reauthorizing the U.S. Export-Import Bank puts at risk an entity that has been increasingly important for satellite projects, say industry executives. The bank, which provides loan and loan guarantees for U.S.-made exports, is facing the expiration of its congressional authorization and possibly reaching the loan exposure limits of its charter, said Phil Cogan, vice president-communications. The bank has never lost its authorization and it remains unclear exactly what would happen if it did, he said.

The FCC needs to develop an “accelerated timeframe” if it’s to meet “its own goal of bringing 300 MHz of spectrum to market by 2015,” CTIA President Steve Largent wrote the agency’s members (http://xrl.us/bmy54z) and NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling. The letters urge the FCC to release a concrete timetable for fulfilling the requirements of recently enacted spectrum legislation. The letters come the day after Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the launch of a task force to prepare for an upcoming auction of broadcast spectrum (CD March 22 p1).

Fans and foes of retransmission consent rules framed it as a diversity issue, while an aide to a House Commerce Committee member said Congress seems unlikely to change the law anytime soon. Getting paid by multichannel video programming distributors like Time Warner Cable lets Univision add to its Spanish-language programming, General Manager Alberto Mier y Teran of the broadcaster’s Los Angeles stations said. Multichannel video programming distributors have less capacity for non-English programming because retrans and related rules require stations to be on the basic tier, Time Warner Cable Vice President Fernando Laguarda told a panel Wednesday at a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce legislative conference.

The FCC’s Communications, Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council Thursday approved three reports designed to make use of the Internet safer for users. CSRIC approved reports recommending a voluntary U.S. Anti-Bot Code of Conduct for ISPs and domain name system (DNS) best practices, aimed at beefing up security and preventing spoofing. CSRIC also approved a certified registry allowing ISPs to validate the authenticity of routing information, with a goal of blocking Internet route hijacking, in which Internet traffic is routed through potentially untrustworthy networks.

The e-commerce industry is taking steps toward increasing mobile payments, but some measures concerning security, accessibility and system implementation must be put in place, lawmakers and mobile payment advocates said Thursday. Players in the mobile landscape must “make sure our financial structure is prepared to enter the new world of mobile banking,” said Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Shelley Capito, R-W.Va. “Some aspects [of mobile payments] have been with us and some are in the beginning stages.” Government and industry must make sure that the payments are safe and secure, she told a hearing.