2/16. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) sent a letter to Allen Arvig of Tekstar Communications, and substantially identical letters to 23 other companies, requesting information regarding their possible involvement in traffic pumping schemes.

Rep. Boucher is Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Technology and the Internet. Rep. Stupak is Chairman of the HCC's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Rep. Waxman is Chairman of the HCC. No Republicans signed the letters.

The letters pertains to excessive rates for terminating access. It states that "Interexchange carriers, which are required by law to complete all calls, allege that they sometimes pay rates for terminating access well in excess of what the market would typically demand. ... Moreover, there are allegations that several of the companies engaged in practices designed to increase call volumes and access charge revenue do so by providing free calling services for indecent or pornographic content."

The letters also note that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) wrote a letter [3 pages in PDF] to Google on October 9, 2009, that states that Google Voice refuses to connect calls to certain rural areas because of high access fees. See also, stories titled "FCC Asks Google for Information About Google Voice" and "Commentary: Interconnection and Compensation Regimes on the Internet and in Telecommunications" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,001, October 12, 2009.

These letters propound numerous interrogatories to be answered by March 8, 2010.

The recipients of the letters are Tekstar Communications, Premiere Communications, Beehive Communications, Sancom, Inc., Capital Telephone Company, BTC, Inc., All American Telephone Company, Northern Valley Communications, OmniTel Communications, Lynnville Telephone Company, Searsboro Telephone Company, TC3 Telecom, Interstate 35, Bluegrass Telephone Company, Farmers and Merchants Mutual, Aventure, Goldstar, Reasnor Telephone Company, Great Lakes, Spencer Municipal Communications Utility, Glenwood Telephone Membership Corporation, Sully Telephone Association, Splitrock Properties, and Dixon Telephone Company.

2/15. Christine Varney, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division, gave a speech in Paris, France, titled "Coordinated Remedies: Convergence, Cooperation, and the Role of Transparency".

She advocated "greater convergence to international antitrust enforcement" and "greater cooperation between the competition agencies". She also said both that "I believe divergent outcomes should occur", and that they are "troubling".

Varney (at right) did not review the European Commission's (EC) history of taking heavy handed action against U.S. companies in a manner that benefits other U.S. companies, and affects U.S. customers, in proceedings that are redundant of those of U.S. antitrust agencies.

She did, however, speak at length, often in vaguely worded language, deferentially, and hypothetically, about "extraterritorial effects" and "divergent results" in antitrust enforcement.

In the end, she cautiously pleaded for the "agency with the greatest proportion of commerce and consumers at stake in a particular case". But, she only went so far as to say the "we should keep our eyes open" and be "attentive to the opinion" of such agencies.

She stated that "we must be attuned to the effects that our actions might have on other jurisdictions. Extraterritorial effects may or may not be avoidable, but where possible we should seek to identify and minimize them."

She continued that "we must be attentive to what our international counterparts have already done. Divergences among our outcomes or remedial approaches on particular matters are problematic, and avoiding them should be a high priority. Finally, we must be sensitive to what our international counterparts may yet do in the future -- to the choices that they may be considering -- and attempt to avoid surprising one another."

She did mention the EC's latest action against Microsoft. She said that "this may be an area in which the United States could improve, at least in those instances where we do not believe that our statutory obligation to our own citizens requires a broader remedy".

(See, story titled "Microsoft Commits to EC to Offer Windows Without Browser in Europe" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,024, December 17, 2009. See also, stories titled "European Commission Seeks 497 Million Euros and Code Removal from Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 863, March 25, 2004; "European Commission Releases Microsoft Decision" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 883, April 23, 2004; "European Court of First Instance Rejects Key Parts of Microsoft's Appeal" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,639, September 14, 2007; "EC Demands More Money From Microsoft" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,723, February 26, 2008; and "Microsoft Proposes to Offer Competitors' Browsers on PCs Sold in Europe" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,974, July 27, 2009.)

