Executives from T-Mobile and Nokia Siemens Networks said Wednesday in testimony at the FCC’s 3.5 GHz workshop a key to rapid deployment in the 3.5 GHz band is setting aside part of the spectrum for licensed use. The FCC launched a rulemaking in December aimed at opening the 3550-3650 MHz band for shared use and use by small cells (CD Jan 13 p6). FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told attendees small cells are one way of helping address the “massive challenges around all of the demand for spectrum” caused by the spiraling use of tablets and smartphones.

House lawmakers launched a full-court press on cybersecurity issues Wednesday, holding three hearings to examine what rules and law enforcement tools are needed to increase the nation’s cybersecurity defenses. Separately, President Barack Obama met with U.S. CEOs Wednesday afternoon to discuss cybersecurity issues, according to the White House schedule released to the press. In the meeting, which was closed to the press, the president planned to discuss his cybersecurity executive order and “solicit the CEOs’ input on how the government and private sector can best work together to improve the nation’s cybersecurity,” the White House said. The CEOs at the meeting included Randall Stephenson of AT&T, David Cote of Honeywell International, and Wes Bush of Northrop Grumman, among others, according to White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.

Rovi will deploy its TotalGuide interactive program guide (IPG) with a half-dozen small- and medium-size cable operators in the first half, but it will be a “slow process” that’s not expected to generate “meaningful” revenue until 2014, Rovi Chief Financial Officer Peter Halt said Wednesday at the Piper Jaffray investor conference.

Whether the Justice Department needs the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) to go after cybercriminals when unauthorized access is the only crime is ripe for debate, House Crime Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said during a subcommittee hearing Wednesday. Sensenbrenner pointed to a hypothetical situation where someone accessed a computer without authorization but did not take any information. “Shouldn’t the Justice Department have a tool to be able to do something about that even though no other crime was committed?” he asked. The CFAA was used to prosecute Internet activist Aaron Swartz -- who committed suicide in January before his trial -- for downloading a massive archive of subscription academic articles, though Swartz’s name didn’t come up in the hearing and CFAA reform was already a priority for civil liberties groups.

With the U.S. “barreling toward” all-Internet Protocol networks, Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said he worries that infrastructure isn’t up to the IP challenge. Networks may be insufficient to accommodate huge increases in video-content streaming and other changes, he said at an American Cable Association conference. That the FCC hasn’t closed its docket to apply Title II common-carrier telecom rules to broadband means “a proposed rulemaking is hanging over your heads,” which “alone slows down progress,” Heller told executives of small- and mid-size cable operators in Washington Wednesday.

The U.S. needs to start resurrecting its image as a “great actor” in international telecommunications and highlight its good works on issues like cybersecurity, as it gears up for conferences after the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), said Roxanne McElvane, senior counselor on International Development in the FCC’s International Bureau and the chair of the ITU’s Development Sector Study Group 1, at an International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) meeting Tuesday to prepare the U.S. for the upcoming World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC). The WTDC, scheduled for March 31-April 11, 2014, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, is one of several ITU-led conferences scheduled for this year and next that will determine the future structure and policy actions of the ITU. The U.S. was one of 55 nations that did not sign onto a revised version of the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) at WCIT; 89 nations signed the revised ITRs (CD Dec 17 p1).

Several Senate Commerce Committee members want Congress to modernize rules that govern the communications market. From federal E-rate polices, to video regulations, lawmakers at Tuesday’s FCC oversight hearing said it’s time to take a hard look at what should be done to modernize the 20th century rules that govern the market now.

Level 3 will pay nearly $1 million and must meet call completion benchmarks in response to an investigation by the FCC Enforcement Bureau into the company’s completion of long-distance phone calls to rural areas. Level 3 agreed to complete the calls to rural ILECs at a rate within 5 percent of that in non-rural areas. Rural telco representatives told us they're pleased the commission is stepping up enforcement, but are stumped by the 5 percent benchmark that could lead to many more missed calls.

The FCC Wireless and International bureaus approved the combination of T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Tuesday’s order on a deal that will strengthen the No. 4 U.S. carrier wasn’t a close call in the bureaus’ view. The order doesn’t require T-Mobile to sell off any assets and it doesn’t impose a requirement that the combined company maintain its current employment levels, as sought by the Communications Workers of America and others. Unlike most orders on major transactions, but as expected (CD March 8 p3), commissioners didn’t vote on the deal. MetroPCS stockholders still have to vote to approve the transaction. They are slated to do so at a special meeting April 12.

The FTC will continue to focus on consumer privacy and Do Not Track (DNT) rules under new Chairman Edith Ramirez, said FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Acting Director Charles Harwood during a Direct Marketing Association panel Tuesday. Ramirez will prioritize continuity from former FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz’s tenure, Harwood said: “She understands that being the new Chairman doesn’t mean you need to have entirely new programs” because companies have to make decisions based on what they expect from the agency and “can’t change on a dime.” Under Ramirez, the agency will be data-driven, Harwood said: “She is a very rigorous, data driven individual."