2/4. The House passed S 352 [LOC | WW], the "DTV Delay Act", by a vote of 264-158. See, Roll Call No. 52. The Senate passed this version on January 29, 2009. It is now ready for President Obama's signature. He will sign it.

Democrats voted 241-10. Republicans voted 23-148.

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, stated in the House that "This will be a one time delay." See, floor statement.

Bill Summary. This bill amends the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, which is codified at 47 U.S.C. 309 note, and other statutes, by replacing "February 18, 2009" with "June 13, 2009".

It provides that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "shall extend the terms of the licenses for the recovered spectrum, including the license period and construction requirements associated with those licenses, for a 116-day period."

It also provides that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) "may issue to a household, upon request by the household, one replacement coupon for each coupon that was issued to such household and that expired without being redeemed".

HR 1, a huge spending bill that the House has passed, and the Senate is considering, provides further appropriations for coupons.

This bill also provides that "Nothing in this Act is intended to prevent a licensee of a television broadcast station from terminating the broadcasting of such station's analog television signal (and continuing to broadcast exclusively in the digital television service) prior to the date established by law under section 3002(b) of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 for termination of all licenses for full-power television stations in the analog television service (as amended by section 2 of this Act) so long as such prior termination is conducted in accordance with the Federal Communications Commission's requirements in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, including the flexible procedures established in the Matter of Third Periodic Review of the Commission's Rules and Policies Affecting the Conversion to Digital Television (FCC 07-228, MB Docket No. 07-91, released December 31, 2007)." (Parentheses in original.)

It also provides that the FCC and NTIA "shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, each adopt or revise its rules, regulations, or orders or take such other actions as may be necessary or appropriate to implement the provisions, and carry out the purposes, of this Act and the amendments made by this Act."

This bill also amends 47 U.S.C. § 309(j)(11) by striking "2011" and inserting "2012". Section 309 pertains to FCC licenses. Subsection 309(j) authorizes the FCC to award licenses by competitive bidding. Subsection 309(j)(11) sets the termination date of this authority.

Reaction. Gary Shapiro, head of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), stated in a release that "As CEA has repeatedly cautioned, this date change will inject uncertainty into the market and may result in a shortage of converter boxes, because manufacturers and retailers planned box inventory based on a February 17 transition date. CEA urges Congress and the Administration to take the necessary steps to ensure converter box availability and to urge consumers to act immediately to enjoy the benefits of DTV."

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), the ranking Republican on the House Commerce Committee (HCC), and an opponent of this bill, issued a statement regarding the bill.

He stated that "The delay bill does not remove a single consumer from the converter box coupon waiting list."

He also wrote that NTIA "numbers indicate there are more than 10 million active coupons in the hands of about five million homes. There is plenty of time to get a converter box today or in the next two weeks before Feb. 17."

He also wrote that "The entire state of Hawaii completed its switch to digital on Jan. 15, 2009, and the state did not sink into the ocean. The change went so smoothly, so much so that the FCC shut down its call center after two weeks for lack of customers."

FCC Chairman Michael Copps stated in a release that "I welcome Congressional passage of the DTV Delay Act. It has long been clear to me -- and it's even clearer since I became Acting FCC Chairman two weeks ago -- that the country is not prepared to undertake a nationwide transition in twelve days without unacceptably high consumer dislocation."

Copps wrote that "The additional four months provided by the law affords urgently-needed time for a more phased transition, including a consumer-friendly converter box coupon program, stepped-up consumer outreach and support -- particularly for vulnerable populations -- and dealing with coverage, antenna and reception issues that went too long unaddressed."

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell stated in a release that "Today, a majority of the directly elected representatives of the American people, the U.S. Congress, has clearly expressed its desire to postpone the deadline for the cessation of analog full-power television broadcasts to June 12, 2009. I look forward to joining my two colleagues, Acting Chairman Copps and Commissioner Adelstein, in quickly implementing the will of the Congress. I know we will do all that we can to minimize the inevitable disruption and confusion this transition will cause. In the meantime, let’s all stay on message: if you need a converter box, get it today and hook it up today and start enjoying the benefits of digital television today."

2/4. Kyle McSlarrow, head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), and Ben Scott, head of the Free Press, sent a letter to Senators regarding broadband related provisions of HR 1 [LOC | WW], a huge spending bill that includes grants for deployment of broadband infrastructure.

They wrote that "we support efforts in the Senate bill to unify broadband grant support under" the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

They added that "we believe that the focus of any infrastructure grants under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program should be targeted to construction of robust facilities in unserved areas".

