9/9. The House passed HR 2844 [LOC | WW], the "Federal Communications Commission Consolidation Reporting Act of 2013", by a vote of 415-0. See, Roll Call No. 449.

This bill would consolidate eight statutorily mandated annual and tri-annual reports into a single biannual Communications Marketplace Report.

The floor debate was brief. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), the Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), the sponsor of the bill, spoke in support of the bill.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), who also spoke in favor of the bill, stated that it "also ensures that the FCC has the flexibility to continue assessing the state of competition, which is so essential and so important in our country across the entire communications marketplace, including particular submarkets like wireless, cable, and satellite."

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai (at right) stated in a release that "The FCC's reporting requirements are numerous, outdated, and unnecessarily burdensome. Replacing them with a single biennial Communications Marketplace Report will not only enable more efficient use of agency resources, it will also provide Congress and the public with a comprehensive and far more useful set of data that reflects the realities of today's converged marketplace. This is straightforward, good-government legislation, and I hope that the U.S. Senate will act quickly to send this bill to the President for his signature."

The Senate has not yet passed this bill. The Senate version is S 1379 [LOC | WW], also titled "Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2013 ". Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) introduced this bill on July 29, 2013.

9/9. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) issued a Public Notice (PN) that requests comments, and announces an event, regarding mobile device location surveillance capabilities and precision.

The deadline to submit comments is September 25, 2013. The FCC will host an event titled "public workshop" on October 2, 2013, in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room. The PN states that the purpose is "to discuss recent developments in the use of wireless technology to contact emergency services".

The FCC mandates location detection capabilities for certain mobile devices. In addition, the FCC has proceeded with greater speed and compulsion in this area than in most of its regulatory endeavors.

The FCC has always proceeded with the assertion that its purpose is to enhance 911 systems. However, the FCC also mandates location detection capabilities for two other purposes. First, the FCC seeks to enable commercial location based services.

Second, the FCC works to expand the surveillance capabilities of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. See, story titled "Spiegel Reports that NSA Accesses Location Information and Data Stored on Smartphones" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,597, August 9, 2013.

This PN, which has many attributes of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), asks, for example, "Is currently available location technology able to deliver more precise location information than the Commission’s current E911 rules require?"

Also, it asks, "What is the potential for current technology to provide vertical location (z-axis) as well as horizontal location (x- and y-axis)?" and "What is the potential for future location technology to improve accuracy performance, particularly as providers deploy 4G networks and increase the use of small cells and other advanced infrastructure?" (Parentheses in original.)

This PN states that it is issued in response to a one page letter from the City and County of San Francisco dated March 25, 2013.

This PN is DA 13-1873 in PS Docket No. 07-114.

9/10. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), spectrum license holders, and interest groups announced agreement, but did not release the text of any contracts or agreements, regarding interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band.

FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn (at right) stated in a release that "wireless carriers have finally reached a voluntary industry solution that will resolve the lack of interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band in the most efficient manner".

AT&T's Joan Marsh wrote in a statement that "AT&T, for its part, has committed to investing considerable time and resources to the modification of its 700 MHz LTE network through the implementation of a newly-standardized software feature. That effort will allow AT&T's network to support Band 12 capable devices."

March added that "AT&T has also committed to working collaboratively with its chipset partners and OEMs to introduce, within a reasonable time frame, new Band 12 capable devices into its device portfolio. AT&T’s commitments are spelled out in detail in a letter filed today with the FCC."

Finally, she wrote that "These commitments, along with actions the FCC intends to take to harmonize the service rules for the 700 MHz E Block to address interference concerns, will put the industry on a path to increased investment and deployment opportunities in the 700 MHz A Block."

Steven Berry, head of the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA), stated in a release that "Every CCA member appreciates her commitment and tenacity. In particular, lower A block licensees like U.S. Cellular and C Spire Wireless will finally be able to use all of their lower 700 MHz spectrum, unleashing investment and innovation, helping to achieve the Administration’s goal of universal access to mobile broadband. In turn, every consumer, especially rural and disadvantaged consumers who lack access to high speed broadband, will benefit from her efforts".

