9/23. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a document [18 pages in PDF] titled "Public Notice" in its incentive auctions rule making proceeding. This document seeks further information previously requested in last year's incentive auctions Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [205 pages in PDF]. It also bears attributes of a further NPRM.

This item seeks comments on the "types of costs broadcasters and MVPDs are likely to incur and how to determine whether such costs are ``reasonable´´ for purposes of reimbursement under the statute".

This item also attaches, and seeks comments upon, a proposed "Catalog of Eligible Expenses". And, it asks for comments on further proposals.

The spectrum act enacted in early 2012, which authorized the FCC to conduct incentive auctions, requires the FCC to "reimburse costs reasonably incurred by" broadcast television licensees that are reassigned to new channels, and MVPDs that incur costs in order to carry the signals of such reassigned licensees. However, the act also set a $1.75 Billion limit on reimbursements.

The FCC adopted its original NPRM on September 28, 2012, and released it on October 2. See also, story titled "FCC Adopts NPRM on Incentive Auctions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,455, October 1, 2012. That NPRM is FCC 12-118 in GN Docket No. 12-268.

Paragraphs 334-354 of that NPRM seek comments on reimbursable costs.

Initial comments in response to the just released item are due by October 31, 2013. Reply comments are due by November 14, 2013. This PN or FNPRM is DA 13-1954 in GN Docket No. 12-268.

The FCC will also hold a hearing on reimbursable costs on Monday, September 30, 2013 at 10:00 AM in the FCC's Commission Meeting Room. There will be two panels of witnesses.

The first panel will be titled "Categories of Reimbursable Costs Incurred by Broadcasters". The witnesses will be Joe Davis (Chesapeake RF Consultants), Jane Mago (National Association of Broadcasters), Peter Starke (American Tower), and Joe Zuba (Dielectric). Rebecca Hansen (FCC Media Bureau) will preside.

The second panel will be titled "Strategies to Promote Transition Coordination and Cost Mitigation Among Broadcasters". The witnesses will be Mark Aitken (Sinclair Broadcast Group), David Donovan (New York State Broadcasters Association), Erin Dozier (NAB), Robert Kelly (Squire Sanders), and Lonna Thompson (Association of Public Television Stations). Bill Lake (Chief of the FCC's Media Bureau) will preside.

See, Public Notice (DA 13-1955 in GN Docket No. 12-268.)

9/25. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MOO) [25 pages in PDF] in Bloomberg v. Comcast granting channel placement relief sought by Bloomberg. Comcast must place Bloomberg Television in a cluster of news channels, or neighborhood.

FCC Chairman Mignon Clyburn wrote in her statement [PDF] that neighborhooding is "the practice of grouping similarly themed TV channels together, such as sports, children’s programming, or news."

Clyburn (at left) offered this explanation of the problem that the FCC is trying to redress with this MOO. "Comcast overwhelmingly includes affiliated programming in neighborhoods of four news channels in five adjacent channel positions. CNBC is included in a news neighborhood in 99 percent of lineups that have news neighborhoods. For MSNBC, it's 98 percent. This is for good reason: the record also reflects that consumers tend to ``flip´´ between channels, particularly during breaking news events. Consumers' tendency to ``flip´´ also explains why a grouping of four news channels in five adjacent channel positions is so significant. Once a viewer finds a channel grouping like that, she is unlikely to hunt around the dial for other news channels. So, to sum up, if you are a news channel, you'd better be located in the ``news neighborhood,´´ or viewers are going to be significantly less likely to find you. And Comcast now has an incentive to keep its competitors, like Bloomberg Television, out of those news neighborhoods to deter viewers from flipping to them." (Footnotes omitted.)

She wrote that this MOO ensures "that Comcast treats Bloomberg Television comparably to its affiliated news channels", and "protects independent news channels from anticompetitive harms".

See also, Bloomberg story by Todd Shields titled "FCC Tells Comcast to Put Bloomberg TV Among News Channels".

The FCC adopted this MOO on September 25, 2013, and released it on September 26. It is FCC 13-124 in MB Docket No. 11-104.