The version of the HR 1 passed by the House on January 28, 2009, at Section 6002, provides for grants for both "unserved areas" and "underserved areas".

Finally, they wrote that "we believe that the bill should also be strengthened by clarifying that private broadband providers should be eligible to apply for government grants directly without diminishing the role of partnerships with local and state governments".

2/4. Ed Black, head of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sent a letter to Congressional leaders on February 2, 2009, opposing protectionist language in HR 1 [LOC | WW]. This is the huge spending bill currently being considered by the Senate. The House passed its version last week.

Phil Bond, President of the Technology Association of America (TAA), which was recently formed by the merger of the ITAA and AeA, sent a similar letter [PDF] on February 4, 2009, to Senators and Representatives.

The CCIA letter states that "we have grave concerns that the ``Buy American´´ provisions being currently considered will lead to an escalation of protectionism that will prove harmful to U.S. economic interests."

Black stated that "The high-tech sector is the leading export industry of the U.S. and CCIA has long supported free trade as advantaging all nations and expanding markets for U.S. high-tech companies. Buy American provisions in the stimulus bill passed by the House would mandate that all iron and steel goods used in stimulus-funded projects be produced in the U.S. The Senate version under consideration would extend the mandate to manufactured goods. By unilaterally restricting access to these projects to U.S. products, the U.S. could touch off a wave of protectionism in which other countries would retaliate with their own measures regarding their own stimulus projects."

"Yet including Buy American provisions in the stimulus legislation would be precisely the kind of beggar-thy-neighbor, every-country-for-itself action that worsened the Great Depression, and which was to be avoided this time around. In a globally connected economy, and a global economic crisis, recovery must also be a global recovery", wrote Black.

The TAA's Bond wrote that these provisions would violate the US's World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments, invite "retaliation by our trading partners", and damage the global economy.

Section 1110 of the version passed by the House provides, in part, that "None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron and steel used in the project is produced in the United States."

President Obama made statements to news broadcasters on February 3 critical of the provisions.

On Wednesday night, February 4, the Senate rejected Amendment No. 279 by a vote of 31-65. See, Roll Call No. 44. This amendment, which was offered by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), would have stricken the protectionist provision. All of the votes in favor were cast by Republicans, and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT).

Sen. McCain invoked the ghosts of Smoot and Hawley in a speech on the Senate floor.

He said that "In 1930, as the United States and the world was entering what would be known to history as the Great Depression, this body considered issues similar to those we are discussing on the Senate floor today. Two men -- Mr. Smoot and Mr. Hawley -- led the effort to enact protectionist legislation in the face of economic crisis. Their bill, the Smoot-Hawley tariff act, raised duties on thousands of imported goods, in a futile attempt to keep jobs at home."

"It didn't work in the 1930s, and it certainly won't work today", said Sen. McCain.

He argued that "Should we enact such a provision, it will only be a matter of time before we face an array of similar protectionism from other countries -- from ``Buy European´´ to ``Buy Japanese´´ and more.  In fact, in the 1980s we saw Japanese provisions that attempted to take the kinds of steps that we are contemplating now, and barred American goods in Japanese government procurement. The U.S. Congress responded just as we can expect others to do now -- by threatening retaliation and considering legislation that would restrict Japanese imports."

2/2. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) announced in a release [PDF] that it will host an event titled "Summit on Deployment and Operational Guidelines for Next Generation IP-Enabled 911 and Enhanced 911 Services".

The 110th Congress passed HR 3403 [LOC | WW], the "New and Emerging Technologies 911 Improvement Act of 2008", or "NET 911 Act", last year. President Bush signed it into law on July 23, 2008. It is now Public Law No. 110-283. The FCC then promptly adopted and released implementing rules on October 21, 2008. See, Report and Order [59 pages in PDF]. Previously, the FCC wrote rules without statutory authority.

The PSHSB's release adds that the NET 911 Act "requires that the Commission work with public safety organizations, industry participants, and others to promote consistency in the deployment and operation of IP-enabled 911 and E911 services through development of standards concerning geographic coverage areas for Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs); PSAP certification and testing requirements; network diversity requirements for delivery of IP-enabled 911 and enhanced 911 calls; call-handling in the event of call overflow or network outages; validation procedures for processing location information; and the format for delivering address information to PSAPs."

2/4. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, named Amy Levine Subcommittee Counsel. She has previously been Senior Counsel to the former HCC Chairman, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Legislative Counsel to Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), and Legislative Counsel to Rep. Boucher. She has also worked for the law firm of Covington & Burling.

