3/16. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released an agenda [6 pages in PDF] for its event on Thursday, March 22, 2006, titled "Open Meeting".

Key items on the agenda include a declaratory ruling regarding the regulatory classification of broadband over wireless as an information service, another NPRM regarding exclusive contracts in apartment buildings and real estate developments, and a NOI regarding broadband industry practices.

The agenda lists 13 items, which is far more usual. However, this agenda includes many items that are of types not usually taken up at Commission meetings, such as appeals from decisions of the USAC regarding the FCC's e-rate subsidy program for schools and libraries.

Broadband Items. The FCC will consider a declaratory ruling regarding the appropriate regulatory treatment for broadband access to the internet over wireless networks. The FCC has already determined that broadband access via DSL, cable modem, and BPL are information services.

The FCC will consider a notice of inquiry (NOI) regarding "broadband industry practices".

The FCC will also consider a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding "Exclusive Service Contracts for Provision of Video Services in Multiple Dwelling Units and Other Real Estate Developments".

More Media Bureau Items. The FCC will consider a Second Report and Order, First Order on Reconsideration, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in its proceeding titled "Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and Their Impact on the Terrestrial Radio Broadcast Service". This is MM Docket No. 99-325.

The FCC issued its Further NPRM and NOI in this proceeding back on April 15, 2004. See, story titled "FCC Announces FNPRM and NOI Regarding Digital Audio Broadcasting" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 878, April 16, 2004. This FNPRM/NOI is FCC 04-99. The FCC placed this item on the agenda for its July 2006 meeting, but then removed it without explanation.

The FCC will consider a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) and Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) regarding Citadel Broadcasting Corporation's acquisition of 15 radio stations owned by a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co.

The FCC will consider a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) evaluating approximately 200 applications to construct new or modified noncommercial entity (NCE) FM broadcast stations.

More Wireless Telecommunication Bureau Items. The FCC will consider a NPRM regarding modification of Part 101 of the FCC's rules to permit the installation of smaller antennas by Fixed Service (FS) operators in the 10.7-11.7 GHz band in response to a petition for rulemaking [14 pages in PDF] filed by FiberTower, Inc. (FTI) on May 26, 2004.

FTI wrote in its petition that "Smaller antennas will reduce the costs of providing, installing, and maintaining equipment for an 11 GHz Fixed Service link. They will allow links to be installed at locations not available to large antennas. Lower costs and new deployment options will reduce end user costs for a broad range of services, including wireless local loop and T-1 transport, broadband Internet access for schools, businesses, and apartment buildings, and interconnection of industrial campuses for LANs and PBXs. Smaller, less expensive antennas will create new competition with fiber and other modes of broadband delivery ..."

The FCC will also consider a Third Report and Order regarding the transition of private land mobile radio equipment to 6.25 kHz technology. This proceeding is WT Docket No. 99-87 and RM 9332.

E-Rate Subsidies. The FCC will consider an order granting requests by 72 schools and libraries for review of decisions by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) that either reduced or denied e-rate subsidies on the grounds that the applicants violated the FCC's competitive bidding requirements by failing to have a legally binding agreement or allowing an existing contract to expire.

The FCC will consider an order granting 76 appeals of USAC decisions that either reduced or denied e-rate subsidies on the grounds that applicants failed to timely respond to the USAC's requests for information.

The FCC will also consider an order granting 29 appeals of USAC decisions that either reduced or denied e-rate subsidies on the grounds that the applications were not supported by an approved technology plan, as required by the FCC's rules.

Other Items. The FCC will consider an order to transfer control of Telecomunicaciones de Puerto Rico, Inc. from Verizon to América Móvil. This is WT Docket No. 06-113.

The FCC will consider a report regarding the competitive market conditions for domestic and international satellite communications services. This is IB Docket No. 06-67.

This event is scheduled for 9:30 AM on Thursday, March 22, 2006 in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th Street, SW. The event will be webcast by the FCC. The FCC does not always consider all of the items on its published agenda. The FCC sometimes adds items to the agenda without providing the "one week" notice required 5 U.S.C. § 552b. The FCC does not always start its events at the scheduled time, or at all. The FCC usually does not release at its events copies of the items that it adopts at its events.

3/16. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin picked Michelle Carey to be his Legal Advisor for Media Issues.