Procedural History. Bloomberg filed a complaint with the FCC on June 13, 2011 against Comcast alleging violation of the FCC's January 20, 2011 Memorandum Opinion & Order (MOO) [279 pages in PDF] that approved, subject to conditions, the Comcast NBCU transaction. That MOO was FCC 11-4 in MB Docket No. 10-56.

The FCC often regulates by imposing mandates upon merging companies as a condition for merger approval. Such merger specific rules apply only to the parties to the transaction.

In the January 2011 MOO, in Appendix A, at page 121, the FCC ordered this: "If Comcast now or in the future carries news and/or business news channels in a neighborhood, defined as placing a significant number or percentage of news and/or business news channels substantially adjacent to one another in a system's channel lineup, Comcast must carry all independent news and business news channels in that neighborhood."

That 2011 MOO also defined "independent news channel" as "a video programming network that is (i) unaffiliated with Comcast-NBCU or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries, (ii) unaffiliated with one of the top 15 programming networks, as measured by annual revenues, and (iii) whose programming is focused on public affairs, business, or local news reporting and analysis during the hours from 6:00 a.m. through 4:00 p.m. in the U.S. Eastern Time Zone." (Footnote omitted.)

The just released MOO enforces this language, which is often referred to as the "neighborhooding condition".

Bloomberg wrote in its complaint that "Despite a clear requirement in the FCC Order that Comcast include independent news channels, such as Bloomberg Television (``BTV´´), in Comcast's existing news neighborhoods, Comcast refuses to implement the Commission's express direction."

Bloomberg continued that it "has asked Comcast to place BTV in Comcast's existing news neighborhoods on all Comcast systems in the 35 most populous DMAs. Comcast, however, has refused, claiming that it does not currently have any news neighborhoods and, in any event, that the Commission's news neighborhooding condition applies only to neighborhoods that will be created in the future. Neither of these assertions has any merit."

Comcast filed an answer [206 pages in PDF] with the FCC on July 27, 2011. It wrote that Bloomberg is attempting to "extract preferential channel placement on Comcast's cable systems through regulatory gamesmanship", that it has not violated the January 2011 MOO, and that the complaint should be denied.

On May 2, 2012, the FCC's Media Bureau (MB) issued a MOO [14 pages in PDF]. It states "(i) that the condition applies to the channel lineups existing on Comcast's systems at the time the Comcast-NBCU Order was adopted as well as future channel lineups; (ii) that four news or business news channels within any five adjacent channel positions qualifies as a ``significant number or percentage of news and/or business news channels´´ and therefore constitutes a neighborhood for purposes of the news neighborhooding condition; (iii) that the term ``news channel´´ refers to a channel carrying general interest news programming; and (iv) that, if a Comcast system has more than one news neighborhood, the condition obligates Comcast to carry independent news and business news channels in at least one such neighborhood, but not in all news neighborhoods, in a particular neighborhood, or in one consolidated news neighborhood."

Both Bloomberg and Comcast sought review of that 2012 MOO by the full Commission. That MB MOO, which is sometimes referred to as the "News Neighborhood Order", is DA 12-694 in MB Docket No. 11-104.

On August 14, 2012 the MB issued another MOO [7 pages in PDF] which is sometimes referred to as the "Clarification Order". It is DA 12-1338 in MB Docket No. 11-104.

FCC's Final Order. The just released MOO largely follows the determinations of the MB.

It states that "four news or business news channels within any five adjacent channel positions qualifies as a news neighborhood, regardless of whether the channel grouping existed before or was created after the" January 2011 MOO.

It also rejects Comcast's First Amendment arguments. It states that FCC enforcement of the neighborhooding condition is "fully consistent with constitutional requirements".

It cites a seventeen year old court opinion (written before cable companies faced the array of competition that they do now) for the proposition that "intermediate scrutiny test" applies in this case. That is, enforcement of the condition is permissible under the First Amendment "if the government's interest is important or substantial and the means chosen to promote that interest do not burden substantially more speech than necessary to achieve the aim". See, Time Warner Entertainment v. FCC, 93 F.3d 957.

The MOO applies this test to reach the conclusion that restriction of Comcast's free speech interests is outweighed by the FCC's interests in "promoting diversity, competition, and independence in the news programming marketplace".

