A bill to study the country's radio spectrum that cleared the House with sizable bipartisan support last Wednesday remains stalled in the Senate this week, after Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) aired concerns about its cost.

According to reports, Coburn has twice blocked progress on that legislation, which would task the FCC and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with reporting unused portion of the country's radio spectrum to lawmakers.

Those available blocks of spectrum could later be auctioned to wireless providers, currently strapped by the new data demands of devices like the iPad, the FCC has noted in its National Broadband Plan. The inventory is thus one of the staple elements of the FCC's new broadband-focused agenda.

But the legislation's reception in the Senate is a far cry from what the bill received in the House, when the chamber's Energy and Commerce Committee passed it unanimously and the full House cleared it with more than 300 votes in affirmation.

Lawmakers once believed its companion bill -- spearheaded by Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who are senior members of the Commerce Committee, -- could similarly clear the upper chamber unimpeded. But Coburn's blockade could delay further action indefinitely.

The senator believes the bill could cost lawmakers up to $20 million, all of which would further compound the federal government's burgeoning deficit. Reportedly, Kerry and Snowe have fought back, stressing to Coburn that proceeds from the spectrum auction would actually benefit taxpayers and boost the Treasury's coffers, but it seems the Oklahoma Republican remains unconvinced.

Efforts to reach both Coburn and Kerry were unsuccessful on Wednesday. But Coburn's spokesman dud tell NextGov this week that, "Dr. Coburn believes our budget crisis is more pressing than our bandwidth crisis. Congress should pay for this bill by reducing wasteful spending instead of borrowing more from future generations."

Despite years of Congressional pleas for better broadband data, the FCC's National Broadband Plan is based on flawed information and incorrect assumptions, public interest group Free Press told lawmakers Wednesday.

Derek Turner, research director for Free Press, said the FCC has overstated the availability of broadband availability around the country, using figures that are not sufficient for long-term policymaking. In his testimony before the House technology subcommittee, Turner said he doubts the FCC's claim that 95 percent of U.S. households have access to broadband facilities capable of delivering adequate speeds.

"The Commission has for nearly two years failed to act on its own proposal to collect broadband availability data," Turner told the panel. "And now, despite the fact that the National Broadband Plan strongly recommends that the FCC finally gather this availability data, the Commission has signaled its intent to delay the matter even further by starting another proceeding at the end of this year."

Sharon Gillett, FCC Wireline Bureau Chief, told the panel that reliable data on broadband availability is "limited" but the plan is nonetheless a "reasonable indicator of broadband availability."

The data question has overshadowed other efforts by the Obama administration to extend the reach of broadband into rural areas. The broadband stimulus program was criticized for allocating billions of dollars for broadband expansion projects before the completion of detailed maps showing where that money is needed most. Read more...

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) on Tuesday predicted lawmakers would not follow through on their plans this year to create a fund that would expand broadband access nationwide.

The FCC hoped to create that program, called the "Connect America Fund," from money put aside from the old Universal Service Fund, which is tasked with expanding telephone access across the country.

But while Stupak supports that key revision, he told the American Cable Association in a speech Tuesday the new fund would not happen this year, in part because of likely Senate inaction.

"The FCC has announced its plan to convert the USF program into a 'Connect America Fund' that supports broadband construction, much in the same fashion as the current recovery package and the proposed Boucher-Terry legislation," Stupak said of the proposal, pitched as part of the commission's newly released National Broadband Plan.

"And the Senate is doing what it does best: nothing," he said.

"Chairman Boucher may disagree with me, but given the short legislative calendar, I do not believe we will enact USF reform this Congress, but that legislative action will be completed next year," concluded Stupak, the chairman of the House Rural Caucus' task force on telecommunications.

Read more...

A proposal to dig tunnels for broadband fiber while constructing new roads and highways got backing from Rep. Henry Waxman.

Read more...

A handful of top tech and telecommunications companies, including Google, Verizon and AT&T, greatly expanded their lobbying efforts in the first three months of 2010, newly filed disclosure reports show.

The companies aggressively lobbied Washington lawmakers as tech issues like net neutrality and cybersecurity returned to the political foreground.

The figures appear to confirm some analysts' early predictions that tech spending in Washington would blossom in 2010. A number of key tech debates, including broadband expansion, net neutrality and online privacy, are expected to receive a lot of attention from lawmakers this year.

