The government shutdown that began Oct. 1 is affecting daily activities of lobbyists, members of multiple firms told us. Lobbyists working for associations and public interest groups first noticed changes to Capitol Hill access and other concerns within a week of the shutdown (CD Oct 4 p4). No lobbying firms among those responding to our informal survey last week reported any toll on their bottom lines, citing a wide swath of firm activities beyond lobbying.

Any proposal to limit Verizon Wireless’s or AT&T’s participation in the TV incentive auction will hurt consumers and the cost will be “literally -- incalculable,” said a white paper released by the Digital Policy Institute Monday. The paper said T-Mobile has the most to gain by restrictions “given the four national players’ relative spectrum positions” and Sprint’s already considerable spectrum holdings (http://bit.ly/16I1Da4).

Massive U.S. and U.K. phone and Internet spying breaches those countries’ legal obligations under the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Martin Scheinin, European University Institute professor of international law and human rights, told the European Parliament Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee Monday. Programs such as the National Security Agency’s Prism and the U.K.’s Tempora also violate the European Convention on Human Rights, said Douwe Korff, London Metropolitan University professor of international law. U.K. surveillance is being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) by, among others, Big Brother Watch and the Open Rights Group. Meanwhile, the European Commission said Tuesday that the Prism revelations shouldn’t be used to create a “Fortress Europe” approach to cloud computing.

As Columbus Day approaches, the Senate hasn’t approved the two FCC nominees. The government shutdown has hurt the ability of the FTC and others to carry out their responsibilities, said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in a report from the committee majority staff (http://1.usa.gov/1atWQYB). He released the report Friday in conjunction with a committee hearing on the economic effects of the shutdown, which mentioned the slowdowns at the FCC and FTC. Both agencies await Senate confirmation of pending nominees, a process delayed by the shutdown.

The FCC shutdown affected another proceeding, starting last Tuesday. The closure meant the agency couldn’t act to grant or deny a May request by Amazon, Kobo and Sony that the commission find e-readers need not make advanced communications services accessible to the disabled, said those supporting the ACS waiver and petition foes in interviews last week. Some said the import is that as of Oct. 8, e-readers made by those makers of consumer electronics and other companies must, if they have a browser, contain a way for words to be read aloud. The agency’s shutdown, which also took fcc.gov mostly offline, has hit other proceedings on which stakeholders can’t submit comments (CD Oct 10 p3) and meant the agency can’t act on device certifications so CE companies can ship the products (CD Oct 9 p2).

With many filing deadlines already having passed since the partial federal shutdown began Oct. 1, and more looming as the closure enters its third week Tuesday, the FCC potentially faces a land rush of comments the day after the government reopens. Unlike many other government sites, the FCC’s website was shuttered the day the government closed, cutting off access to documents lawyers and others need to prepare filings at the commission, especially reply comments. Several industry officials told us Friday they expect the FCC to grant a blanket waiver for all filings that came due during the closure.

The legal challenge to the FCC’s 2011 USF/intercarrier compensation order is likely to be so closely followed that some might find themselves facing closed doors if they try to attend oral argument in Denver next month. In a notice filed Thursday, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals urged interested attorneys to stay home to “avoid the possibility of a costly disappointment.” The court also put on hold a challenge by Accipiter of an FCC order modifying implementation of the USF/ICC order, pending the outcome of the broader challenge.

T-Mobile US believes efforts to make the 1755-1780 MHz band available for commercial use are now “very doable” because of the Department of Defense’s proposal to vacate the band, said Steve Sharkey, T-Mobile chief-engineering and technology policy, at a 4G Americas event Thursday. Under the plan, DOD would exchange its space on the 1755 band for continued use of the 1780-1850 MHz band and shared use of broadcast auxiliary spectrum in the 2025-2110 MHz band (CD July 23 p1).

The consolidation of cable companies needs to be paired with jointly developed services to get the scale needed to combat rising content costs, said Liberty Media Chairman John Malone Thursday at the company’s investor meeting in New York.

A pre-release version of the FCC’s mobile broadband measurement app is raising concerns by privacy advocates who worry that the data collected could be tracked to individual users. The smartphone app has been under development for close to a year, and agency officials in January decided against collecting unique handset identifiers out of concern for users’ privacy (CD Jan 7 p3). That doesn’t quite satisfy some privacy advocates, who caution that GPS information creates unique risks, and that the app’s information pages are mum on exactly what information can be shared with third parties.