Gigi Sohn, head of the Public Knowledge (PK), stated in a release that "This agreement will make it possible for smaller wireless carriers to compete with larger service providers to the benefit of consumers. Enabling standards of interoperability at the lower 700MHz band gives consumers the chance to use their devices with large and small wireless carriers without purchasing a new device."

Sohn added that "Today's agreement also means that low-cost equipment will be available to smaller wireless carriers and they will be able to roam on AT&T's network as well as build out their own network. This could dramatically improve wireless availability and wireless competition in rural areas, as these smaller local providers will now be able to build out their 700 MHz A Block license networks."

The Interoperability Alliance stated in a release that this agreement "also helps address public safety and first responder communities’ needs for an interoperable broadband network during critical emergencies."

On January 7, 2013, four members of the House Commerce Committee (HCC) sent a letter to the FCC Commissioners urging the FCC to "move quickly to ensure interoperability in the lower 700 MHz band".

9/9. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) heard oral argument in Verizon v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 11-1355, the challenge to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) December 2010 Report and Order (R&O) [194 pages in PDF] that adopted rules regulating broadband internet access service (BIAS) providers.

The three judge panel is Judge David Tatel, Judge Laurence Silberman, and Judge Judith Rogers.

The argument lasted two hours. The hearing room was filled to capacity, and an overflow room with an audio feed held nearly fifty more. Most of those in attendance were attorneys, and mostly white men of advanced ages.

The Judges focused their questions on whether the FCC possesses statutory authority under Section 706 to promulgate the rules under review, whether the FCC's rules impermissibly subject BIAS providers to common carrier regulation, and the significance of market power and agency findings of market power.

The Judges also asked about severability. That is, if the Court finds that one part of the rules under review is impermissible, can it overturn only that part, or must it overturn the entire rule.

Judge Silberman asked about Verizon's First Amendment rights.

Helgi Walker of the Washington DC office of the law firm of Wiley Rein argued for Verizon. Sean Lev argued for the Federal Communications Commission.

After the oral argument, at a panel discussion hosted by the Tech Freedom, none of the speakers offered a prediction regarding how the Court will rule.

However, former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, who dissented from the 2010 order under review, said that "I don't think that the Court is going to blue pencil the order". That is, it is not severable. He also said that he does not think that the Court will get to the Constitutional First Amendment issue. This implies that the Court will rule in Verizon's favor on statutory grounds

The order under review is FCC 10-201 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. The FCC adopted it in late December of 2010. See, stories in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,186, December 22, 2010, and TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,188, December 24, 2010.

Verizon filed its brief on July 2, 2012. The FCC filed its brief [121 pages in PDF] on September 10, 2012. See, story titled "FCC Files Brief with DC Circuit in Challenge to BIAS Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,445, September 11, 2012. See also, FCC's surreply brief [15 pages in PDF] filed on January 15, 2013.

9/10. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Mignon Clyburn gave a speech in Washington DC in which she discussed the FCC's waste, fraud and abuse plagued e-rate tax and subsidy program. She said that it "is one of the FCC’s biggest success stories". The FCC has long been running its e-rate program beyond the grant of statutory authority codified at 47 U.S.C. § 254(h)(1)(B). Clyburn used this speech to tout the FCC's July Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [175 pages in PDF], another in a series of e-rate reform NPRMs. The FCC adopted this NPRM on July 19, 2013 and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-100 in WC Docket No. 13-184. Initial comments are due by September 16, 2013. Reply comments are due by October 16, 2013.

8/8. The U.S. Court of Appeals (2ndCir) issued its opinion [21 pages in PDF] in Giovanniello v. ALM Media, a case regarding the statute of limitation on actions for violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227, affirming the judgment of the District Court, which dismissed. This case is Earle Giovanniello v. ALM Media LLC, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, App. Ct. No. 10-3854-cv, an appeal from the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. Judge Clifford Wallace (USCA/9thCir sitting by designation) wrote the opinion of the Court, in which Judges Raggi and Lohier joined.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM.