Varney also stated that "Careful consideration of these extraterritorial effects is perhaps essential if we are to identify potential divergences at the best time -- that is, before they happen. We can neither seek to support the remedial schemes of our neighbors nor avoid undermining them unless we are mindful of, and seek to avoid, the inappropriate effects that our own choices may have beyond our borders."

Then, she said that, on then one hand, "I believe divergent outcomes should occur, if they do, for well-founded reasons, and not arbitrarily or unexpectedly."

On the other hand, she condemned divergent outcomes. "Divergent results in particular matters are troubling for both businesses and enforcers. For businesses, the risk that different agencies could take different remedial actions creates uncertainty and may undermine firms' ability to operate globally. Businesses may be unsure about the global relevance of their dealings with one agency when another agency may yet order a different set of remedies. Conversely, such instances of divergence may create incentives for firms to try to play agencies against each other."

She also said, "I suggest that we should keep our eyes open, in particular, for the conclusions of that agency with the greatest proportion of commerce and consumers at stake in a particular case. We should be particularly attentive to the opinion of the agency where the principal assets are located or the greatest revenue is earned, where the greatest impact will be felt, and where the thorniest enforcement issues may have already been addressed."

However, she did not make clear that if the EC had followed these principles, it would have deferred to U.S. antitrust regulators in some of its recent actions against U.S. companies.

2/4. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it will drop its civil action against Henry Samueli.

Samueli is a former professor of electrical engineering, a founder of Broadcom, and the namesake of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA and the Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irving.

On May 14, 2008, the SEC filed a civil complaint [39 pages in PDF] in U.S. District Court (CDCal) against four current or former officers of Broadcom, Henry Samueli, Henry Nicholas, William Ruehle, and David Dull, alleging violation of federal securities laws in connection with their alleged involvement in the back dating of stock options.

See also, stories titled "SEC Files Complaint Against Samueli and Other Broadcom Officers" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,767, May 15, 2008, and "9th Circuit Issues Opinion in Samueli Case" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,989, September 25, 2009.

Ruehle's trial was concluded in December with the District Court entering judgment of acquittal, and dismissal without prejudice of the complaint. The SEC conceded in a release that "the Court questioned the conduct of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the sufficiency of the evidence", and "discouraged the Commission from proceeding further with its action".

The SEC stated that it "does not intend to proceed further in this action".

2/16. Wilkinson Barker Knauer (WBK), a Washington DC based communications and technology law firm, announced that it has opened an office in Denver, Colorado. Ray Gifford and Philip Roselli joined WBK as partners in this new office, while Eric Gunning, Adam Peters and Mark Walker joined as associates. In addition, Kyle Dixon joined WBK as a partner in the Washington DC office.

Dixon previously worked at the law firms of Kamlet Reichert and Wilmer Hale. Before that, he worked at the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF). And before that, he held several senior positions at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) during the tenure of former Chairman Michael Powell. He was a legal advisor to Powell, Deputy Chief of the Media Bureau, and Special Counsel to the Chairman for Broadband Policy. He has also taught communications law and policy at Georgetown University.

While at the PFF, Dixon worked on the PFF's Digital Age Communications Act (DACA) project, and co-authored its various legislative proposals. He also wrote a paper in June 2006 titled "Rhetoric vs. Reality: Lessig on Network Neutrality", and a paper [11 pages in PDF] in July of 2006 titled "Beginning to Limit ``Social´´ Regulation of Communications". He also co-authored, with Deputy Assistant Attorney General Philip Weiser, the 2006 paper titled "A Digital Age Communications Act Paradigm for Federal-State Relations".

Gifford also previously worked at Kamlet Reichert. He is also a former President of the PFF, and a former Chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Roselli, Gunning, Peters and Walker also previously worked at Kamlet Reichert.

2/15. Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) announced that he will not run for re-election in November. See, statement.

