Data security is “one of the most important and timely issues before the FTC today,” Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen said during a Google event Wednesday night. She outlined the three ways the agency combats data security issues, and Google Director of Security Engineering Mayank Upadhyay discussed ways in which the company is trying to increase data security.

The FCC Media Bureau granted 150 applications for new FM translator construction permits that were held up by the 2005 freeze placed on those applications from Auction 83 to allow the commission to figure out how to expand low-power FM service. The action put an end to the freeze, which was formally ended in last year’s fifth order on reconsideration, a bureau spokesperson said. Applicants who took advantage of the 2003 window for the translators have waited about 10 years for a decision on those applications. The bureau released a public notice Wednesday identifying almost 40 new translator stations that were granted (http://bit.ly/176n3vw).

The numbering system is “becoming an anachronism,” said Commissioner Ajit Pai. “It assumes the dominance of old-school carriers interconnecting over time division multiplexed -- or TDM -- circuits, using copper lines and the out-of-band Signaling System No. 7. But that’s not how modern, IP-based networks work.” The notice will take a “fresh look” at the commission’s numbering rules, including those regarding number portability and numbering cost allocation, he said.

The House passed an amended version of the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a 288 to 127 vote Thursday. The revised CISPA aims to increase cyberthreat information sharing between the public and private sectors, something which cybersecurity experts say is needed to protect U.S. networks from attacks. HR-624 is a modified version of the information sharing legislation that passed by the House last year (HR-3523) but failed to achieve a vote in the Senate. Ninety-two Democrats voted for the bill Thursday, 50 more than voted for the CISPA bill that passed the House in the last Congress.

Verizon will field its first voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) smartphones by year-end, with a commercial launch slated for early 2014 as it moves to gradually wean customers off its CDMA-based service, Verizon Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo told analysts Thursday in a conference call.

The FCC should “issue the maximum possible forfeiture against Amazon,” which isn’t captioning every TV program on its Instant Video service even after seven groups representing the hearing impaired made an informal complaint, the groups said. They said the company’s explanation of why 47 previously recorded programs weren’t captioned when the groups did a spot check late last year (CD Dec 21 p2) doesn’t mean it’s in compliance with the Internet Protocol captioning order. The order required prerecorded programs to be captioned when delivered in IP starting Sept. 30. A Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau official said it’s looking at the situation.

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse went on the attack against his two biggest competitors, Verizon Wireless and AT&T, during a keynote Thursday at the Competitive Carriers Association’s spring show. Hesse said the FCC needs to protect competition as the IP transition moves forward and called on the FCC to wrap up its spectrum aggregation rulemaking before the incentive auction.

The time has come for industry to roll up its sleeves and get to work getting FirstNet built, said Sue Swenson, a member of the FirstNet board. This week’s bombings in Boston (CD April 17 p1) “certainly brings home the need for first responder interoperability,” she said Wednesday during a FirstNet summit at the Competitive Carriers Association spring conference.

Putting a civilian agency in charge of coordinating cyberthreat information sharing “was [a] concern [of] many,” said House Intelligence Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., during a floor speech. He said the amendment adds an “appropriate civilian face” to the information sharing framework “so that people can have confidence in the intention of the bill.” At our deadline, the House had not voted on the 13 proposed amendments to the bill, four of which were offered by Republicans, seven by Democrats and two bipartisan amendments. A final vote on the bill itself is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

The FCC found in a 2011 study that one in six wireless consumers had been the victim of bill shock, Monteith said. “Bill shock can hit consumers hard,” she said. “The commission has reported that two-thirds of complaints show that consumers that have been hit with bill shock have encountered overages in the hundreds of dollars and in some cases even in the thousands of dollars.” Cramming often stands out less on consumers’ bills, Monteith said.