2/2. Robert Colby, Deputy Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Trading and Markets will leave the SEC and join the Washington DC office of the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell. See, SEC release.

2/4. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a revised agenda [PDF] for its event on Thursday, February 5, 2009, titled "Open Meeting". The sole item on the agenda is statements by the Commissioners, and testimony from witnesses, regarding government efforts to plan broadcasters' and consumers' transition to digital television. This event is scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room.

2/4. David Wales, acting Director of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Competition, made a statement regarding antitrust litigation with Whole Foods.

2/4. The Institute of Medicine announced, but did not release, a report titled "Beyond the HIPAA Privacy Rule: Enhancing Privacy, Improving Health Through Research". The 330 page report is on sale in the IM web site.

2/3. Robert Atkinson and Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation wrote an article [19 pages in PDF] titled "A National Technology Agenda for the New Administration" that was published in the Yale Journal of Law and Technology.

2/2. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a document [10 MB and 601 pages in PDF] titled "Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual".

1/28. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) released a paper [34 pages in PDF] titled "Threshold Analysis for Online Advertising Practices". The CDT described this in a release as an "assessment tool to help online advertising companies develop strong, appropriate privacy protections for the users they serve".

1/28. The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) released a paper [63 pages in PDF] titled "The Broadband Bonus: Accounting for Broadband Internet’s Impact on U.S. GDP". The authors are Shane Greenstein and Ryan McDevitt of Northwestern University. They conclude that "conventional accounting of broadband's effect on the US economy mismeasures its true economic impact. While broadband accounts for $28 billion of the GDP in 2006, approximately $20 to $22 billion is associated with household use in 2006. Of that amount, we show that approximately $8.3 and $10.6 billion of it is additional revenue (above and beyond what dial-up would have generated), and between $6.7 and $4.8 billion is consumer surplus. That is, broadband generates new additional revenue between 40% and 50% of measured GDP, while consumer surplus (which is not measured) is between 31% and 47% of the newly created revenue. The upgrade was equivalent to an unmeasured decline in price of between 1.6% and 2.2% per year in all Internet access prices." (Parentheses in original.)

1/27. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted and released an order [3 pages in PDF] that rescinds prior FCC orders and reinstates the administrative law judge's authority over certain program carriage disputes. This item is FCC 09-4.

This issue contains the following items:
 • House Passes DTV Delay Act
 • NCTA and Free Press Write Senators Regarding Broadband Grants in HR 1
 • Tech Groups Oppose Smoot Hawley Provisions in HR 1
 • FCC to Host Summit on IP Enabled 911 Services

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 2.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 1 [LOC | WW], a huge spending bill, which contains numerous technology related provisions.

Day one of a three day meeting of House Democrats titled "Democratic Issues Conference".

TIME CHANGE. 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of David Ogden to be Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice (DOJ). The SJC will webcast this hearing. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a brown bag lunch on the issue of establishment of new generic top level domains by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Register by February 3 with Kevin Rupy at 202-326-7276 or krupy at ustelecom dot org. The FCBA has a history of excluding reporters from its meetings. Location: USTelecom, Suite 400, 607 14th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The National Economists Club (NEC) will host a lunch titled "Facts and Myths in the Globalization Debate: Focus on Immigration". The speaker will be Vivek Wadhwa (Duke University), who has written that immigrants found more than half of Silicon Valley startups. Prices vary. Location: Chinatown Garden Restaurant, 2nd floor, 618 H St.,  NW.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Meeting". See, notice.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit requests to participate in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) roundtable on February 12, 2009, regarding whether or not to adopt some form of deferred examination for patent applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Pages 4946-4947.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for week of February 2.

Day two of a three day meeting of House Democrats titled "Democratic Issues Conference".

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "Crafting an Effective Broadband Stimulus Package". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (ITIF) and Debbie Goldman (Communications Workers of America). See, notice and registration page. Location: Room HC-6, Capitol Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host a brown bag lunch titled "Broadband Investment in 2009". The speakers will be Craig Moffett (Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.) and Jessica Zufolo (Medley Global Advisors). See, registration page. Location: Harris Wiltshire & Grannis, 1200 18th St., NW.

Day three of a three day meeting of House Democrats titled "Democratic Issues Conference".

The House will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day one of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Page 5024. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 805, 1828 L St., NW.

11:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation and the Border Trade Alliance will host an event titled "Facilitating Trade and Travel at America's Ports of Entry". The speakers will be Lurita Doan, Ron Reinas, and Ronald Utt (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Annual Seminar Committee will host a brown bag lunch for planning purposes. Location: Wilkinson Barker Knauer, 2300 N St., NW.

