Industry endorsed digital goods tax legislation introduced late Wednesday by House Communications Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va. The bill (HR-5649) would set up “a uniform national framework for the taxation of digital goods and services,” Boucher said on the House floor late Wednesday. The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would cover digital music, movies and games, as well as the electronic delivery of professional, educational and health care services.

A prototype set-top box chip capable of decoding two separate 3D 1080p streams simultaneously may be available this summer, Panasonic Chief Technology Officer Eisuke Tsuyuzaki told us at a New York media briefing Thursday. It won’t likely find its way into products for about two years, he said.

Hulu.com confirmed it would offer consumers paid access to an expanded offering of online content in addition to the free content it already provides. The new service, called Hulu Plus, will offer more than 120 seasons and 2,000 episodes of at least 33 TV shows from Fox, NBC, ABC and other networks for $9.99 monthly. Significantly, Hulu Plus allows consumers to watch Hulu.com’s content on their wireless devices such as Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

The FCC should “take an extraordinary step” of not enforcing equal employment opportunity rules on radio and TV stations while it retools the regime, a group representing minorities said. After a year of taking no EEO enforcement actions as of Tuesday, the commission must restructure its system by moving staff overseeing the program from the Media to the Enforcement bureau, track existing cases so statutes of limitations aren’t again breached and work more with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council said. Broadcasters closely follow EEO rules, which they expend considerable time and attention complying with, industry lawyers and officials told us.

The House Communications Subcommittee approved Internet accessibility legislation in a voice vote Wednesday afternoon, with a manager’s amendment by Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va. Boucher said he hoped to offer another manager’s amendment later to address “remaining points of difference,” including those related to video description rules. Meanwhile, disabilities rights advocates were upset after learning the amendment cut out a provision that would subsidize broadband services and equipment for people with disabilities.

Analysts debated over renewed speculations that a Verizon iPhone deal is coming in January 2011. A Bloomberg story citing unnamed sources said the device will be available to customers in January. A deal could hurt manufacturer Research In Motion’s BlackBerry sales, some analysts said. Spokespersons from Verizon Wireless and Apple declined to comment.

Cable and CE interests used replies this week in the FCC’s rulemaking into how to level the playing field for retail-based CableCARD devices (CD April 22 p6) by rehashing familiar arguments in the years-old CableCARD debate. Cable and other pay-TV providers renewed their call for an FCC waiver from CableCARD rules for digital tuning adapters (DTAs). CE companies urged the commission to reject a “blanket waiver” on DTAs and to go slow on any such exemptions until the “true cost” of CableCARD “alternatives” can be established.

The president’s quest to get 500 MHz of spectrum for wireless broadband (CD June 28 p1) could be met by using allocations from various federal government agencies, including the Defense Department, and spectrum set for private use, broadcast and wireless lawyers said. Spectrum on the government side could also come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Justice Department, while mobile satellite service (MSS), D block and other spectrum set for private use also would help, they said. President Barack Obama’s memo outlining the White House’s commitment to identifying and reallocating federal and commercial spectrum has left those in the wireless and broadcast industries wondering how the administration and agencies will proceed, and which private sector entities are willing to let go of their spectrum.

Members of the NoChokePoints Coalition used the pending termination of price controls on AT&T’s special access lines to urge the FCC to move ahead with its special access proceeding. The telco agreed to price controls when it acquired BellSouth. They no longer apply as of Thursday. Those who purchase special access from AT&T describe the rates the company charges -- and the new rates it will charge once it’s out of its agreement -- as exorbitant. AT&T has described the current rates as “temporary rate reductions” and said Tuesday any increases would be returns to normal rates.

There’s precedent for the FCC to pause the so-called shot clock in its review of Comcast’s plan to buy control of NBC Universal, though doing so more than once as the commission has in this case is somewhat rare, veteran agency and industry officials said. That the FCC has twice paused the clock, moved back to day 37 and held there until the companies file additional materials, augurs that the commission will end the review before day 180, the agency’s goal in reviewing all deals, they said. Thorough review by the commission and Justice Department had been expected and doesn’t necessarily mean the deal won’t be approved (CD Jan 19 p8).