8:30 AM - 3:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy's (OSTP) Subcommittee on Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45992-45993. Location: Department of Agriculture Conference & Training Center, Patriots Plaza III, 355 E St., SW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "Engineering 2.0: Rekindling American Ingenuity". The speakers will be Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Pramod Khargonekar (National Science Foundation), Sridhar Kota (University of Michigan), Helmuth Ludwig (Siemens Industrial), and Dan Mote (National Academy of Engineering). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills. The first item on the agenda is HR 2655 [LOC | WW], the "Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act of 2013". Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on five pending judicial nominees: Robert Wilkins (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)), James Donato (USDC/NDCal), Beth Freeman (USDC/NDCal), Timothy Brooks (USDC/WDArk), Pedro Hernandez (USDC/DPR). The SJC will provide a live and archived webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Apple v. Motorola, App. Ct. No. 12-1548. Panel G. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in CBT Flint Partners v. Cisco Ironport Systems, App. Ct. No. 13-1036, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDGa) in a patent infringement case. At issue is the award of discovery costs. See, Business Software Alliance's (BSA) amicus curiae brief. Panel H. Location: Courtroom 402, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:30 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee's (SAC) Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will hold a hearing on the FY 2014 appropriation for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The witnesses will be Mignon Clyburn, Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel. See, notice. Location: Room 138, Dirksen Building.

2:00 PM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "Innovation Versus Regulation in the Video Marketplace". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

2:00 PM. The House Homeland Security Committee's (HHSC) Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies will hold a hearing titled "The Threat to Americans’ Personal Information: A Look into the Security and Reliability of the Health Exchange Data Hub". See, notice. Location: Room 311, Cannon Building.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "How to Litigate a Patent Infringement Case 2013". The speaker will be Patrick Coyne (Finnegan Henderson). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oppositions to the petition for reconsideration [21 pages in PDF] filed by the American Association for Justice (an interest group that represents plaintiffs' trial lawyers) of the FCC's order [202 pages in PDF] regarding human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. The FCC adopted this order on March 27, 2013, and released its on March 29. It is FCC 13-39 in ET Docket No. 03-137. See, FCC Public Notice, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 166, August 27, 2013, at Page 52893.

? Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) initial statements supporting or opposing the Fiber to the Home Council Americas' (FTTHCA) July 23, 2013 petition for rulemaking [57 pages in PDF] regarding creating a new universal service subsidy program which it titles "Universal Service Gigabit Communities Race-to-the-Top Program". The FTTHCA wants subsidies to "support the deployment of ultra-high-speed networks with symmetrical gigabit services for community anchor institutions and their surrounding related neighborhoods in Tier II and Tier III markets". See, FCC's August 12, 2013 Public Notice, which sets no deadline. 47 CFR § 1.405(a) sets 30 days from Public Notice as the deadline for initial statements in support of or in opposition to a petition for rule making.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

TIME? The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) will host an event titled "Intelligence Community Summit". The keynote speakers will include James Clapper (Director of National Intelligence), Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency), Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD). There will be panels titled "Cyber R&D: Priorities for the Future", "Cyber Threat Information Sharing with State and Local Governments", "Evolving Insider Threat Issues", "Global Trends 2030", "IC ITE: Industry Perspectives and Recommendations", "Internet of Things: Connected Devices", "The Role of Intelligence in Confronting Cyber Threats", and "Security Clearance Process in the Digital Era". See, event web site. This event is sold out. Location: __.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one in a series of meetings to review and edit its 2013 annual report to the Congress. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 151, August 6, 2013, at Pages 47829-47830. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

9:00 AM. The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) will hold a partially closed meeting. The open portion of the meeting will be held from 9:00 AM to 12:00 NOON. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Page 50404. Location: National Academy of Sciences, Room 120, 2101 Constitution Ave., NW.