Carey (at right) has been Martin's Legal Advisor for Wireline Issues since April 2005. Before that, she was Deputy Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB). She replaces Heather Dixon, who remains at the FCC.

Martin picked Ian Dillner (at left) to be his Legal Advisor for Wireline Issues. He is currently a legal advisor to Commissioner Deborah Tate. Before that, he was Martin's acting wireline advisor. He has also been a legal advisor to the Chief of the WCB, and a Senior Attorney in the WCB's Competition Policy Division (CPD).

Martin picked Erika Olsen to be his Acting Wireless Advisor. She was previously Deputy Chief of the WCB's Telecommunications Access Policy Division (TAPD). Before joining the FCC, she worked for the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery.

Finally, Martin picked Nick Alexander to be his Acting Wireline Advisor during Dillner's transition. He is currently an Attorney Advisor in the WCB's CPD. Before joining the FCC he worked for the law firm of Akin Gump.

3/16. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales named Chuck Rosenberg (at right) his interim Chief of Staff. He replaces Kyle Sampson, who resigned on March 12, 2007. Rosenberg is the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

3/15. President Bush nominated former Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) to be Permanent Representative of The United States of America to the Organization of American States. See, White House release.

3/19. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) released a paper [9 pages in PDF] titled "An Engineering Statement Prepared on Behalf of the National Association of Broadcasters Regarding the Technical Aspects of the SDARS Providers XM and Sirius". The paper states that there are "significant differences" between the Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) systems of XM and Sirius, and that the differences "in system operation, function, and structure make the design and implementation of a single unified and interoperable receiver both complex and expensive". It adds that "an XM receiver cannot receive the Sirius signal and vice versa. Thus, as is true today, if the proposed merger of XM and Sirius were consummated, consumers would still need to purchase a new interoperable receiver in order to receive the signals of both providers." The paper was written by Dennis Wallace of Meintel Sgrignoli & Wallace. See also, NAB release.

3/16. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCUS) issued an order denying the request of the Consumer Federation of America to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae in Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS, Sup. Ct. No. 06-480. See, Order List [PDF]. This is an antitrust case regarding minimum resale price maintenance by manufacturers and intermediate distributors. See also, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in Antitrust Cases" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,501, December 8, 2006.

3/16. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCUS) issued an order granting the motion of the Solicitor General for leave to participate in oral argument as amicus curiae and for divided argument in Tellabs v. Makor, Sup. Ct. No. 06-484. See also, story titled "Supreme Court Grants Certiorari in PSLRA Case Regarding Pleading of Scienter" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,515, January 8, 2007.

3/15. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that it issued the first patent under its accelerated examination program. See, USPTO release.

3/14. Chris Cox, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), gave a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce regarding securities regulation. He discussed the Sarbanes Oxley Act, and its Section 404. He said that the Act overall "has had important positive effects", and that "we're working to eliminate the unnecessary costs of 404 compliance".

3/13. The Information Technology Innovation Foundation (ITIF) released a report [78 pages in PDF] titled "Digital Prosperity: Understanding the Economic Benefits of the Information Technology Revolution". The authors are Robert Atkinson and Andrew McKay.

3/12. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a short paper [3 pages in PDF] titled "National Security Letters: Abuse and Reform". The paper summarizes the findings of the report [30 MB in PDF] of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) titled "A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Use of National Security Letters". It then explains the authority for and use of NSLs. It also reviews changes to the NSL regime enacted in the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, and how these changes have expanded the use and abuse of NSL authority. Finally, the paper offers recommendations for reform. It recommends that all NSLs be approved by the FISA court or a federal magistrate judge, that the government be required to show a connection between the records sought and a terrorist of foreign power, that the government be required to destroy information obtained from NSL responses when it is no longer need, that the government be required to disclose to individuals when their records are obtained illegally, and that affected individuals be given a civil remedy.

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The House will meet at 12:30 PM for morning hour, and at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will begin consideration of S 214, the "Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007".

7:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host an event titled "Beyond the Beltway 2007: State & Local Government IT Market Watch". See, notice. Location: Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, McLean, VA.

10:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will hold a public meeting to discuss its just released DTV coupon program rules. See, notice [PDF] to be published in the Federal Register. Location: DOC, Auditorium, 1401 Constitution Ave., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will host an event titled "Interactive Data Roundtable: Creating Interactive Data to Serve Investors". See, notice. Location: SEC, Room LL-002 (auditorium), 100 F Street NE.

Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding several proposed rule changes. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 16, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 32, at Pages 7583-7587.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding AT&T's petition for forbearance from enforcement of certain FCC cost assignment rules. See, Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-731). This proceeding is WC Docket No. 07-21.

The House will meet at 10:30 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

8:30 AM. Rep. The Information Technology Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will release a report titled "Addressing the STEM Challenge by Expanding Specialty Math and Science High Schools". The speakers will include Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC). Location: Room 2168, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will hold a hearing titled "Hearing on: The Inspector General's Independent Report on the F.B.I.'s Use of National Security Letters". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Research and Science Education Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "National Science Foundation Reauthorization, Part 1". The witnesses will be Arden Bement (Director of the National Science Foundation) and Steven Beering (Chairman of the NSF's National Science Board). Press contact: Alisha Prather at 202-225-6375 or alisha dot prather at mail dot house dot gov. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Common Carrier Practice Committee will host an event titled "Practice before other agencies: Why it matters and what you should know". The speakers Meredith Baker (Deputy NTIA Administrator), Hillary Burchuk (DOJ's Antitrust Division), and Joshua Soven (Attorney Advisor to FTC Chairman Deborah Majoras). For more information, contact Colleen Nunez at cnunez at gci dot com or 202-457-8815. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K Street NW, 6th Floor.

1:30 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Legislative Subcommittee will hold a hearing titled "Library of Congress: Future of Digital Libraries". Location: Room H-144, Capitol Building.

2:00 PM. The House Ways and Means Committee's Subcommittee on Trade will hold a hearing titled "U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement Negotiations". See, notice. Location: Room 1101, Longworth Building.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science will hold a hearing on the FY 2008 budget request for the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the International Trade Administration (ITA). Location: Room H-310, Capitol Building.

2:15 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "The XM-Sirius Merger: Monopoly or Competition from New Technologies". Press contract: Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. Thomas Donohue, head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will hold a news briefing to outline the Chamber's views on trade, innovation, and intellectual property rights. Location: U.S. Chamber, 1615 H Street, NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to Locus Telecommunications, Inc.'s petition for a declaratory ruling that calls to a prepaid calling card provider’s toll-free customer service numbers are not subject to payphone compensation or, in the alternative, to initiate a rulemaking. See, Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-513). This is proceeding is RM 11354.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day one of a two day public meeting of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 133, at Pages 39318. Location: Room 7C13, GAO Building, 441 G St., NW.

? 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a hearing on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Inspector General's findings of the improper use of National Security Letters by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Press contract: Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education will hold a hearing titled "Public Broadcasting". Location: Room 2362B, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Homeland Security will hold a hearing titled "Enhancing Privacy and Civil Rights While Meeting Homeland Security Needs". The witnesses will include the DHS's Hugo Teufel. Location: Room 2362A, Rayburn Building.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "The Business of Telecommunications". For more information, contact Devin Crock at drcock at dc dot bhb dot com, Natalie Roisman at nroisman at akingump dot com, Chris Fedeli at chrisfedeli at dwt dot com, or Devin Crock at dcrock at dc dot bhb dot com. The FCBA web site states in red, "RSVP required". Location: Akin Gump, 10th Floor, 1333 New Hampshire Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science will hold a hearing titled "Department of Justice Overview". Location: Room H-310, Capitol Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Identity Theft: Innovative Solutions for an Evolving Problem". Press contract: Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will preside. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

Deadline to register to attend the Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) April 10 reception and dinner. The speaker will be FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. See, registration form [PDF].

Deadline to submit applications to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to participate in its 2007 Attorney Honors Program. This program is for new and recent law school graduates and judicial clerks. See, FCC release [PDF].

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Day two of a two day public meeting of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). See, notice in the Federal Register, July 12, 2006, Vol. 71, No. 133, at Pages 39318. Location: Room 7C13, GAO Building, 441 G St., NW.

9:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) may hold an oversight hearing on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

9:30 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Commission Meeting". See, notice [PDF]. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St. SW.