This MOO also rejects "Bloomberg's argument that, if Comcast’s channel lineup has more than one news neighborhood, the condition obligates Comcast to carry independent news and business news channels in all of those neighborhoods".

The MOO also states that "we affirm the Bureau's determination that its initial Order dealt with the issue of carriage of the standard definition (“SD”) version of Bloomberg Television in SD neighborhoods and we clarify that the condition generally applies separately to SD and high definition (“HD”) networks; that is, if Comcast carries both an SD and HD version of an independent news network, each is treated as a different channel and is independently entitled to carriage in an SD or HD news neighborhood respectively, where an SD or HD news neighborhood exists."

Since this MOO is based upon enforcement of a MOO that affects only Comcast, other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) are unaffected. However, this MOO will serve as precedent for other complaints filed with the FCC that allege violation by Comcast of this neighborhooding condition.

Commission Pai's Partial Dissent. FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai dissented from one part of the MOO. He wrote in his statement [PDF] that he disagrees with "the determination that any ``four news or business news channels within any five adjacent channel positions´´ constitute a news neighborhood. In my view, this interpretation expands the condition beyond its terms, to the detriment of Comcast, cable programmers, and ultimately consumers. It would not do much for the supposed beneficiary (Bloomberg). And it would simply underscore that the Commission's authority to enforce the condition is questionable at best." (Footnote omitted. Parentheses in original.)

Pai (at right) also commented that while Bloomberg "is now guaranteed placement in a four-channel neighborhood on every Comcast system", "the cure may be worse than the disease".

"Comcast may create news neighborhoods consisting entirely of independent news channels -- clustering Bloomberg next to CSPAN, C-SPAN2, and C-SPAN3 -- and still comply with the condition. As such, the news-neighborhood condition is unlikely to ``protect unaffiliated news channels´´ in any meaningful way", said Pai.

Commentary on Process. One can advance policy arguments that Comcast should be required to relocate Bloomberg Television, or that certain MVPDs should be subject to a neighborhooding regulatory regime. However, there is also the matter of how the government goes about establishing and enforcing such a legal regime. The gist of this commentary is that, whatever the policy merits of the just released order, the FCC has reached its conclusion after layer upon layer of disregard for basic processes that underlie government in the US.

The FCC is a creation of Congressional statute -- the Communications Act. The FCC has only those powers that are granted to it by this Act, and which do not violate the Constitution. First, the Congress has never enacted a channel neighborhooding law for the FCC to enforce. The FCC often promulgates rules without underlying statutory authority. But, it has not even written neighborhooding rules. Any such final rules would be subject to judicial review.

Instead, in this proceeding, the FCC relies upon a condition imposed by it in an antitrust merger review proceeding. Since just after enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC has reviewed certain mergers of companies that hold FCC licenses as if it also held the Section 7 of the Clayton Act authority held by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). But, it does not. Nor is there anything in the Clayton Act or Sherman Act about the FCC imposing and enforcing conditions against regulated entities.

The DOJ and FTC can and do block mergers. The FCC does not. For example, while the DOJ blocked the AT&T T-Mobile USA transaction in 2011 by filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court, the FCC issued no final order. The reason is that if the FCC were to issue a final order blocking a merger, for example, because the parties did not consent to a neighborhooding condition, that would be a final order subject to judicial review. In such a review, the FCC would risk a court ruling not only that it could not impose that condition, but that it impermissibly attempted to exercise antitrust merger review authority.

However, the FCC does possess statutory authority to review license transfers. For fifteen years it has leveraged this authority to exercise antitrust merger review authority. This provides it an opportunity for endless delay. Time is of the essence for merging companies, but not for the FCC, so the merging parties eventually agree to conditions. Since they have consented, they forego judicial review. Every such condition that the FCC has imposed has not only escaped judicial review, but has been imposed by regulators who know that their actions will not be subject to judicial review. It is the anticipation of possible judicial review that constrains many regulators to adhere to their statutory mandate and the Constitution.

