Small carriers led by the Competitive Carriers Association are pressing the FCC to approve small spectrum licenses in the rules for the incentive auction of broadcast-TV spectrum, CCA President Steve Berry told us. He said most CCA members view economic area (EA) licenses as too large and believe some of the spectrum should be offered in the smallest license size generally sold by the FCC: cellular market area (CMA) licenses.

Dish Network hasn’t dropped its bid for Sprint Nextel, but is refocusing on its bid for Clearwire, said the DBS company in a statement. FCC officials said Wednesday they have heard surprisingly little from the office of acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn on when it might circulate an order on SoftBank’s deal to buy most of Sprint.

The FTC should clearly define its authority under Section 5 of the FTC Act to challenge unfair methods of competition, Commissioner Joshua Wright wrote in a proposed policy statement Wednesday (http://1.usa.gov/11Mwb3n). “To establish an operational framework for applying Section 5, the Commission must define what constitutes an unfair method of competition,” he said.

FirstNet successfully negotiated the first of seven spectrum lease agreements with NTIA’s suspended broadband stimulus projects, pending FirstNet board approval. NTIA suspended these public safety broadband network infrastructure grantees, recipients in millions of dollars from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), in May 2012, fearing the projects would waste money after the federal government authorized the national $7 billion public broadband network. Los Angeles is home to the first project to negotiate an agreement, but in interviews, project leaders expressed hope that others are soon to follow.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Wednesday he will reintroduce legislation Thursday aimed at reforming and increasing the transparency of the Patriot Act. “From National Security Letters to the latest revelations about the use of the Patriot Act, I remain concerned that we have not yet struck the right balance between the intelligence-gathering needs of the FBI, and the civil liberties and privacy rights of Americans,” Leahy said during an FBI oversight hearing. Leahy said the bill is based on legislation he offered in 2009 and 2011 that would expand public reporting on the use of National Security Letters, require the government to show relevance to an authorized investigation in order to obtain certain records, and amend disclosure rules regarding Section 215 of the Patriot Act, among other provisions. His spokeswoman would not confirm if the provisions of the soon-to-be reintroduced bill differ from the previous text of the legislation.

The European Commission wants speedy answers to its remaining questions about Prism, said Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Commissioner Viviane Reding and Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström in Wednesday letters to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder. The four met Friday at a ministerial powwow in Dublin to discuss the surveillance programs but Holder, to whom Reding had sent questions June 10 (CD June 14 p14), was “not yet in a position” to respond to them all, the officials said. “Given the strength of feeling and public opinion on this side of the Atlantic,” the EC wants answers as soon as possible, they wrote. U.S. spying continues to rankle the European Parliament, whose Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee Reding updated Wednesday.

A pair of controversial National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs that collect phone metadata and user data from online services have helped prevent “potential terrorist events over 50 times since 9/11,” NSA Director Keith Alexander told a House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday. At least 10 of those threats involved U.S. targets, though Alexander and other intelligence officials only disclosed details of two new cases Tuesday. The programs are “immensely valuable for protecting our nation and securing the security of our allies,” Alexander said. Most members of the committee defended the programs Tuesday, with Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., a former FBI agent, inviting Alexander and other officials to dispel the “laundry list” of “incomplete information” that has circulated since news of the programs leaked earlier this month.

The Wireless Bureau still hopes to issue an NPRM touching on various wireless infrastructure concerns this summer for FCC commissioners to vote on, which would have implications for state and local municipalities, said Spectrum Policy Division Deputy Chief Jeff Steinberg: “That is still our plan.” The earliest timeframe would be August, he said. The NPRM will likely “work off of” the Jan. 25 public notice offering staff guidance. How the NPRM proceeds will also depend on acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, he said.

Sinclair agreed to buy the assets of Dielectric, the largest U.S. antenna manufacturer, as “insurance” that the broadcaster’s TV stations can continue operating, said Sinclair Vice President-Advanced Technology Mark Aitken in an interview Tuesday. Dielectric parent company SPX announced the shuttering of the antenna manufacturer in April (CD May 7 p4). Aitken said his company paid an “immaterial and leverage neutral price” of “less than $5 million” for Dielectric, which will continue operations as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinclair, and remain in its Raymond, Maine, headquarters. Though Dielectric had stopped taking new orders, Aitken said the company had been scheduled to continue operating into July before the sale. Aitken said over 120 of Sinclair’s 140 stations use Dielectric antennas.

Julie Kitka, president of the Alaska Federation of Natives, traveled more than 5,500 miles to get to a hearing on Capitol Hill on the effect of USF reforms on tribal areas. So did Steve Merriam, CEO of an Alaskan telephone cooperative. Alfred LaPaz of the Mescalero Apache Tribe traveled 2,800 miles. Which is why it’s “beyond my imagination,” said Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, that FCC officials weren’t willing to “travel the mile and a half up the road” to “answer the questions that I would like to ask them.”