3/10. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) issued its opinion [PDF] in M2Z v. FCC, upholding in all things the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) August 31, 2007, dismissal without prejudice of M2Z's application for spectrum.

In 2006 M2Z Communications applied to the FCC for an exclusive nationwide spectrum license in the 2155-2175 MHz band, also known as AWS-3.

M2Z proposed to use this band to provide wireless internet access. M2Z requested the spectrum for free, and without FCC rules. In return, M2Z proposed to offer free service for consumers and law enforcement at 384 kbps downstream and 128 kbps upstream, and pay 5% of its revenues from subscribers to the federal government.

See, stories titled "FCC Accepts for Filing M2Z's Application for Free Spectrum" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,532, February 5, 2007, and "Panel Debates M2Z Proposal" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,541, February 21, 2007.

On August 31, 2007, the FCC adopted and released an Order [25 pages in PDF] that dismissed without prejudice the applications of M2Z and NetFreeUS. See, story titled "FCC Dismisses M2Z's and NetfreeUS's Requests for 2155-2175 MHz Band Spectrum Licenses" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,633, September 4, 2007.

That order is FCC 07-161 in its proceedings titled "In the Matter of Applications for License and Authority to Operate in the 2155-2175 MHz Band" and "In the Matter of Petitions for Forbearance Under 47 U.S.C. § 160" and numbered WT Docket Nos. 07-16 and 07-30.

The FCC also denied M2Z's petition for forbearance on that application.

In addition, late last year, former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin sought but failed to obtain majority FCC support for an order that would have enabled the auctioning of this spectrum subject to rules that matched M2Z's business plan. See, story titled "Martin Wants FCC to Adopt Free Wireless Broadband Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,867, December 4, 2008, and story titled "Gutierrez Opposes Martin's Plans for AWS-3 Band" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,872, December 12, 2008.

M2Z filed an appeal and petition for review of the dismissal order, and denial of forbearance order.

The Court of Appeals, applying Chevron deference, upheld the orders of the FCC in all things.

This case is M2Z Communications, Inc. v. FCC and USA, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, App. Ct. Nos. 07-1360 and 07-1441, petitions for review, and appeals, of final orders of the FCC.

3/11. Philip Reitinger was named Deputy Undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). He will be responsible for the DHS's National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD). Its activities include cyber security. See, DHS release.

Reitinger was Chief Trustworthy Infrastructure Strategist at Microsoft. Before that he was Executive Director of the Department of Defense's (DOD) Cyber Crime Center. He is also a former Deputy Chief of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS).

He is a lawyer with an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and computer science.

Phil Bond, President of TechAmerica (formerly the ITAA and AeA), stated in a release that "Phil Reitinger is a recognized expert on computer security and understands the importance of working with the private sector".

The TA added that "Cybersecurity is critical for the protection of the government’s information and systems and is critical to the growth of America’s information infrastructure, a key component of our national and economic security."

See also, Reitinger's prepared testimony of June 27, 2006, to the House Commerce Committee for its hearing titled "Making the Internet Safe for Kids: The Role of ISP’s and Social Networking Sites", and prepared testimony of June 16, 2004, to the House Government Reform Committee for its hearing titled "Locking Your Cyber Front Door - The Challenges Facing Home Users and Small Businesses".

3/11. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) announced in a release the members of its subcommittees.

The Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet are Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) (Chairman), Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK), and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) (ex officio).

The Republican members Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) (ranking), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Sen. Mel Martinez (R-FL), Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE), and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) (ex officio).

The membership of this subcommittee is the same as the full committee membership, except that it does not include Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The Democratic members of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance are Pryor (Chairman), Dorgan, Boxer, Nelson, McCaskill, Klobuchar, Udall, and Rockefeller (ex officio). The Republican members are Wicker (ranking), Snowe, DeMint, Thune, Isakson, Vitter, and Hutchison (ex officio).

3/10. The New America Foundation (NAF) announced in a release that "Robb Topolski has been named" Chief Technologist of the NAF's Open Technology Initiative.