Prior to this year, computer and Internet companies collectively ranked fourth of 120 industries in the Center for Responsive Politics' annual lobbying tabulations. Combined, these firms spent roughly $1 billion over the course of 2009 -- a far cry from the $38 million they spent just over a decade earlier, the Center noted.

Federal law gives all companies, tech or otherwise, until Midnight on Tuesday to file their lobbying disclosure reports. Many are still trickling in, but here's a sample of some of the lobbying numbers that will be on full display tomorrow:

TUESDAY BLOG ROUNDUP:
N.C. demands consumer purchase info from Amazon - Mike Masnick, Tech Dirt
iPhonegate: Lost, stolen or conspiracy? - Nick Bilton, Bits
Bloomberg has to read blogs to find out where prez is - Nancy Scola, techPresident
Senators blast virtual fence program - Chris Strohm, Tech Daily Dose
Google boosts lobbying spending by more than 50% - Cecilia Kang, Post Tech
Google to disclose stats on government inquiries - Tom Krazit, Cnet
Bill to ban 'cyberbulling' in La. advances - Melinda DeSlatte, AP

OTHER STORIES FROM THE HILL:
House GOP wants permission to use Skype - The Hill
HP investigation could trouble Fiorina's Senate bid - The Hill
House GOPers launch 'New Media Challenge' - The Hill
Petricone: Three strikes could be too 'draconian' - The Hill

House Republican leaders are asking to be allowed to use Skype and other video conferencing applications to communicate with constituents.

Top Republicans sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Administration Committee Chairman Robert Brady (D-Penn.) requesting permission to use the software as long as members follow cyber-security procedures.

Currently, members of Congress are not allowed to use certain video-conferencing software applications. Skype is considered an "unauthorized" site and is blocked on all House computers. Democrats on the House Administration Committee would have to initiate an amendment process to officially change the rule.

"Current House rules allow Members of Congress to use taxpayer funds to conduct traditional, often expensive, video teleconferencing activities with their constituents, but forbid them from using Skype -- which is practically free -- for such activities," said the letter. 

"We are certain that Skype, an increasingly relevant communication tool for Americans already widely used in the private sector, could be easily implemented in Congress in a manner that would not reduce the security of the House IT infrastructure."

The letter was signed by Republican Leader John Boehner, Republican Whip Eric Cantor, Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence and vice-chair Cathy McMorris Rogers, Chief Deputy Whip Kevin McCarthy and House Administration Committee Dan Lungren.

The House Republican Caucus is also kicking off its "new media challenge" this week to encourage GOPers to become more active on social sites including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

An international investigation is underway into whether Hewlett-Packard executives paid million in bribes to win lucrative overseas contracts. The alleged illicit activities are reported to have taken place while Carly Fiorina (R), now a California Senate candidate, was CEO.

Fiorina has made her business acumen central to her campaign. If the investigation remains in the news, it could cause problems for her bid to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

She denied any knowledge of the alleged misdeeds, but one of her primary opponents is claiming she must've known what was happening.

"I had no knowledge of any of these allegations," Fiorina told Northern California radio station KQED-FM on Friday. "I certainly welcome, as I'm sure the company does, I welcome the government's investigation. I mean, these are serious allegations. I have a long track record of firing people who are engaged in illegal or unethical behavior. And certainly had this occurred and I had been aware of it, I would have done the same."

State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R) told the Los Angeles Times he was skeptical of Fiorina's explanation.

"When confronted with this news, Fiorina will do what she always does: deny knowledge despite having been a famously micromanaging and bottom-line-oriented CEO," DeVore said.

He added, "Now that she aspires to constitutional high office, she owes Californians -- and herself -- something more. It's the one thing we have yet to see when she addresses her rocky and increasingly questionable corporate past: honesty."

Cross-posted on Ballot Box

Jury selection begins today in the case of a 22-year-old college student who hacked former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) e-mail account during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Four felony charges await David Kernal, a student at the University of Tennessee, for breaching Palin's Yahoo! inbox and posting its contents online: identity theft, wire fraud, intentionally accessing her account without permission and impeding an FBI investigation.

According to reports, Kernal could face up to 50 years in jail for his alleged transgressions.

But in a move that is sure to shower the trial with additional media attention, Palin has signaled she will "honor" a subpoena request, meaning she could take the witness stand. Her spokesman, however, declined to explain the governor's reasoning to an AP reporter late Monday.