Congress has has passed a bill allowing spectrum previously set aside for TV broadcasts to be used for next-generation Wi-Fi services and Bluetooth. According to CIO, a portion of the band will be offered up for unlicensed use by long-distance ‘super Wi-Fi’ services. A separate portion of the TV spectrum will be utilized as a nationwide mobile broadband service for emergency services.
A long list of companies and organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Open Congress, have sent an open letter urging congressional lawmakers to take an entirely new approach to intellectual property law. The authors suggest concerns raised over SOPA and PIPA legislation are "too fundamental and too numerous" to be resolved through "hasty revisions" to the existing bills.
Two members of the US Congress have asked the FTC to investigate the use of "supercookies" by several online sites including MSN and Hulu. In a letter to FTC chairman, Jon Liebowitz, Republican Joe Barton and Democrat Ed Markey, expressed concern that the use of these tracking tools might be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which empowers the FTC.
Fifteen Democrat members of the House of Representatives have sent a letter asking President Obama to find a quick resolution to the Department of Justice lawsuit against AT&T's proposed T-Mobile buyout. The group, headed by North Carolina Representative Heath Shuler, argues that a settlement and approval of the deal will have a positive effect on the economy and job creation.
The US House of Representatives is considering new legislation that aims to reform current laws surrounding the patent system. The proposals, which are included in the America Invents Act, are designed to reduce the backlog in patent applications, bring the United States' filing methods in line with those of other countries, and help discourage patent trolls from taking advantage of the current laws to abuse the system.
Sony is reportedly attempting to avoid testifying before Congress later this week, after the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade asked the company to answer questions regarding its failure to protect the PlayStation Network from hackers. The memo distributed to subcommittee members suggests the hearing is designed to explore "risks related to data breaches" and data security practices utilized by the industry.
Verizon has called upon Congress to establish a new framework for telecommunications policies, as the company labels the current system as "broken." In a speech at the Federalist Society's National Conference, Verizon executive VP Tom Tauke criticized the current approach to Internet regulation as "antiquated and anti-competitive."
The FCC today said (PDF) it had voted 3-2 in favor of beginning procedures to reclassify Internet access and take action on its proposed National Broadband Plan. Officials plan to go ahead with their initial plans and are asking for comments both from the public and from the industry by July 15. First replies from the FCC to the comments should be ready by August 12.
Two Texas-based US representatives have introduced bills that would require ISPs to store user information for two years. The bills may even require home wi-fi router users to track the same information, according to Macworld. The bills were introduced Thursday, one in the US Senate, by Rep. Senator John Cornyn, and in the House by Representative Lamar Smith. Each bill is called the Internet Safety Act, aimed at preventing child pornography via the Internet. The bills call for stronger penalties for accessing child pornography on the Internet and would require Internet and e-mail service providers to retain all records and related information about anyone using a network address temporarily assigned by the service.
Congress has approved legislation that will delay the digital TV transition until June 12, providing more time to prepare older devices for the change, according to Reuters. The switch deadline had initially been scheduled for February 17th, although an estimated 20 million individuals would not be ready in the next few weeks. Obama backed the latest change, recognizing concerns that the unprepared group contained mostly low-income, elderly and rural households.
US State Senator may have a trendy new gadget next year, as congress is considering the iPhone as its newest communication device. TheHill.com is reporting that Congress's Chief Administrative Office (CAO), the office in charge of congressional communications, is testing a set of iPhones among its ranks to see if the device will function within the needs of Capital Hill representatives and support staff.