2/16. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) announced in a release that Ted Serafini will be named Deputy Assistant USTR for Congressional Affairs. He previously worked for Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

2/17. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report [51 pages in PDF] titled "Electronic Personal Health Information Exchange: Health Care Entities’ Reported Disclosure Practices and Effects on Quality of Care".

2/2. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released its second draft NIST IR-7628 [305 pages in PDF] titled "Smart Grid Cyber Security Strategy and Requirements". The deadline to submit comments is April 2, 2010.

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Notices & Disclaimers
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The House will not meet the week of February 15-19, 2010. See, 2010 House calendar.

The Senate will not meet the week of February 15-19, 2010. See, 2010 Senate calendar.

8:30 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting to the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC). This meeting will focus on deemed exports. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 24, at Page 5952. Location: Room 3884, Department of Commerce Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) North American Numbering Council (NANC) will meet. See, FCC notice and notice in the Federal Register, January 28, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 18, at Pages 4557-4558. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

11:00 AM. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz will hold a news conference by teleconference to announce "next steps in the case against a major entertainment service company". See, FTC release.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 11. 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold an event titled "Open Meeting". Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

EXTENDED FROM FEBRUARY 16. 5:00 PM. Deadline for all commenters (except foreign governments) to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. See, notice of extension.

Deadline to submit reply comments on proposals to be designated database administrator in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) white space proceeding. See, Public Notice [4 pages in PDF]. It is DA 09-2479 in ET Docket No. 04-186. See also, story titled "FCC Requests Proposals to Be Designated White Spaces Database Administrator" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,018, November 30, 2009.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding its e-rate program, and the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act". See, notice in the Federal Register, January 19, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 11, at Pages 2836-2843, and story titled "FCC Adopts E-Rate NPRM" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,011, November 9, 2009. The FCC adopted this NPRM on November 4, 2009, and released the text on November 5, 2009. It is FCC 09-96 in CC Docket No. 02-6.

8:30 AM. Day two of a two day partially closed meeting to the Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC). This meeting will focus on deemed exports. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 24, at Page 5952. Location: Room 3884, Department of Commerce Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Department of Agriculture's (DOA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will host a meeting titled "Round II BTOP and BIP Application Process". The speakers will include Ken Kuchno (Director of the RUS Broadband Division) and John Morabito (Communications Program Specialist, NTIA). Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding the "modernized electric grid", and especially "issues related to Smart Grid implementation options, including the ways in which each option would support open innovation in home energy services". See, notice in the Federal Register, February 9, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 26, at Pages 6414-6416.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Video Programming & Distribution Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Video Distribution -- The View from Wall Street". The speakers will be Craig Moffett (Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.) and Rebecca Arbogast (Stifel Nicolaus). Location: Davis Wright Tremaine, Suite 200, 1919 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [31 pages in PDF] regarding empowering "parents to help their children take advantage of the opportunities offered by evolving electronic media technologies while at the same time protecting children from the risks inherent in use of these technologies". This NOI is FCC 09-94 in MB Docket No. 09-194. The FCC adopted this NOI on October 22, 2009, and released it on October 23, 2009. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 24, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 225, at Pages 61308-61316.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding what data fields are necessary in order to complete simple wireline to wireline and intermodal ports within the one business day porting interval mandated by the FCC. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 1, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 20, at Pages 5013-5015. This proceeding is WC Docket No. 07-244.

10:00 AM. The Senate Finance Committee (SFC) will hold a hearing titled "Trade and Tax Issues Relating to Small Business Job Creation". See, notice. Location: Room 215, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Are Foreign Libel Lawsuits Chilling Americans' First Amendment Rights?" The witnesses will be Kurt Wimmer (Covington & Burling) and Bruce Brown (Baker Hostetler). See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Preserving the Open Internet: Is a Consensus Emerging?". The speakers will be Richard Bennett (ITIF), Link Hoewing (Verizon), Julius Knapp (FCC), Paul Misener (Amazon), Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technologies), and Rich Whitt (Google). See, notice. The ITIF will webcast this event. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Improving Energy Efficiency Through Technology and Communications Innovation". Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