Moreover, the FCC imposes conditions that often have nothing to do with the license transfers involved in the merger (such as in the case of cable channel neighborhooding in the Comcast NBCU transaction), and often have nothing to do with competition law principles.

Finally, there is the matter of the Constitution. Many Constitutional provisions, whether actually in the Constitution, or implied by the Courts, are subject to weighing and balancing. For example, only unreasonable searches and seizures are prohibited. In contrast, the First Amendment free speech clause is a complete and unequivocal ban on a range of government activity -- "no law".

Nevertheless, the FCC, Congress and Courts interpret the word "no" to mean except for manners of speech developed long after the drafting and ratification of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The plain language of the First Amendment still applies in large part to publishers and printing presses, politicians and pamphleteering, and preachers and pulpits, which all existed when the First Amendment was written. For these long standing institutions, there is no neighborhooding requirement, or indeed, must carry or ownership limits (except for newspapers).

9/26. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and NTT DOCOMO USA entered into an agreement regarding compliance with the FCC's rules regarding hearing aid compatible mobile handsets. See, Order and Consent Decree [11 pages in PDF] and FCC release. This is the FCC's eighth such enforcement action this year. These rules are codified at 47 C.F.R. § 20.19.

9/25. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice (DA 13-1983) directed at broadcasters, cable operators, satellite television services, and other distributors of video programming. It states that such distributors must make accessible to persons with hearing or vision disabilities their emergency information. This notice does not purport to create, announce, or propose any new rules or rulings. Rather, it states that it reminds regulated entities of their pre-existing obligations under 47 C.F.R. § 79.2, which is titled "Accessibility of programming providing emergency information".

9/25. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) adopted and released an Order [8 pages in PDF] that grants the application of Verizon New Jersey Inc. and Verizon New York Inc. to discontinue three copper based special access services -- Metallic Service, Program Audio Service and Telegraph Grade Service -- in certain parts of New Jersey and New York, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214. This order is DA 13-1971 in WC Docket No. 13-149.

9/20. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) extending the deadline to submit comments in response to its Request for Information on Computer Security Incident Coordination. The new deadline is 11:59 PM on October 4, 2013.

It is also notable that the NIST disclosed that the reason for this extension is technical difficulties with receipt of e-mail containing comments.

That is, the agency that President Obama is establishing as the regulator of the private sector's cyber security related business practices, has difficulties managing its own e-mail system.

See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 183, September 20, 2013, at Pages 57839-57840.

See also, original notice in the FR, Vol. 78, No. 125, June 28, 2013, at Pages 38949-38951. It requests information to assist it in writing a NIST Special Publication (SP) that will set standards for the private sector.

9/27. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a notice in the Federal Register (FR) that announces members of its Performance Review Board (PRB). The members are Teresa Rea (acting head of the USPTO), Frederick Steckler (USPTO Chief Administrative Officer), Margaret Focarino (Commissioner for Patents), Deborah Cohn (Commissioner for Trademarks), Anthony Scardino (Chief Financial Officer), John Owens (Chief Information Officer), William Covey (acting General Counsel), and Shira Perlmutter (Chief Policy Officer and Director for International Affairs). The alternate members are Mary Denison (Deputy Commissioner for Trademark Operations) and Andrew Faile (Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations). See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 188, September 27, 2013, at Page 59658.

9/26. President Obama announced his intent to nominate Renée James to be a member of the President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. See, White House news office release. She is President of Intel.

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The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business.

The Senate will meet at 9:30 AM.

9:00 - 10:30 AM. The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Internet Protocol Transition: Where Do We Stand?". The speakers will be Richard Bennett (ITIF), Robert Atkinson (ITIF), John Bergmayer (Public Knowledge), Blair Levin (Aspen Institute), Prabir Neogi (Carlton University), and David Young (Verizon). Free. Open to the public. See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610A, 1101 K St., NW.