9:30 - 10:30 AM. The New America Foundation (NAF) will host a speech and panel discussion regarding the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Lifeline universal service tax and subsidy program. The event is titled "Communications Safety Net: How Lifeline Connects Families and Communities". Mignon Clyburn (FCC Chairman) will give a speech. The panel will be Chanelle Hardy (National Urban League), Catherine Sandoval (California Public Utilities Commission), Jessica Gonzalez (National Hispanic Media Coalition), Olivia Wein (National Consumer Law Center), and Gene Kimmelman (Global Partners). See, notice. Location: NAF, Suite 400, 1899 L St., NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 987 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2013". It also includes consideration of several judicial nominees: Cornelia Pillard (to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir)), Landya McCafferty (USDC/DNH), Brian Morris (USDC/DMont), Susan Watters (USDC/DMont), and Jeffrey Meyer (USDC/DConn). The Pillard nomination is part of President Obama's plan to pack the DC Circuit. See, story titled "Obama Launches Effort to Pack the DC Circuit" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,570, June 4, 2013. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in JuxtaComm-Texas Software v. Tibco Software, App. Ct. No. 13-1004. Panel I. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument in Richard Williamson, on behalf of and as Trustee for At Home Bondholders' Liquidating Trust v. Citrix Online, LLC, et al., App. Ct. No. 13-1130. Panel I. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host a presentation by Yevgen Borodin (Stony Brook University) titled "Improving Accessibility for the General Public". See, FCC notice. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

10:00 AM - 3:15 PM. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (SCIS) will host an event titled "Asian Architecture Conference", to address economic and security issues to be raised at the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Brunei Darussalam on October 9-10, and at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Bali, Indonesia on October 5-7. See, notice. Location: CSIS, 1800 K St., NW.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) will host an on site and teleconferenced event titled "CDT Fall Press Briefing". The call in number is 877-366-0711. The participant code is 9566-8245#. For more information, contact Brian Wesolowski at brian at cdt dot org or 202-407-8814. Location: CDT, 11th floor, 1634 I St., NW.

12:00 NOON. The Tech Freedom (TF) will host a panel discussion titled "What to Do about Data Security? A Discussion of the FTC's LabMD & Wyndham Cases". The speakers will be Mike Daugherty (LabMD), Justin Brookman (Center for Democracy & Technology), Reed Rubinstein (Cause of Action), Gerry Stegmeier (Wilson Sonsini), Tom Sydnor (Association for Competitive Technology), and Berin Szoka (TF). Free. Open to the public. Lunch will be served. See, registration page. See also, the FTC's web page for the WebMD case, and web page for the Wyndham Hotels case. See also, stories titled "FTC Administrative Complaint Asserts Authority to Regulate Data Security Practices" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,595, September 4, 2013, and "Update on FTC v. LabMD" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,596, September 5, 2013. Location: TF, 110 Maryland Ave., NE.

1:00 - 5:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will meet. See, August 15, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1762), and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 148, August 1, 2013, at Pages 46582-46583. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "Trademark Fundamentals: Managing Your IP in a World of Social Media". The speakers will be Fawn Horvath (Macy's), John McKeown (Goldman Sloan Nash & Haber), Britt Anderson (K&L Gates), and Chrissie Scelsi (Scelsi Entertainment & New Media Law). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed hearing on undisclosed matters. See, notice. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

Deadline to file requests to appear at the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) September 25, 2013 hearing titled "Digital Trade in the U.S. and Global Economies". See, USITC release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 162, August 21, 2013, at Pages 51744-51746. See also, story titled "USITC Releases First Report on Digital Trade" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,589, August 26, 2013.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1846 in WC Docket No. 10-90) that requests comments regarding its Version 3.2 of the Connect America Fund Phase II Cost Model, and especially model costs for undersea cable connecting non-contiguous areas to the contiguous U.S.

