Adam Bender

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski repeatedly deflected senators’ questions Wednesday on how the commission will respond to the recent net neutrality decision by the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Genachowski said the FCC has all the authority it needs to carry out proposals in the National Broadband Plan. Democratic senators seemed open to reclassifying broadband under Title II of the Communications Act, at least as a stopgap before a new law. Republicans sharply disagreed. “The legitimacy of the agency would be seriously compromised” if the FCC reclassifies broadband as a common-carrier service without instructions from Congress, said Ranking Member Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas.

The House Communications Subcommittee postponed a set-top box hearing that had been planned for Thursday, Hill and industry officials said Tuesday. No reason was given or new date set.

The long awaited satellite TV reauthorization remains stuck in the House due mainly to a Congressional Budget Office bill-scoring issue. The license allowing satellite TV companies to import distant signals is to expire at the end of the month. Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., of the House Communications Subcommittee told us in a written statement Tuesday that “the bill is held up due to a copyright provision and it is not clear when the bill will proceed."

A spectrum bill by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., is “undergoing some improvements,” so it “won’t be ready for a vote this week,” a spokesman said Monday. “We are confident it will be on the floor very soon.” The bill (HR-3019), which would streamline moving federal users off spectrum bands, had traveled alongside inventory legislation (HR-3125) by House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., in subcommittee and committee votes. But House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said last week the House would vote Wednesday on only the Waxman bill (CD April 12 p1).

Spectrum inventory legislation is speeding to the finish line in the House and Senate. The Senate may soon pass by unanimous consent a bill (S-649) by Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., Senate aides told us Friday. And House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said late Thursday the House plans to vote Wednesday morning on a similar bill (HR-3125) by Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Also up for a House vote that day is a caller ID spoofing bill (HR-1258) by Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., that would ban manipulation of caller ID information.

The House Communications Subcommittee plans to discuss gateway devices and CableCARDs at an April 15 hearing on the National Broadband Plan, a subcommittee spokeswoman said Thursday. The hearing will also look at implementation of Section 629 of the Communications Act, she said. The subcommittee had a more-general hearing on the plan before Congress left for recess. House Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said there that he hoped to hold a series of followup hearings on specific issues in the plan.

A court decision that the FCC lacked authority to regulate Comcast network management could fuel arguments for a legislative approach to Universal Service Fund reform, said Hill and industry officials. The ruling may not spur the Hill to action on USF this year, given an uninterested Senate and tight legislative schedule (CD April 7 p4), they said. The National Broadband Plan outlined a way for the FCC to revamp USF on its own, but House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., has voiced skepticism the agency can do a USF overhaul without Congress.

The November elections and other factors probably will slow Hill action on recommendations in the National Broadband Plan, said industry observers. The plan asks Congress for help in a number of key areas. Public safety and Universal Service Fund legislation may have the best chance for near-term action, but neither is a sure bet, they said. It seems particularly tough to move much on the broadband plan this year in the Senate, which right now “can’t agree that the sky is blue,” said a telecom industry lobbyist.

The Navy must improve its capabilities and capacity so it can lead in dynamic cyber warfare operations, said Vice Admiral Bernard McCullough, commander of the U.S. Navy Fleet Cyber Command. At the Center for Strategic and International Studies, McCullough outlined steps taken by the Navy to improve its network operations and security since the establishment of the Cyber Command. “We've begun to get our arms around the problem set,” but “anyone who thinks there’s a quick fix … is sadly mistaken.” Many challenges remain, including establishing operational standards, he said. The Navy’s various cybersecurity divisions around the country are doing “great work,” but no two groups are doing things the same way, McCullough said. Defending networks, the Navy also needs to become more proactive and predictive, and less reactive, he said. If the Navy can’t defend its network, its offensive ability on the network doesn’t matter, he said: “We're just going to lose.” The Navy must improve its ability to read the network so it can better detect attacks, he said. “We don’t understand what normal is.” The Navy may also needs to rethink how it assigns personnel to cyber issues, he said. In site visits, McCullough discovered that many divisions lack experienced officers, he said.

The National Telecommunications Cooperative Association believes no Telecom Act overhaul is needed, said Tom Wacker, vice president of government affairs. The association disagrees strongly with calls by Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke for a hands-off approach to telecom policy (CD March 25 p1) , Wacker said. It’s “not the reality” that without regulation, a free market will get broadband access to everyone, he said. And the FCC can handle most issues under the current law, Wacker said. If the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit decides the FCC lacks authority over broadband services, it may be time to turn to Congress, but the commission should be allowed to invoke its Title II authority under the Communications Act, he said.