An FCC-created “logo” program that prominently displays ISPs’ speeds and prices would help consumers “make somewhat informed choices” when comparing providers, the Open Internet Advisory Committee’s transparency working group said Thursday. The group recommended that a logo have three numbers: download speed, upload speed, and price. It would be the FCC’s decision whether to make the logo mandatory, said Russell Housley, chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force, who presented the group’s report. Consumers today require a “significant amount of expertise” to compare the different Internet options available to them, Housley said. By creating a logo that encourages disclosures in the same format, it could make an “apples-to-apples comparison” easier, he said. An FCC spokesman said the commission looks forward to reviewing the committee’s recommendations.

Tely Labs hopes to build its customer base using what’s left of the Cisco umi subscriber list, which will be left without video service as of Jan. 31 when Cisco pulls the plug on the ill-fated and pricey umi telepresence service. Cisco’s umi components began at $599 when launched in 2010 and then took a price cut to $499. Amazon was selling the umi unit Thursday for $399. Reports began circulating a year ago that Cisco planned to stop selling the umi system -- comprising an HD webcam, console and remote -- but it was unclear what would happen to existing customers who were still paying the $10 monthly service fee for the HD service.

NTIA mobile privacy stakeholders met Thursday to discuss a voluntary code of conduct regarding how apps inform users what information they collect and how they use and share that information. The voluntary set of best practices, once adopted, would create an obligation for adopters, said John Verdi, NTIA director-privacy initiatives. “Once [apps] adopt, it is enforceable” by regulators including the FTC and state attorneys general, he said. Stakeholders discussed how the draft’s wording affects that obligation: “'Shall’ and must are mandatory. ‘Should’ is recommended,” Verdi summarized.

Differences have emerged between the FCC commissioners that partly follow party lines about whether they'll likely approve deregulation of media ownership in an order that goes further than the Democrats want and falls short of what the Republicans sought, said agency and industry officials Thursday. They said that with Chairman Julius Genachowski in recent days seeking a vote on draft rules he first circulated Nov. 14 (CD Nov 15 p1), without changes to the 2010 quadrennial review draft, one or both other Democratic FCC members may vote no and one or both Republicans could approve with some concerns. Genachowski sought feedback this month on the draft rules, something he didn’t do much before the Media Bureau order circulated, agency officials said.

Smartcomm was among several bidders that completed the process of acquiring a total of 16 licenses in the 700 MHz band last month, according to FCC documents. The parties had been the top bidders in a July 25, 2011, auction, designated Auction 92, which raised nearly $19.8 million. The auction was a re-auction of licenses whose winning bidder defaulted on payments after Auction 73.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell urged the commission to resist calls for limiting the use of joint sales, shared service and local news service agreements. These agreements provide efficiencies that lower operation and production costs for broadcasters, “enabling them to deploy more resources that benefit more consumers,” he said Wednesday at a Minority Media & Telecom Council event. A draft order ending the media ownership review that was due to have been completed in 2010 would attribute TV joint services agreements when to the station brokering more than 15 percent of ads for its JSA partner (CD Dec 27 p1). Companies with stations in JSAs continue lobbying the commission to not deem them attributable under ownership rules. (See separate report below in this issue.)

Cities got their day in court Wednesday in their challenge to a 2009 FCC wireless zoning shot clock order previously upheld by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The major question that came up repeatedly as justices took up Arlington, Texas v. FCC was whether the high court should further add to already complicated case law on when an agency has jurisdiction to issue rules and whether agencies should receive deference when interpreting the scope of their own regulatory authority.

The telecom industry is at a “defining moment” that gets to the heart of “the way we used to think” about investment, versus how the industry needs to think about it in the future, said Bob Quinn, AT&T senior vice president of federal regulatory. At a Minority Media and Telecom Council event Wednesday, telecom executives urged lifting legacy regulations they say are counterproductive in an increasingly wireless world. Panelists also called for more spectrum to help narrow the digital divide, and more outreach programs to encourage broadband adoption.

Don’t doubt the success of the federal government’s wide-ranging broadband stimulus launched two years ago, program officials said. NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling gathered representatives from four of its 224 Broadband Technology Opportunities Program grantees at the Brookings Institution Wednesday to discuss different projects’ virtues, lessons learned and as Strickling said, “to demonstrate the successes” and “humanize” the $4-billion stimulus investment with “tangible” details of how the different projects work. The message glossed over past concerns, such as overbuilding (CD Sept 27 p6), accountability (CD Nov 15 p15) and, in the past year, partial suspension of eight of the program’s largest infrastructure grantees -- seven in May due to FirstNet compatibility concerns (CD Aug 7 p1) and one in December (CD Dec 10 p6) due to compliance problems. The event coincided with NTIA’s 15th quarterly BTOP update to Congress (http://xrl.us/boa3z2).

Policymakers and telecom industry leaders must ensure opportunities for small, minority-owned business are created and that the openness and proliferation of innovation aren’t stifled by regulation, said current and former members of Congress. The way broadband and mobile devices will be used in the future is “mindboggling,” said Cliff Stearns, former chairman of the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. “There’s convergence, yet there is sort of a digital divide,” he said Wednesday at a Minority Media & Telecom Council event. Mobile broadband and other technologies are creating enormous opportunities for individuals and economies around the world, said David Grain, Grain Communications CEO. Over the next five years global mobile data use and higher speeds are expected to grow, he said. “We should recognize that the picture isn’t universally bright."