Rep. Cantor's schedule states that "no votes are expected" in the House.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold one in a series of meetings to review and edit its 2013 annual report to the Congress. Open to the public. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 151, August 6, 2013, at Pages 47829-47830. Location: Room 231, Hall of the States, 444 North Capitol St., NW.

10:00 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (FedCir) will hear oral argument en banc in Lighting Ballast Control v. Philips Electronics North America , App. Ct. No. 12-1014, an appeal from the U.S. District Court (NDTex) in a patent infringement case. At issue is claim construction, and the 1998 opinion of the Federal Circuit in Cybor v. FAS Technologies, 138 F.3d 1448. The Court's March 15, 2013 order granting en banc rehearing requests briefing on three questions: (1) should Cybor be overruled?, (2) "Should this court afford deference to any aspect of a district court’s claim construction?", and (3) "If so, which aspects should be afforded deference?". See also, amicus curiae brief of the AIPLA, amicus curiae brief of the IPO, amicus curiae brief of Microsoft, amicus curiae brief of the ABA, and amicus curiae brief of universities. Panel A. Location: Courtroom 201, 717 Madison Place, NW.

Target date for the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to announce the winners of its contest for the development of web applications, mobile apps, and other information technology based products that help prevent high risk drinking among college students. The awards are $60,000 for first place, $30,000 for second place, and $10,000 for third place. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 101, May 24, 2013, at Pages 31571-31572.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) regarding proposed revisions to the sample reseller certification language and accompanying sections of the FCC Form 499-A instructions. See, Public Notice, DA 13-1700 in WC Docket No. 06-122. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50415-50416.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reply comments to the May 16, 2013 Petition [14 pages in PDF] of the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers (Amazon, Kobo and Sony) for a waiver of the FCC's disability access rules for e-readers. See, August 1, 2013 Public Notice, DA 13-1686 in CG Docket No. 10-213.

Deadline to submit written statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies in advance of its September 17, 2013 meeting. See, notice.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The American Constitution Society (ACS) will host a panel discussion titled "Supreme Court Preview". The speakers will be Caroline Fredrickson (ACS), Pamela Harris (Georgetown University Law Center), Randy Barnett (GULC), Joshua Civin (NAACP), Andrew Pincus (Mayer Brown), David Strauss (University of Chicago Law School). Lunch will be served. Location: National Press Club, Holeman Lounge, 13th Floor, 529 14th St., NW.

Deadline to submit to the Copyright Office's (CO) Copyright Royalty Judges petitions to participate in, and pay the $150 filing fees for, the proceeding to determine the Phase II distribution of royalties deposited with the Register of Copyrights for the statutory license allowing distant retransmission of over the air television and radio broadcast signals by cable system operators. See, 17 U.S.C. § 111, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 159, August 16, 2012, at Pages 50113-50114.

Deadline to submit to the Copyright Office's (CO) Copyright Royalty Judges petitions to participate in, and pay the $150 filing fees for, the proceeding to determine the Phase II distribution of royalties deposited by satellite carriers for a statutory license to retransmit over the air television broadcast stations. See, 17 U.S.C. § 119, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 159, August 16, 2012, at Pages 50114-50115.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [175 pages in PDF] regarding its e-rate tax and subsidy program for school and libraries. The FCC adopted and released this NPRM on July 19, 2013, and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-100 in WC Docket No. 13-184. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 161, August 20, 2013, at Pages 51597-51644.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) [38 pages in PDF] regarding speech to speech relay service by persons with speech disabilities. This FNPRM is FCC 13-101 in CG Docket Nos. 08-15 and 03-123. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on July 19, 2013. See, Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 158, August 15, 2013, at Pages 49717-49720.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that refresh the FCC's record regarding property records for rate of return carriers. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 157, August 14, 2013, at Pages 49420-49422. See also, the FCC's order [127 pages in PDF] titled "Memorandum Opinion and Order and Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking", which is also known as the US Telecom Forbearance Long Order. The FCC adopted that order on May 10, 2013, and released it on May 17. It is FCC 13-69 in WC Docket No. 12-61, CC Docket Nos. 00-199 and 99-301, and numerous other dockets. And see, the FCC's July 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1617).