12:15 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Homeland Security / Emergency Communications Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Public Safety Issues to Watch in 2009". The speakers will be Brian Fontes (National Emergency Number Association) and Bob Gurss (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International). RSVP to Marianne Trana at 202-419-2476 or marianne dot trana at hklaw dot com. Location: Holland & Knight, 2099 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Second Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making (2ndFNPRM) regarding rules to protect AM stations from the potential effects of nearby tower construction. The FCC adopted this 2ndFNPRM on September 24, 2008, and released the text [28 pages in PDF] on September 26, 2008. It is FCC 08-228 in MM Docket No. 93-177. See, notice in the Federal Register, December 11, 2008, Vol. 73, No. 239, at Pages 75376-75381.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in advance of its event titled "Town Hall", regarding "Digital Rights Management Technologies", to be held on March 25, 2009, in Seattle, Washington. See, notice and online comment form and event web site.

8:00 - 10:00 AM. The BroadbandCensus dot com [http colon slash slash broadbandcensus dot com] will host a breakfast event titled "The Role of Wireless Frequencies in Widespread Broadband Deployment" The speakers will be John Kneuer, John Muleta (M2Z Networks), Steve Sharkey (Motorola), and Don Brittingham (Verizon). For more information, contact Drew Clark at drew at broadbandcensus dot com or 202-580-8196. Breakfast begins at 8:00 AM. The program begins at 8:40 AM. The price to attend these monthly events is $45. These events are open to the public. Location: Old Ebbitt Grill, 675 15th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day two of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Page 5024. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 805, 1828 L St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the nominations of Elena Kagan to be Solicitor General, and Thomas Perrelli to be Associate Attorney General. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a panel discussion titled "A Service to the Economy: The Importance of Free Trade in Services". The speakers will be Bob Vastine (U.S. Coalition of Services Industries), Christine Bliss (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Services and Investment), Aaditya Mattoo (World Bank), and Sallie James (Cato). The Cato Institute will webcast this event. Lunch will be served after the program. See notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

12:15 PM - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mass Media Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "DTV Transition, Now or Later: Final Mechanics from Here to the End". See, notice and registration page. Location: National Association of Broadcasters, 1771 N St., NW.

2:30 - 4:30 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host a panel discussion titled "Broadband's Role in the Economy and the Stimulus Package". The speakers will be Robert Hahn (AEI), Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution), Michael Katz (New York University), Robert Shapiro (Sonecon), and Gigi Sohn (Public Knowledge). See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "The Evolving IP Marketplace: Patent Remedies". See, release and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day three of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Page 5024. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 805, 1828 L St., NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee (HSC) will hold a hearing titled "Electronic Waste: Investing in Research and Innovation to Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle". The witnesses will be Valerie Thomas (Georgia Institute of Technology), Jeff Omelchuck (Green Electronics Council), and Paul Anastas (Yale University). See, notice. For more information, contact 202-225-6375. The HSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Copps will host an event titled "first news briefing with reporters covering the FCC". Location: FCC, 8th floor, conference room 1.

4:00 - 5:00 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host an event titled "The Korean Strategy for Green Technology Development and Role of IT". The speakers will be Suk Joon Kim, President of the Korean Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), and Jung Hyup, Senior Research at the STEPI. See, notice. Location: ITIF, Suite 200, 1250 Eye St., NW.

200th anniversary of the birth of former President Abraham Lincoln. (This is not a federal holiday.)

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "The Evolving IP Marketplace: Patent Remedies". See, release and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. Day four of a five day meeting of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) RTCA Special Committee 159: Global Positioning System. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Page 5024. Location: RTCA, Inc., Suite 805, 1828 L St., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will hold a roundtable on regarding whether or not to adopt some form of deferred examination for patent applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 17, at Pages 4946-4947. Location: USPTO, Madison Auditorium, Madison Building, 600 Dulany St., Alexandria, VA.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its "Interim final rules with request for comment" regarding its administrative adjudications. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 8, at Pages 1803-1836. See also, story titled "FTC Writes Rules to Bolster Power of Antitrust Regulators" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,882, January 13, 2008.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding application of the closed captioning rules to digital broadcasting, specifically to broadcasters that choose to use their digital allotment to multicast several streams of programming. The FCC adopted this item on November 3, 2008, and released the text [57 pages in PDF] on November 7, 2008. It is FCC 08-255 in CG Docket No. 05-231. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 8, at Pages 1654-1661.

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