Cloud computing will expand with the entry of major telcos, said companies and analysts we interviewed. Standards and user cases for the technology, still in its early stage, will change over time, they said.

The FCC’s Rural Health Care Support Mechanism should offer hospitals flexibility and not impose tough requirements on healthcare facilities to demonstrate that existing broadband resources are otherwise insufficient for healthcare delivery, the American Hospital Association (AHA) said in a filing on a July 15 FCC rulemaking proposal. The FCC approved the notice at its July meeting (CD July 16 p3), amidst concerns that many healthcare facilities have declined to participate. Commissioner Michael Copps noted that historically less than 20 percent of funds available are paid out each year. Healthcare was one of the key focuses of the National Broadband Plan, which the FCC submitted to Congress in March (CD March 17 p1).

The FTC suggested that the FCC adopt a “flexible” cybersecurity certification program that will allow companies to anticipate and “adjust to evolving security threats” while providing “a strong enforcement program."

The European Commission is eyeing a wide range of actions aimed at boosting broadband access and speed, spurring build-out of next-generation fiber networks and freeing up spectrum for new wireless services, draft documents show. The statements on broadband investment, regulating access to new networks and establishing a multi-year spectrum policy path make up a package of reforms the EC hopes will meet the goals of the digital agenda for a “smart, sustainable and inclusive economy,” it said. It’s unclear whether these are the final versions of the documents, which we're told the EC is expected to publish Sept. 20.

The first programming that showed up on the mobile DTV receiver was live from a news helicopter covering a hostage-taking at nearby Discovery Communications. The next day, the Washington Redskins game started at 10 p.m., a perfect opportunity for viewing mobile DTV with headphones in a darkened bedroom. The third day, it was all about watching live coverage of Hurricane Earl, at a desk.

The FCC got generally high marks for the National Broadband Plan and its creation of the first national spectrum target for broadband -- 500 MHz of new allocations in the next 10 years -- during a panel late Wednesday. Chairman Julius Genachowski has taken criticism for the FCC’s slow pace in carrying out the plan (CD Sept 1 p1). Speakers at a wireless conference sponsored by Silicon Flatirons in Boulder, Colo., said making decisions will be much harder than producing the rulemaking and inquiry notices that the commission has put out.

Cybersecurity still isn’t a priority for the U.S. government, and it may take a major attack to wake people up, cyberspace experts and industry executives said Thursday at the University of Nebraska College of Law’s Space and Cyber Conference. Some said a cyber attack could potentially cause as much havoc as an atomic bomb, at least in terms of damage to the economy.

Legislation is the best way to dispel uncertainty regarding net neutrality policy, but Congress doesn’t need to act right away, representatives of business associations said on a teleconference Thursday. Congress is unlikely to tackle the issue this year, they said. Policymakers should allow industry talks to continue meanwhile, they said.

Broadcaster interest in buying construction permits for two DTV stations that the FCC allocated to the Northeast (CD March 18 p5) may be limited by the markets’ small size and the channels’ location in the VHF band, which has had problems with digital signal propagation, engineers said. Auction No. 90 for channel 4 in Atlantic City, N.J., and channel 5 for Seaford, Del., will begin Feb. 15, the commission said. The Wireless and Media bureaus proposed minimum bids of $200,000 each for the construction permits, said a public notice issued Wednesday afternoon. Comments on bidding procedures are due Sept. 30, replies Oct. 15.

A council of 47 European countries is expected this year to approve the first international agreement on the use of personal data for online and offline profiling, the head of its law reform department said in an interview. The “recommendation on the protection of individuals with regard to automatic processing of personal data in the framework of profiling” covers online behavioral advertising and other forms of profiling, as well as activities by public authorities such as the police, said Jörg Polakiewicz. The Council of Europe’s effort was prompted by growing threats to privacy from computers’ ability to process data on the Internet, he said. The recommendation is a blueprint for national legislation, he said.