9:30 AM. The U.S. Court of Appeals (DCCir) will hear oral argument in Agape Church v. FCC, App. Ct. No. 12-1334. This is a petition for review of a final order of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding must carry mandates imposed upon broadcasters by 47 U.S.C. § 534. See also, FCC brief filed on February 14, 2013. Judges Kavanaugh, Edwards, and Williams will preside. This is the first item on the Court's agenda. Location: USCA Courtroom 11, 4th floor, Prettyman Courthouse, 333 Constitution Ave., NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Bar Association's (FCBA) Mobile Payments Committee will host a brown bag lunch titled "The Five Things You Need to Know About Mobile Payments". The speakers will be Heather Allen (FTC), Henning Schulzrinne (FCC), and Jacqueline Kolego (Verizon). For more information, contact Brooks Harlow (Lukas Nace) at bharlow at fcclaw.com or Mark Brennan at mark dot brennan at hoganlovells dot com. Location: Electronic Transactions Association, 1101 16th St., NW.

Deadline to file initial submissions with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its Section 337 exclusion proceeding initiated by InterDigital Communications against Huawei, Futurewei, Nokia and ZTE involving 3G wireless devices. The administrative law judge filed his determination on June 28, 2013 finding no violation of Section 337. The USITC then decided to review this determination in its entirety. It seeks comments on whether establishing a domestic industry based on licensing under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (a)(3)(C) requires proof of ``articles protected by the patent´´, and if so, whether there is evidence in the record that establishes articles protected by the asserted patents. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 175, September 10, 2013, at Pages 55294-55296.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) petitions to deny and comments on AT&T's planned acquisition of Leap Wireless. See, FCC August 28, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1831 in WT Docket No. 13-193). See also, the FCC's Office of General Counsel's (OGC) web page for this merger review.

Deadline to submit to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) challenges in connection with the FCC's notice that lists all census blocks that price cap carriers have requested funding to serve as part of the second round of Connect America Phase I, and that announces the start of the Phase I challenge process to determine whether or not the requested census blocks are unserved. See, FCC's August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1832 in WC Docket No. 10-90).

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 2:00 PM.

The Supreme Court will hold its opening conference for its October Term 2013.

10:00 AM - 12:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will hold a hearing in its incentive auctions rulemaking proceeding. This hearing will address reimbursable costs of broadcasters and MVPDs, and cost mitigation. See, Paragraphs 334-354 of the FCC's September 28, 2012 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [205 pages in PDF] (FCC 12-118 in GN Docket No. 12-268), and the FCC's September 23, 2013 FNPRM (DA 13-1954 in GN Docket No. 12-268) titled "Public Notice". Open to the public. Webcast. See, FCC September 23, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1955 in GN Docket No. 12-268) with meeting agenda. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

11:30 AM. The Library of Congress (LOC) will host a lecture by Orin Kerr (George Washington University law school, on leave at the LOC) on his article [SSRN] titled "The Next Generation Communications Privacy Act". It proposes an overhaul of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). See, notice. Location: LOC, Madison Building, Montpelier Room, 6th floor, 101 Independence Ave., SE.

12:00 NOON. The filing window opens for the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Auction 902, the Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support reverse auction. See, the FCC's September 25, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1978 in AU Docket No. 13-53).

4:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial, and Antitrust Law will hold a hearing titled "The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs: Federal Regulations and Regulatory Reform". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

Deadline to submit comments to the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Census Bureau regarding its proposal to collect data for its Current Population Survey (CPS) via e-mail. The CPS is used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to prepare monthly reports on employment and unemployment. Some economists argue that the current questionnaire and survey methods produce inaccurate estimates. The DOC's notice in the Federal Register (FR) requesting comments states that "Over the last few years, CPS, like many surveys, has seen response rates declining slowly", in part because "interviewers are unable to make contact with the respondent See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 146, July 30, 2013, at Pages 45910-45911.

