Congress edged one step closer to government shutdown Friday. The House passed 230-189 a continuing appropriations resolution that included provisions to defund the Affordable Care Act (http://1.usa.gov/1bw9Tgn). Senate Democrats have said they won’t support a resolution with such provisions, and Senate Republicans have spoken out against hitching the Affordable Care Act concerns to a potential government shutdown, which would affect most federal agencies. If Congress does not pass a resolution by Sept. 30, Obama has said the government shuts down Oct. 1. On the House floor before the vote, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., blasted the measure as designed to shut down the government: “It could have no other intent than that.”

Cox Communications wants to be released from video rate-setting obligations and some other local oversight in parts of Nebraska, Iowa and Idaho because of the presence of “formidable multichannel video competitors” such as CenturyLink, DirecTV and Dish Network, said the cable operator in a petition to the FCC Media Bureau. The request for a bureau finding of effective video competition covers Omaha and other franchises with more than 200,000 occupied households total. The filing was posted Thursday in docket 12-1 (http://bit.ly/18IT1w5, http://bit.ly/18gls8h).

The FCC should take a comprehensive view of the communications industry and focus on the issues confronting both the broadcast and the broadband sectors, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. Broadcast and broadband are supplements and not substitutes, he said last week at the NAB Radio Show (http://bit.ly/16lzUHv). He said he has a “special concern” for AM radio: “The number of AM stations is declining, and every day it seems harder to receive a quality AM signal.” He urged broadcasters, engineers and others to submit comments in the forthcoming NPRM on AM revitalization. “One simple but important concept would be to make it easier for broadcasters to improve their signals and find suitable antenna sites,” he said. The NPRM began circulating last week (CD Sept 20 p11). However, “there isn’t a consensus on the steps we need to take for the AM band to be alive and well 10 or 15 years from now,” he said. Pai urged a balanced approach “that will allow both larger stations and smaller stations to thrive.” The commission should allow for tests of synchronous transmission systems and it should be open to tests involving changes to nighttime power levels, he said. Most minority-owned radio stations are in the AM band, he said. Many AM radio stations cover local news and “many AM radio stations provide a vital forum for discussing the issues of the day,” he said. “These reasons, among others, are why I believe that the future of AM radio is worth fighting for."

CTIA took a parting shot at NAB in a statement released Thursday, after the two disagreed in comments filed at the FCC on whether 15 MHz of Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) spectrum at 2095-2110 MHz should be reallocated for wireless broadband (CD Sept 1 p1). “Despite its protestations, NAB once again fails to show that broadcasters use spectrum efficiently,” said CTIA Vice President Jot Carpenter. “CTIA’s members want access to the BAS band so they can continue investing [for] world-class wireless broadband to America’s consumers, and they're willing to pay for the privilege of doing so. We hope that the FCC will dig more deeply than NAB on this question, and determine whether, in light the alternative technologies, a portion of this spectrum can be put to more efficient use.” NAB spokesman Dennis Wharton offered a short response to CTIA: “Maybe CTIA doesn’t want a spectrum inventory because it can’t count that high.” The Telecommunications Industry Association, meanwhile, filed broad comments on the FCC NPRM which looked at proposed rules for spectrum in the 1695-1710 MHz, 1755-1780 MHz, 2020-2025 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands. “Priority should be placed on allocations of wide, contiguous blocks of spectrum,” TIA said separately (http://bit.ly/15bl3VY). “Narrower allocations raise product development costs by requiring separate efforts in each portion of the spectrum and result in non-technology neutral polices, lead to limited product availability for consumers, and increase the time-to-market period. In short, the adverse consequences reduce innovation to the detriment of the consumer and limit quality of service.” TIA also emphasized the importance of keeping like services close to each other, providing adequate separation between uplink and downlink operations and harmonizing allocations with those in the rest of the world. Motorola Mobility urged the FCC to move quickly on putting the spectrum in play. “The proposals in the Notice would add up to 70 megahertz of licensed mobile broadband spectrum to the nation’s spectrum inventory,” the company said (http://bit.ly/18GHfrN). “Although a very important step, this allocation should only be one of many that the Commission takes to further address the exploding demand for broadband services.” U.S. Cellular filed 70 pages of comments suggesting ways for the FCC to ensure that smaller carriers will pursue the spectrum. “The availability of large amounts of additional spectrum ... is crucial for promoting competition because robust competition requires strong competitors with access to adequate spectrum resources,” the carrier said (http://bit.ly/16eLT0e). “The potential for the AWS-3 spectrum to promote competition from new entrants, as well as small and regional carriers expanding their service areas and network capacities, is particularly important given the current lack of vibrant competition in the wireless industry."

The FiOS Mobile App will enable Verizon FiOS TV customers to watch live linear content as well as video on demand away from home, said Verizon in a news release Friday (http://yhoo.it/17PpAeJ). Depending on their current FiOS package, customers can watch up to nine live TV channels via the iPad and select Android tablets and phones, said Verizon. Channels available include BBC America, BBC World News, NFL Network (tablet only), Tennis Channel, Food Network and Travel Channel, said the company. FiOS customers in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., will be able to use their tablets and mobile phones to watch their ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and Spanish-language local affiliate channels, said Verizon. The app offers free and subscription on-demand content and more than 45,000 Flex View titles, said Verizon.