CANCELLED. 9:30 - 10:30 AM. Vint Cerf will give a presentation at an Federal Communications Commission (FCC) event titled "Policy and Technical Issues Affecting Internet Evolution". Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St. SW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will hold a hearing titled "Reforming Section 115 of the Copyright Act for the Digital Age". See, notice [PDF]. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science will hold a hearing titled "Attorney General". Location: Room 2216, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) may hold a business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of S 236, the "Federal Agency Data Mining Reporting Act of 2007". This bill has been on many prior agendas. The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. Press contract: Tracy Schmaler (Leahy) at 202-224-2154 or Courtney Boone (Specter) at Courtney_Boone at judiciary-rep dot senate dot gov or 202-224-2984. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Not Patently Obvious: An Innovator's Perspective on Patent Reform". The speakers will be Irwin Jacobs (Chairman of Qualcomm) and Philip Trulock (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Communications Law, Copyright, and Digital Rights Management Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Meet the Register of Copyrights". The speaker will be Marybeth Peters. For more information, contact Ben Golant at bgol at loc dot gov or 202-707-9127. Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N Street, NW.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of State's (DOS) International Telecommunication Advisory Committee (ITAC) will meet to prepare advice for the meeting of the Telecommunication Development Advisory Group (TDAG). See, notice in the Federal Register: February 12, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 28, at Pages 6640-6641. Location: DOS, Room 2533A.

2:00 - 6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) and the ABA will host a continuing legal education (CLE) titled "Privacy & Data Security for Communications and Media Companies". The deadline for registrations and cancellations is 5:00 PM on March 20. The price to attend ranges from $100 to $300. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: Covington & Burling, Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM. See, Rep. Hoyer's weekly calendar [PDF].

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host a brown bag lunch titled "Achieving Universal Broadband: Policies for Stimulating Deployment and Demand". Robert Atkinson (Information Technology and Innovation Foundation), Jim Kohlenberger (Benton Foundation), and Kenneth Peres (Communications Workers of America). For more information, contact apt at apt dot org or 202-263-2970. Location: Benton Foundation, 11th Floor, 1625 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Age Verification for Social Networking Sites: Is It Possible? And Desirable?" The speakers will be Adam Thierer (PFF), John Cardillo (Sentinel), Tim Lordan (Internet Education Foundation), and Jeff Schmidt (Authis). See, notice and registration page. Lunch will be served. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill.

2:00 PM. The Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) will host a webcast continuing legal education (CLE) seminar titled "Tax Strategies for Development and Acquisition of Intellectual Property: Planning Opportunities and Traps for the Unwary". The speaker will be Joseph Fletcher (Holland & Knight). For more information, contact Mark Uncapher at muncapher at itaa dot org. Audio download copies will be sold after the event.

Day one of a two day meeting of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) titled "FBA 2007 Midyear Meeting". See, event brochure [PDF]. Location: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its workshop titled "Proof Positive: New Directions in ID Authentication" on April 23-24, 2007. See, FTC release and notice in the Federal Register, February 26, 2007, Vol. 72, No. 37, at Pages 8381-8383

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Verizon's February 9, 2007, petition requesting a waiver of Section 61.42(g) of the FCC's rules in order to continue to exclude the services in FCC Tariff No. 20 from price cap indexes in annual access tariff filings. This pertains to services transferred from Verizon Advanced Data, Inc. (VADI) to Verizon. See, FCC Public Notice [3 pages in PDF] (DA 07-799). This proceeding is WC Docket No. 07-31.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding the license transfer application filed by News Corporation, Directv Group, Inc., and Liberty Media Corporation. News Corps seeks to divest its interest in Directv, and Liberty Media seeks to divest its interest in News Corp. See, FCC Public Notice [PDF]. This is DA 07-637 in MB Docket No. 07-18.

Day two of a two day meeting of the Federal Bar Association (FBA) titled "FBA 2007 Midyear Meeting". See, event brochure [PDF]. Location: Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The Supreme Court of the United States (SCUS) will hear oral argument in Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS, an antitrust case. See, SCUS calendar [PDF] and docket. This case is Sup. Ct. No. 06-480.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) titled "CEA Washington Forum". See, notice and agenda. Press contact: Megan Pollock at 703-907-7668 or mpollock at CE dot .org. Location: Ronald Reagan Building.