EXTENDED TO DECEMBER 4. Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding whether the FCC should "require apparatus manufacturers to ensure that their apparatus synchronize the appearance of closed captions with the display of the corresponding video". This FNPRM is FCC 13-84 in MB Docket No. 11-154. The FCC adopted this item on June 13, 2013, and released the text on June 14. See, original notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 127, July 2, 2013, at Pages 39691-39698. See also, Public Notice (DA 13-1785) extending deadlines, and extension notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 172, September 5, 2013, at Page 54612. See also, story titled "FCC Again Addresses Closed Captioning Mandates for Video Programming Delivered Using IP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,578, June 17, 2013.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding spectrum allocations for space related purposes. This NPRM makes two alternative proposals to modify the Allocation Table to provide interference protection for Fixed-Satellite Service (FSS) and Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) earth stations operated by federal agencies under authorizations granted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in certain frequency bands. This NPRM also proposes to amend a footnote to the Allocation Table to permit a Federal MSS system to operate in the 399.9-400.05 MHz band, and makes alternative proposals to modify the Allocation Table to provide access to spectrum on an interference protected basis to FCC licensees for use during the launch of launch rockets. This item is FCC 13-65 in ET Docket No. 13-115. The FCC adopted and released this item on May 9, 2013. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 126, July 1, 2013, at Pages 39200-39232.

Deadline to submit reply 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 reply 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).

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding Mobile Relay Associates' (MRA) request for waiver of Sections 2.106 and 90.35 of the FCC's rules to to operate on frequency pairs 462/467.5375 MHz and 462/467.7375 MHz at multiple locations in the Los Angeles, Denver, Las Vegas, and Miami metropolitan areas. See, FCC's August 29, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1838 in WT Docket No. 13-212).

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding CenturyLink's August 12, 2013 application, pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 214 and 47 C.F.R. § 63.71, to discontinue certain Integrated Service Digital Network-Primary Rate Interface (ISDN-PRI) domestic telecommunications services in the states of Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. See, FCC's August 30, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1851 in WC Docket No. 13-211).

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding DISH Network Corporation's September 9, 2013 Petition for Waiver and Request Extension of Time [22 pages in PDF] regarding the FCC's AWS-4 rules applied to offering terrestrial broadband service. See, FCC's September 13, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1877 in WT Docket No. 13-225) and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 188, September 27, 2013, at Pages 59633-59635.

Deadline to submit nominations to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for membership on its Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC). See, USPTO release, and notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 156, August 13, 2013, at Pages 49260-49262.

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 - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. Registration required. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54453. See also, story titled "NIST to Hold Workshop on Cloud Computing and Mobility" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

10:00 AM - 3:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Cybersecurity Next Generation Technology Forum". The focus of this event is "safeguarding children on the Internet". See, FCC's September 27, 2013 notice, with agenda and list of speakers. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

10:30 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (SCT) will hold a hearing titled "Changes and Opportunities in the 5GHz Spectrum Band". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

Opening of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) filing window for Form 323, titled "Ownership Form for Commercial Broadcast Station". See, FCC's September 27, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-1999). See also, FCC's August 6, 2013 Order (DA 13-1710 in MB Docket No. 07-294). This biennial mandate, which applies to all commercial AM, FM, TV, LPTV, and Class A stations, and entities with attributable interests, pertains to the FCC's outdated and obsolete regime for regulating media ownership.

9:30 AM - 3:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Workshop" regarding mobile device location surveillance capabilities and precision. See, FCC Public Notice (DA 13-1873 in PS Docket No. 07-114) and FCC September 27, 2013 Public Notice (DA 13-2000 in PS Docket No. 07-114). See also, stories titled "FCC Seeks Comments on Mobile Device Location Surveillance Capabilities" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,598, September 10, 2013, and "California House Democrats Urge FCC to Amend Phone Location Detection Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,600, September 12, 2013. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, Room TW-C305, 445 12th St., SW.

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 - 5:00 PM. Day two of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. Registration required. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54453. See also, story titled "NIST to Hold Workshop on Cloud Computing and Mobility" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to submit requests to make a two minute oral presentation at the teleconference of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) brief public meeting on cyber security on October 7. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 186, September 25, 2013, Page 59013.