Global factory revenue from security appliances rose in Q2 to $2.1 billion, up 6.1 percent year-over-year from 2012, but shipments declined 1.5 percent year-over-year to 483,354 units, International Data Corp. said Friday. Multifunction appliances remain a “major factor” in slowing unit growth, IDC said. Cisco remains the security appliance market leader, with a 16.2 percent market share during the quarter. Check Point remained in second place with 12.5 percent; Fortinet and Juniper took the Nos. 3 and 4 spots, with Blue Coat beating McAfee for fifth place, IDC said. Smaller security appliance companies also had growth during the quarter, including Palo Alto Networks, Barracuda, Sourcefire and Sophos (http://bit.ly/1gIPqD7).

The California Public Utilities Commission determined that “charter party passenger carriers” are subject to CPUC jurisdiction, said the commission in a news release Thursday (http://bit.ly/1esUpLh). The CPUC created the “Transportation Network Company” category to apply to companies such as Lyft, Sidecar and UberX that use a smartphone app to connect passengers with drivers using their personal vehicles, said the commission. “Now the insurance market will determine the best approach to ensure that there is coverage for passengers, drivers, and third-parties at all times while these vehicles are operating on a commercial basis,” said CPUC Commissioner Mark Ferron.

Oceus Networks supports allowing the Department of Defense to maintain limited access to the 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz bands on U.S. military bases and ranges for “mission-oriented tactical LTE,” the 4G LTE wireless provider told the FCC in comments released Thursday. Oceus’s federal customers include the DoD (http://bit.ly/14qLSD7). The FCC was seeking comments on its NPRM exploring future use of the 1755, 2155 and two other AWS-3 bands (CD July 25 p3). Continued limited access to the 1755 and 2155 bands would give the U.S. military “the benefits of a globally standardized technology, including commercial economies of scale and advanced capabilities for certain tactical applications,” Oceus said. “Moreover, those capabilities would be able to evolve alongside a commercial technology roadmap.” Leveraging the 4G LTE ecosystem for military tactical applications “can provide advanced capabilities needed to meet the 21st century mission requirements,” with the 1755 and 2155 bands being a critical component, Oceus said. Limited geographic sharing of the two bands will allow the military to leverage LTE without affecting the spectrum’s commercial use; sharing will also “promote the achievement of U.S. policy directives on sharing and commercial use of Federal spectrum bands,” Oceus said. Geographic spectrum sharing will encourage military adoption of commercial technology and can ensure maximum use of spectrum in all geographic zones, the company said. A white paper Oceus submitted with its comments found that there is a strong technical basis for shared access to the 1755 and 2155 bands.

Verizon released a study by former FCC Chief Economist Leslie Marx that argues that the FCC should not restrict bidding in the TV incentive auction (http://bit.ly/1evJAbs). “Unlike other filings with speculative claims that the FCC can impose restrictions on Verizon and AT&T without reducing auction revenues, Dr. Marx’s study ... provides empirical evidence and state-of-the-art economic analysis that shows the upcoming incentive auction will be severely impacted by limiting the nation’s largest wireless providers’ ability to participate,” Verizon Vice President Tamara Preiss said on the carrier’s policy blog (http://vz.to/14qOl0d). “Instead, Dr. Marx’s findings suggest that restrictions could significantly reduce auction revenues.” Among Marx’s arguments are that without AT&T and Verizon in the mix, revenue in the 700 MHz auction would have been 45 percent lower and revenue in the AWS-1 auction 16 percent lower than actual results.

The Lifeline reporting requirements proposed by the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Cable (DTC) are reasonable, said eligible telecommunications carriers in their comments. ETCs and Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley submitted comments on proposed rulemaking procedures for state implementation of the FCC’s Lifeline program (CD Aug 26 p8). The requirements to report non-usage disconnections and the number of customer complaints to DTC are reasonable because these data are already required by the FCC, said TracFone (http://1.usa.gov/16uWApG). The DTC’s proposal to require wireless ETCs to provide notice of any material changes to rates, terms and conditions of the ETC’s Lifeline service at least five business days prior to implementation is unnecessary because wireless service is not subject to rate regulation, said TracFone. T-Mobile said it supported the five-day proposed requirement because “implementation minimizes the operational burden and risk of competitive harm” (http://1.usa.gov/18g9iMO). However, the competitive environment of Lifeline services prevents “any significant risk of carriers implementing changes that may harm consumers,” said T-Mobile. TracFone said it has no “philosophical objection” to providing DTC contact information on Massachusetts Lifeline applications, but the resulting call volume “may impose a substantial burden” on the DTC. Boomerang disagreed with TracFone in its comments (http://1.usa.gov/18GCUVH), and said putting the DTC’s contact information on “generic” marketing and advertising content is “not intended to be state-specific.” The DTC-specific complaint information to the Lifeline application “may prevent Boomerang and other ETCs from maintaining the current one piece of paper application,” which is important to Boomerang’s “customer identification and anti-fraud efforts.” The DTC’s proposed rulemaking procedures require the ETCs to provide responsive customer service, said Coakley in her comments (http://1.usa.gov/15IuIBK). The DTC should “revive its proposals” dealing with the training of customer service representatives, prompt processing of Lifeline subscriber applications and access to person-to-person customer service assistance, said Coakley. These proposals for the ETCs could “decrease the number of subscriber complaints and the delay in resolving those complaints,” said Coakley. The requirement of the ETCs to report the number of customer complaints would impose additional compliance costs on the ETCs with “little resulting public benefit, said Verizon in its comments (http://1.usa.gov/16MjrjV).