8:00 - 10:00 AM. Broadband Census News LLC will host a panel discussion titled "How Will FirstNet Improve Public Safety Communications?". The speakers will be __. Breakfast will be served. This event is open to the public. The price to attend is $47.12. See, notice and registration page. This event is also sponsored by Comcast, Google, and US Telecom. Location: Clyde's of Gallery Place, 707 7th St., NW.

8:45 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Broadband, Economic Growth, and the Implications for Spectrum Policy". The speakers will include Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), Chairman of the House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and Jason Furman (Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors). At 9:30 AM, there will be a panel titled "Regulation, Broadband Growth, and the Economy". The speakers will be Robert Shapiro ( Sonecon), Bret Swanson (Entropy Economics), Christopher Yoo (University of Pennsylvania), and Kevin Hassett (AEI). At 11:00 AM, there will be a panel titled "How to Make Spectrum More Available". The speakers will be Larry Irving, Robert McDowell (Hudson Institute), Preston Padden (Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition), and James Glassman. Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Size and Shape of Online Piracy". The speakers will include Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), Sandra Aistars (Copyright Alliance), David Price (NetNames), and Morgan Reed (Association for Competitive Technology). See, notice. Webcast. Location: Room 485, Russell Building.

9:30 AM. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Advisory Committee on Small and Emerging Companies will meet. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: SEC, Multi-Purpose Room, LL-006, 100 F St., NE.

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast and teleconferenced panel discussion titled "The Law of Fashion: An EU Perspective on Litigation and IP Law". The speakers will be Simon Bennett (Fox Williams), Holger Gauss (Grünecker), Bonana Guimberteau (FTPA), Lorenzo Litta (De Simone & Partners), and Barbara Kolsun (Stuart Weitzman). Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

12:00 NOON. The Georgetown University's (GU) Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy will host a panel discussion titled "China Trade and Investment Policy: Shifting Winds?". The speakers will be Daniel Bahar (Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Investment), Claire Reade (Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for China Affairs), John Frisbie (U.S. China Business Council), and Bradford Jensen (Georgetown University). Free. Open to the pubic. Lunch will be served. See, notice and registration page. Location: Room B-318, Rayburn Building.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Young Lawyers Committee will host a brown bag lunch. For more information, contact Lindsey Tonsager at ltonsager at cov dot com or Justin Faulb at jfaulb at eckertseamans dot com. Location:__.

2:00 - 4:00 PM. The Brookings Institution (BI) will host a panel discussion titled "Mobile Learning: Transforming Education and Engaging Students and Teachers". The speakers will be Peggy Johnson (Qualcomm), Darrell West (Center for Technology Innovation), Chris Dede (Harvard Univ.), Shirley Malcom (AAAS), Dallas Dance (Baltimore Country Public Schools), Julie Evans, Michael Flood, Elizabeth Foster, Michael Hirshon (AAAS), and Kathy Spencer. See, notice. Location: BI, 1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 126, July 1, 2013, at Page 39289. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding allegations that certain fixed satellite service (FSS) operators are warehousing satellite orbital locations and frequency assignments and are foreclosing competitors from purchasing capacity on their satellites. This NOI is FCC 13-79 in IB Docket No. 13-147. The FCC adopted this NOI on June 5, 2013, and released it on June 7. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 139, July 19, 2013, at Pages 43118-43122.

Deadline to submit comments to the President's Export Council in advance of its September 19, 2013 meeting. The agenda for the meeting includes discussion of intellectual property provisions of the the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), expansion of the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), reform of the U.S. export control regime, the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali, Indonesia on December 3-6, 2013, forced localization policies, government procurement, and de minimis reform. Webcast. See, notice in the Federal Register Vol. 78, No. 170, September 3, 2013, at Pages 54238-54239.