Topolski wrote a declaration in support the complaint [48 pages in PDF] filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by the Public Knowledge (PK) and Free Press (FP) on November 1, 2007, titled "Formal Complaint of Free Press and Public Knowledge Against Comcast Corporation For Secretly Degrading Peer-to-Peer Applications".

See, story titled "Free Press Files Complaint with FCC Alleging that Comcast Is Violating 2005 Policy Statement" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,669, November 5, 2007.

The FCC used this complaint and declaration to assert authority to regulate the network management practices of broadband internet access providers, such as Comcast. See, August 1, 2008, order [67 pages in PDF], and story titled "FCC Asserts Authority to Regulate Network Management Practices" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,805, August 4, 2008.

Comcast has filed a petition for review with the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir), which is pending. See, story titled "Comcast Files Petition for Review of FCC's Network Management Practices Order" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,821, September 4, 2008.

Topolski also wrote a paper [18 pages in PDF] titled "NebuAd and Partner ISPs: Wiretapping, Forgery and Browser Hijacking".

See, story titled "Free Press and Public Knowledge Allege More ISP Bad Behavior" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,782, June 18, 2008.

The NAF release adds that "In addition to his work at New America, Topolski will continue his work as technology consultant for Public Knowledge and Free Press."

Eric Schmidt is the Chairman of the New America Foundation Board. He is also the Chairman and CEO of Google.

3/12. The Senate confirmed Thomas Perrelli to be Associate Attorney General by a vote of 72-20. See, Roll Call No. 98. All of the votes against confirmation were cast by Republicans.

3/12. The Senate confirmed David Ogden to be Deputy Attorney General by a vote of 65-28. See, Roll Call No. 97. All but one of the votes against confirmation were cast by Republicans. Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) voted no.

3/12. President Obama announced his intent to nominate Demetrios Marantis to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative. See, White House news office release. He is the Chief International Trade Counsel (Majority) for the Senate Finance Committee (SFC). He was previously employed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, working on, among other tasks, telecommunications disputes with Mexico. He has also worked for the law firm of Akin Gump.

3/12. President Obama announced his intent to nominate Ronald Weich to be Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Office of Legislative Affairs. See, White House news office release. He is Chief Counsel to  Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), the Senate Majority Leader. He previously worked for the law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder.

3/11. President Obama nominated Ivan Fong to be General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). See, White House news office release.

3/10. President Obama nominated Sherburne Abbott to be an Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. See, White House news office release.

This issue contains the following items:
 • Court of Appeals Upholds FCC Dismissal of M2Z Application
 • Reitinger Named to Cyber Security Position at DHS
 • Senate Commerce Committee Names Subcommittee Members
 • Topolski Joins New America Foundation

The House will not meet.

The Senate will not meet.

Day three of a three day conference hosted by the International Association of Privacy Professionals titled "IAPP Privacy Summit 2009". Reporters' contact: Tammy Vigliotti at 207-351-1500 x106. See, conference web site. Location: Washington Marriott Wardman Park, 2660 Woodley Road, NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division regarding its Draft Special Publication 800-122 [58 pages in PDF] titled "Guide to Protecting the Confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII)".

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division regarding its Draft Interagency Report 7497 [42 pages in PDF] titled "Security Architecture Design Process for Health Information Exchanges (HIEs)".

Deadline to register for the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Office of Law Enforcement Standards' (OLES) March 25, 2009, meeting to bring Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program stakeholders together to discuss what the process will be to assess software based test tools for the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program. This meeting will occur via teleconference and at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) in Boulder, Colorado. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 30, at Pages 7397-7398.

The House will meet at 12:30 PM.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM. It will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to HR 146 [LOC | WW], the vehicle for the omnibus lands bill.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in National Association of Broadcasters v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 08-1117. Judges Rogers, Garland and Brown will preside. See, FCC's brief [74 pages in PDF] states that the issues are "Whether the FCC's adoption of policies and rule changes to minimize unnecessary displacement of existing LPFM radio stations by new full-power FM stations or FM stations seeking license modifications is prohibited by the Radio Broadcasting Preservation Act", and "Whether these policies and rule changes are reasonable." Location: 333 Constitution Ave.

