The FCC Wireless Bureau’s decision to temporarily halt its unofficial 180-day clock for review of AT&T’s bid to buy former Alltel spectrum licenses from Atlantic Tele-Network was criticized by AT&T, but is consistent with past practices, other industry observers said. The delay was criticized by pro-free market interest groups. The FCC paused its review in order to seek further information from AT&T on its plans to migrate ATN’s prepaid customers onto its network (CD Aug 28 p11).

An appeals judge hearing oral arguments in online TV retransmission service FilmOn X’s appeal of a preliminary injunction brought by broadcasters in California suggested that if broadcasters want existing copyright policy changed, they should look to Congress rather than the courts. “In the end, isn’t this really a problem for Congress?” asked Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain in a recording on the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals website. He was speaking to Baker Marquardt attorney Ryan Baker, who represented FilmOn X -- formerly Aereokiller. Broadcasters sought the injunction against FilmOn for retransmitting Los Angeles broadcast TV stations over the Internet without their consent, which the broadcasters said violates copyright law. The injunction was granted in a U.S. District Court in California, but appealed by FilmOn. “So long as we can determine that your client has come within the terms of existing copyright act, that’s enough,” O'Scannlain told Baker Tuesday.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is taking a measured stance toward adoption of new E-rate rules, said her aide, Priscilla Argeris. The agency released a long-awaited rulemaking notice in July that offered competing proposals from the various commissioners (CD July 22 p1). It will be important to balance national goals with the needs of specific communities, Argeris said on the “Gigabit Nation” podcast Wednesday (http://bit.ly/1drde1R).

The Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee approved the final three working group reports on spectrum sharing in the 1755-1850 MHz band, at a meeting Wednesday at NTIA headquarters. Unable to complete its work on the reports at its July meeting, CSMAC scheduled a special meeting for August (CD July 25 p1). There was some contention at that meeting as more than half the CSMAC now endorses an industry statement critical of several of the working group reports.

With half of all Hispanics who qualify for the wireless Lifeline program using the service, the League of United Latin American Citizens is concerned that Congress could cut the program that helps low-income Americans with work, health and safety, said LULAC Executive Director Brent Wilkes on a conference call Wednesday. “LULAC strongly believes that the program must be preserved with all the necessary regulations, particularly in light of the fact that eligible low-income Hispanics are under enrolled in the federal program,” he said. “Allowing a greater number of Hispanics access to wireless Lifeline services could bolster employment rates among those communities."

President Barack Obama named five people to his surveillance review group Tuesday night. Obama called for the group’s creation in a surveillance reform news conference Aug. 9 (CD Aug 12 p5), an event followed by further controversial National Security Agency revelations and a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. The review group, which contrary to earlier media reports includes one member lacking executive branch ties, will deliver tentative recommendations on surveillance reform to Obama within 60 days of beginning its work and final recommendations by Dec. 15.

TiVo DVR service is installed for 25 percent of the 10 million U.S. cable subscribers with access to it, putting the DVR service on a path to double or triple penetration if current rollout trends continue, TiVo Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said on an earnings call.

The FCC should give smaller stations an election cycle under requirements to post political ad sales information online before deciding whether to reconsider the rule, NAB commented Monday, the last day for replies on the agency’s public notice on the rule. The requirement is already in effect for the Big Four network affiliates in the top 50 markets, and set to apply to all broadcasters starting in July. A group of broadcasters has asked the FCC to reconsider and relax the requirements, and in June the commission asked for comments on possible changes (CD June 27 p20).

Outgoing Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said Tuesday that her successor will need to continue tackling cybersecurity issues, because the U.S. “will, at some point, face a major cyber event that will have a serious effect on our lives, our economy, and the everyday functioning of our society.” Although the Department of Homeland Security has “built systems, protections and a framework to identify attacks and intrusions, share information with the private sector and across government, and develop plans and capabilities to mitigate the damage, more must be done, and quickly,” Napolitano said in a speech at the National Press Club. Napolitano is resigning in late September to become president of the University of California system (CD July 15 p4). President Barack Obama has not yet named his nominee to take over permanently for Napolitano. Experts told us that whoever replaces Napolitano will set the course for the agency’s involvement in cybersecurity issues.

The value of LightSquared’s spectrum will be determined by how soon and how it can be used, said economists and wireless spectrum experts in recent interviews. They said lawsuits filed by its investor, its bankruptcy and other factors could affect LightSquared’s ability to deploy a terrestrial network.