Political resolve rather than money or a dearth of other suitable federal spectrum is the major impediment to clearing the 1755-1780 MHz band of federal users, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai in a broad-ranging speech Thursday in Pittsburgh. Pai also called for a firm schedule for the incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum.

Some Senate Republicans questioned the need for new regulations to govern telecom providers as they increasingly transition from copper wireline connections to IP-based connections, at a Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing Thursday. Meanwhile, panel Democrats focused on what they called the persistent problems with call completion issues in rural areas. Next week, the Commerce Committee plans to mark up S.Res. 157 expressing the sense of the Senate that telephone service must be improved in rural areas and that no entity may unreasonably discriminate against telephone users in those areas. A committee spokesman did not confirm the date or timing of the markup.

A report and order on the agenda for the FCC’s Aug. 9 meeting follows up on a rulemaking notice the FCC launched in May 2007, which proposed rules designed to spur use of high-gain antennas in the 57-64 GHz band, for systems designed to provide point-to-point high-speed broadband. FCC officials told us the rules follow closely along the lines of the 2007 rulemaking notice (http://bit.ly/136dpVn), though the most likely potential use of the spectrum has shifted over the years, from point-to-point broadband to the wireless backhaul key to broadband buildout.

The FCC Process Reform Act (http://1.usa.gov/14aYTMc) would require the agency to consider market forces before regulating, publish its decisions promptly, create “shot clocks” for resolving agency matters and allow more than two commissioners to discuss commission business without issuing an ex parte report, among other reforms. The FCC Consolidated Reporting Act (http://1.usa.gov/1c6Je8u) which would consolidate requirements for the commission reporting to Congress. The bills are similar to FCC reform legislation (HR-3310, HR-3309) that failed to advance last session (CD March 27/12 p1).

SiriusXM has “a very acute focus” on driving its “connected-car platform” through Nissan and ultimately other original equipment manufacturer automakers, said CEO Jim Meyer Thursday on an earnings call.

The proposal to require multichannel video programming distributors to provide emergency video description over mobile devices isn’t based on a congressional mandate, said DirecTV. In the CVAA, Congress told the FCC to implement emergency video description for TV, and to study providing the service over IP, DirecTV said. “The juxtaposition of an explicit grant of authority with respect to closed captioning of programming delivered via IP and the mere requirement for a study of the issues potentially relevant to providing video description via IP is especially telling.” DirecTV referenced MPAA v. FCC, where rulemakings were struck down under similar circumstances.

Federal policymakers must act to ensure that the IP transition and USF programs operate smoothly and help citizens increase their connectivity, according to witness testimony that circulated Wednesday. The remarks from executives representing wireline carriers, a public advocacy official and a technology analyst came ahead of Thursday’s Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing on the state of the wireline marketplace. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.

The 9th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals denied Fox an injunction against the AutoHop features of Dish Network’s Hopper DVR, upholding a previous decision in a lower court. Fox claimed that the PrimeTime Anytime feature breaches contract and infringes Fox’s copyrights (CD Aug 28 p5). Fox was denied the injunction by the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles in November. The unanimous ruling was issued by judges Sidney Thomas, Barry Silverman and Raymond Fisher.

The Prism program could change people’s perceptions on how their data is used, said Joshua Meltzer, Brookings Institution fellow. “Surveillance relies on the free flow of information and the perception issue seen in terms of branding and trust,” said Meltzer. “People might start switching to non-U.S. search engines.” The way the media reported the surveillance leaks will have some impact on U.S. businesses and trade in the short term, said Jake Colvin, National Foreign Trade Council vice president. “If you read what the companies directly associated with Prism have maintained, they have complied with lawful demands subject to search warrant or court order in the United States and elsewhere,” said Colvin. “They do not provide backdoors or provide encryption keys or otherwise permit direct access to their services. There has been a heavy suggestion that this program is limited, certainly more than initial reports have suggested.”

Discussions about Do Not Track (DNT) have “gone off the rails,” Jonathan Mayer and other World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) working group members told us after Wednesday’s weekly stakeholder call. The working group -- composed of representatives from the consumer advocacy community, the online advertising industry and browser makers -- is nearing its self-imposed July 31 deadline for a “Last Call” document outlining a mechanism that would allow users to opt out of online tracking. At least 23 issues in the draft remain unresolved, and the group is not scheduled for another teleconference for at least two weeks, according to minutes from the call (http://bit.ly/17E62J6) and information posted to the working group’s W3C site (http://bit.ly/13dXyF5).