12:00 NOON - 2:30 PM. The Federalist Society will host a panel discussion titled "Supreme Court Preview: What Is in Store for October Term 2013?". The speakers will be Megan Brown (Wiley Rein), Michael Carvin (Jones Day), Neal Katyal (Georgetown University Law Center), Nicholas Rosenkranz (Georgetown University Law Center), and Jan Crawford (CBS News). Prices vary. Lunch will be served. See, notice. Location: National Press Club, 529 14th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association (DCBA) will host a panel discussion titled "Cutting Edge FOIA Issues, Privacy and Civil Liberties". The DCBA notice states that "Open government issues raised by National Security Agency surveillance programs also will be discussed." The speakers will be Melanie Ann Pustay (Department of Justice), Adina Rosenbaum (Public Citizen), Elizabeth Shapiro (DOJ), Thomas Susman, and Edwin Huddleson. The price to attend ranges from $5 to $20. No webcast. No CLE credits. For more information, call 202-626-3463. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Media Bureau (MB) in response to its June 25, 2013 Public Notice (PN) [6 pages in PDF] regarding video description of video programming that is delivered via both television and the internet. This PN is DA 13-1438 in MB Docket No. 11-43. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 129, July 5, 2013, at Pages 40421-40424.

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM. Day one of a three day event hosted by the Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "Intersection of Cloud and Mobility Forum and Workshop". Open to the public. Registration required. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 171, September 4, 2013, at Page 54453. See also, story titled "NIST to Hold Workshop on Cloud Computing and Mobility" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,594, September 3, 2013. Location: NIST, Red Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in response to its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding its proposed spectrum monitoring pilot program. The NTIA stated in its notice in the Federal Register (FR) that this program, if funded and implemented, would "develop and deploy a prototype system to monitor spectrum usage in up to ten metropolitan areas". See, FR, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50399-50401.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding its public safety Travelers' Information Stations (TIS) rules, under which Public Safety Pool (PSP) eligible entities transmit noncommercial travel related information over AM band frequencies to motorists on a localized basis. The FCC adopted this item on July 18, 2013, and released it on July 23. It is FCC 13-98 in PS Docket No. 09-19. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 160, August 19, 2013, at Pages 50370-50372. See also, August 20 Public Notice (DA 13-1784).

Deadline to file post-hearing briefs and statements with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) regarding its 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.

8:30 AM. The Department of Labor's (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is scheduled to release its September 2013 unemployment data.

9:00 AM - 4:30 PM. The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) will hold a hearing. This hearing will address surveillance programs conducted pursuant Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and Section 702 of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Free. Open to the public. For more information, contact Susan Reingold at 202-331-1986 or info at pclob dot gov. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 179, September 16, 2013, at Pages 56951-56952. See also, story titled "PCLOB Schedules Hearing and Comments Deadline Regarding Sections 215 and 702 Surveillance" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,601, September 16, 2013. Location: Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave., NW.

12:00 NOON. Deadline to register to listen to the teleconference of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) brief public meeting on cyber security on October 7. This is also the deadline to submit written comments. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 186, September 25, 2013, Page 59013.

11:59 PM. Extended deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Request for Information on Computer Security Incident Coordination. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 183, September 20, 2013, at Pages 57839-57840.

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft SP 800-101 Rev. 1 [85 pages in PDF] titled "Guidelines on Mobile Device Forensics".

Deadline to submit comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) regarding its draft NIST IR 7946 [41 pages in PDF] titled "CVSS Implementation Guidance". CVSS is Common Vulnerability Scoring System.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding the agreement [11 pages in PDF] that contains a proposed consent order in its Section 5 administrative proceeding against TRENDnet. See, story titled "FTC Brings and Settles Case Alleging Lax Security for IP Based Home Monitoring Camera System" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,597, September 9, 2013. See also, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 176, September 11, 2013, at Pages 55717-55719.

Deadline to file reply submissions with the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its Section 337 exclusion proceeding initiated by InterDigital Communications against Huawei, Futurewei, Nokia and ZTE involving 3G wireless devices. The administrative law judge filed his determination on June 28, 2013 finding no violation of Section 337. The USITC then decided to review this determination in its entirety. It seeks comments on whether establishing a domestic industry based on licensing under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (a)(3)(C) requires proof of ``articles protected by the patent´´, and if so, whether there is evidence in the record that establishes articles protected by the asserted patents. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 175, September 10, 2013, at Pages 55294-55296.

Deadline to submit comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) regarding the proposed participation of Paraguay and Liechtenstein in the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) negotiations. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 78, No. 174, September 9, 2013, at Pages 55135-55136.