Day one of a two day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) titled "Securing Personal Data in the Global Economy". See, FTC release and release, and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC satellite building, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the OUSTR's complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding certain measures offering grants, loans, and other incentives to enterprises in the People's Republic of China to implement an industrial policy of promoting the development of global Chinese brand names. See, notice in the February 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 30, at Pages 7494-7497.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host panel discussion titled "Anchor Allies Adrift: Can the United States Depend on Japan and Great Britain?". The speakers will be Michael Auslin (AEI), Ted Bromund (Heritage Foundation), Thomas Donnelly (AEI), and Paul Wolfowitz (AEI). See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "in silico: How IT is Changing Medical Research". The speakers will be Ken Buetow (National Cancer Institute's Center for Bioinformatics), Lynn Etheredge, and Nancy Johnson (Health IT Now Coalition). See, notice. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

Day two of a two day conference hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) titled "Securing Personal Data in the Global Economy". See, FTC release and release, and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC satellite building, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day hearing of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "The Operation of IP Markets". At 9:00 - 10:30 AM there will be a panel titled "Universities and Entrepreneurs". At 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "IT and Electronics Industries". At 1:45 - 3:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Manufacturing and Diversified Companies". At 3:30 - 5:00 PM, there will be a panel titled "Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industries". See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "The Need to Strengthen Forensic Science in the United States: The National Academy of Science's Report on a Path Forward". See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 2:00 PM. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Can Health IT Improve Medical Care?" There will be a panel discussion at 10:00 AM. The speakers will be Leah Binder (Leapfrog Group), Joseph Swedish (Trinity Health), Stephen Parente (University of Minnesota), Benjamin Sasse (University of Texas), and Joseph Antos (AEI). At 12:00 NOON, lunch will be served. The speaker will be David Snow (Medco). See, notice. Location: AEI, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Alliance for Public Technology (APT) will host an event titled "From Deployment to Employment: Broadband Challenges and Opportunities Surrounding Implementation of the Stimulus Package". The speakers will be Matt Chase (National Association of Development Organizations), Debbie Goldman (Communications Workers of America), and Raquel Noriega (Connected Nation). Location: 10th floor, 919 18th St.,  NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will hold a closed brown bag lunch titled "Telecommunications Issues and Advocacy at Agencies Other than the FCC". For more information, contact Megan Stull at mstull at willkie dot com. Location: Willkie Farr & Gallagher, 1875 K St., NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day hearing of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "The Operation of IP Markets". At 9:30 - 11:30 AM, there will be a panel titled "Economic Perspectives on IP and Technology Markets". At 1:00 - 5:15 PM, there will be a panel titled "Fulfilling the Patent System's Public Notice Function". See, notice and agenda [PDF]. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: Assessing Our Vulnerabilities and Developing an Effective Defense". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

2:00 - 6:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Privacy and Data Security Committee and the American Bar Association's (ABA) Forum on Communications Law will host an event titled "4th Annual ABA/FCBA Privacy & Data Security for Communications and Media Companies CLE". For more information, contact Jenell Trigg at STrigg at lermansenter dot com or 202-416-1090) or Bryan Tramont at BTramont at wbklaw dot com or 202-383-3331. Registrations are due by 12:00 NOON on February 17. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

12:15 - 1:45 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will hold a brown bag lunch titled "Roundtable discussion with FCC and NTIA Technical Offices". The speakers will be Edward Davison (Deputy Chief of the NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management), Julius Knapp (Chief of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology), Karl Nebbia (Chief of the NTIA's OSM), and Ronald Repasi (Deputy Chief of the FCC's OET). For more information, contact Christy Hammond at 202-719-7365 or chammond at wileyrein dot com. Location: Wiley Rein, 10th floor, 1750 K St., NW.

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