Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency (NSA), told the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday that a pair of controversial NSA surveillance programs was “the right thing to do” to protect Americans, saying “what we are doing does protect Americans’ civil liberties.” Alexander is also commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. NSA’s collection of phone metadata and user data from online services came to light last week following leaks from now-former Booz Allen contractor Edward Snowden (CD June 10 p5). Alexander said during the hearing Wednesday, his first public comments since the leaks, that he wants to disclose further information on the programs to the public -- but he wants to consult further with the U.S. intelligence community to prevent any public information from hurting U.S. security. “We aren’t trying to hide it,” he said.

Three Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee reintroduced legislation Wednesday they said would protect consumers from unauthorized third-party wireline charges known as “cramming” (http://1.usa.gov/1a55s9R). The Fair Telephone Billing Act, authored by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would prohibit unauthorized third-party charges on wireline bills with exceptions for bundled services or long distance and collect calls. The bill was cosponsored by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.

The New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission wants to revamp its phone rules, much to the dismay of some the state’s bigger companies. The PUC has examined different methods since January of 2012, and on Tuesday received several new comments on its latest proposal to refine the regulations, delivered in the wake of a deregulatory telecom law that went into effect last August. The PUC introduced an initial proposal in April (http://1.usa.gov/1a4QHnr), and the PUC and stakeholders hope to nail down a potential final version this month. But industry has objected to how the PUC’s proposal treats VoIP companies and interprets Senate Bill 48, the state’s recent telecom law. Multiple industry representatives voiced concern, both in recent comments and at a May commission hearing on the rules.

The communications industry and policymakers will spend too much time discussing “usage based pricing” for wireless carriers, said FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai. The agency has only limited authority to regulate usage-based pricing, and “too much oxygen” will be consumed by debate over that topic, he said Wednesday at a Cable Show luncheon. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel predicted the industry would focus unnecessarily on a la carte cable pricing, which she said would eventually happen due to market forces. “That change will be driven by consumers, not by legislation or regulation,” said Rosenworcel.

House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., said “all options remain on the table” with regard to the repeal, reauthorization or revision of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, Wednesday during the Subcommittee’s second hearing on STELA this year. The House and Senate Commerce Committees share jurisdiction over STELA with the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, which haven’t held a hearing on the issue this year. Provisions of the 25-year-old law are to expire in December of 2014.

Substantial progress on cybersecurity might require a “cyber Pearl Harbor,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. Fully addressing the cyberthreat “will require a cyber Pearl Harbor, for the public to fully understand and get mobilized to respond,” he said Wednesday. “If we do have a cyber Pearl Harbor, where something terrible happens because of this vulnerability, the public reaction is going to be very strong. And then federal intervention will be inevitable. We won’t be talking about voluntary standards” anymore, he said on a panel organized by technology media company Fedscoop.

If reports about mass U.S. surveillance of Europeans’ Internet and telecom data are true, the situation could have a significant impact on existing and future U.S.-EU agreements on data-sharing, said European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx, in an interview Wednesday. The “mind-blowing story” has already put Europeans’ trust in their right to privacy under “great strain,” he said. There’s a “profound need” at this point for clarification, explanation and justification, he said. The executive body of the Council of Europe separately Wednesday adopted a resolution urging members to ensure that digital tracking and spying don’t breach human rights. The CoE represents 47 European nations.

Public Knowledge asked the FCC to begin a rulemaking to set guidelines for carriers that want to replace damaged copper infrastructure with VoIP or fixed wireless networks. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy’s devastation, Verizon expressed its intent to do just that, replacing its destroyed copper with fiber in a move it said would make the network more resilient (CD Nov 16 p1). The PK proposal would have the commission “create a process for guiding carriers’ responses” in natural disaster situations.

The executives see opportunities to add customers because they contend they're bucking some telcos’ trend of centralization of small-business services. When telcos turn off certain copper-based services, that may also provide an opportunity for cable operators, said panelists. “I certainly would never underestimate the power of companies like AT&T and Verizon Business” when it comes to marketing, said Time Warner Cable Chief Operating Officer-Business Services Phil Meeks. “We should be faster than a $100 billion telephone company.” Such firms have moved “to a much more of a centralized customer experience” often with call centers located far from business customers, said Meeks.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel believes the FCC should have a completed band plan for the spectrum incentive action by Q3 of 2013, said Rosenworcel’s aide Alex Hoehn-Saric at one of several panels featuring FCC staff at the NCTA Cable Show Wednesday. Hoehn-Saric said Rosenworcel also believes the commission could have a repacking plan finished by the end of the year.