12:00 - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Counterterrorism 2.0: Using IT to Connect the Dots". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Paul Rosenzweig (Red Branch Law and Consulting) and Kim Taipale. Lunch will be served. See, notice. This event is fee and open to the public. Location: ITIF, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Cybersecurity: Next Steps to Protect Our Critical Infrastructure". See, notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

TIME CHANGE. 6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Protecting Content on the Internet". The speaker will be Jay Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. See, notice. This event qualifies for continuing legal education (CLE) credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

TIME? The American Bar Association's (ABA) Section of Science and Technology Law will host a program titled "Dangerous Curves Ahead: When Legal Ethics and Technology Collide". The ABA will webcast and teleconference this event. See, notice for registration and call in information.

EXTENDED TO FEBRUARY 26. 5:00 PM. Deadline for foreign governments to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) to assist it in making determinations that identify countries that deny adequate and effective protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) or deny fair and equitable market access to U.S. persons who rely on intellectual property protection. The OUSTR is required to make these Special 301 determinations by Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974, which is codified at 19 U.S.C. § 2242. See, notice in the Federal Register, January 15, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 10, at Pages 2578-2580. See, notice of extension.

8:30 AM - 5:15 PM. The Catholic University of America's (CUA) Columbus School of Law will host a one day conference titled "Implementing the National Broadband Plan: Perspectives from Government, Industry and Consumers". Prices vary. See, registration form. Location: Wiley Rein, 1776 K St., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Standards Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 22, at Pages 5595-5596. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing titled "Department of Homeland Security's Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2011". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host a news conference to discuss "the global challenges to Internet freedom". The CDT will also teleconference this event. The call in number is 1-800-377-8846; the participant code is 92 87 41 58#. Location: CDT, 11th floor, 1634 I St., NW.

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, Suite 700, 2300 N St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a closed lunch. The speaker will be Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyright. The price to attend ranges from $55 to $65. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. Reporters are barred from this event. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3463. Location: City Club of Washington at Franklin Square, 1300 I St., NW.

2:00 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee's (HOGRC) Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census and National Archives will hold a hearing titled "The 2010 Census Communications Contract: The Media Plan in Hard to Count Areas". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Nominations". See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a presentation titled "Protecting Content on the Internet". The speaker will be John Westermeier (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's HIT Policy Committee's Adoption/Certification Workgroup will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, February 9, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 26, at Pages 6398-6399. Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 1:00 PM. The Heritage Foundation will host an event titled "Telecosm Revisited: Why the Government Should Not Set Rules of the Road for the Internet". The speakers will be George Gilder, author of the book titled "Telecosm", and James Gattuso (Heritage). See, notice. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Engineering and Technical Practice Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "Spectrum Policy and Capital Formation For New Wireless Technologies". The speakers will include Bryan Tramont (Wilkinson Barker Knauer) and Toni Bush (Skadden Arps). For more information, contact Tami Smith at 202-736-8257 or tesmith at sidley dot com. Location: Sidley Austin, 1501 K St., NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM FEBRUARY 11. 2:00 PM. the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) will hold a hearing titled "The President’s FY 2011 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

5:00 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) regarding "other matters" discussed at its January 20, 2010, public roundtable. The USPTO is considering revising its rules of practice before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) in ex parte patent appeals. Comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking are due by February 12, 2010. However, comments on "other matters discussed at the roundtable" are due by February 25, 2010. See also, story titled "USPTO Seeks Comments on Rules of Practice before the BPAI in Ex Parte Appeals" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,026, December 22, 2009.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host an event titled "Happy Hour". For more information, contact Cathy Hilke at chilke at wileyrein dot com or Micah Caldwell at mcaldwell at fh-law dot com. Location: James Hoban's Irish Restaurant & Bar, 1 Dupont Circle, NW.