Altamira Technologies, intelligence and defense technology firm, moves Peter Kane to chief operating officer, succeeding Wayne Cliburn, retiring ... GoPro hires Danny Coster, ex-Apple, as vice president-design, effective late April, responsible for "all aspects" of design, including hardware, software and services ... Lowenstein Sandler hires Evan Bienstock, ex-Mintz Levin, as partner, Tech group ... American Library Association names Roger Rosen, Rosen Publishing, senior adviser-Office for Information Technology Policy, and names to two-year terms on new Public Policy Advisory Council: Laurent Crenshaw, Yelp; Skip Dye, Penguin Random House; Amma Felix, United Negro College Fund; Alan Fishel, Arent Fox; Keith Krueger, Consortium for School Networking; Tiffany Moore and Michael Petricone, both from CTA; Piper Nieters Su, Advisory Board Co.; Katherine Oyama, Google; Jon Peha, Carnegie Mellon University; Brooks Rainwater, National League of Cities; Jocelyn Richgels, Rural Policy Research Institute; Tony Sarmiento, Senior Service America; Michael Scurato, National Hispanic Media Coalition; and David Young, Verizon.

GoPro hires Danny Coster, ex-Apple, as vice president-design, effective late April, responsible for "all aspects" of design, including hardware, software and services ... CTA to give Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., its Innovation Policy Ninja Award April 20, Marriott Marquis in Washington. CTA President Gary Shapiro endorsed Rubio for the GOP presidential nomination before Rubio ended his candidacy (see 1512230039) ... American Library Association names Roger Rosen, Rosen Publishing, senior adviser-Office for Information Technology Policy, and names to two-year terms on new Public Policy Advisory Council: Laurent Crenshaw, Yelp; Skip Dye, Penguin Random House; Amma Felix, United Negro College Fund; Alan Fishel, Arent Fox; Keith Krueger, Consortium for School Networking; Tiffany Moore and Michael Petricone, both from CTA; Piper Nieters Su, Advisory Board Co.; Katherine Oyama, Google; Jon Peha, Carnegie Mellon University; Brooks Rainwater, National League of Cities; Jocelyn Richgels, Rural Policy Research Institute; Tony Sarmiento, Senior Service America; Michael Scurato, National Hispanic Media Coalition; and David Young, Verizon.

Frontier Communications gained access to $48.6 million in Connect America Fund subsidies for serving 114,610 locations in areas of two states covered by wireline systems it recently acquired from Verizon (see 1604010036), said an FCC Wireline Bureau order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Frontier was authorized to receive $32 million for California and $16.6 million for Texas that Verizon had accepted in broadband-oriented CAF Phase II support. The bureau directed Universal Service Administrative Co. to disburse to Frontier the USF subsidy amounts, which included some deferred amounts and other adjustments not previously disbursed to Verizon.

Frontier Communications gained access to $48.6 million in Connect America Fund subsidies for serving 114,610 locations in areas of two states covered by wireline systems it recently acquired from Verizon (see 1604010036), said an FCC Wireline Bureau order in Tuesday's Daily Digest. Frontier was authorized to receive $32 million for California and $16.6 million for Texas that Verizon had accepted in broadband-oriented CAF Phase II support. The bureau directed Universal Service Administrative Co. to disburse to Frontier the USF subsidy amounts, which included some deferred amounts and other adjustments not previously disbursed to Verizon.

The federal USF had more than $8 billion in financial assets as of Dec. 31, said the 2015 annual report of Universal Service Administrative Co., which oversees the fund for the FCC. The USF, which had assets of $4.5 billion in 2006, paid out $8.4 billion in 2015 but collected more than that, further increasing its cash and other assets, said industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in an email Wednesday summarizing findings from his analysis of the annual report (see 1603310052). A portion of the assets was used to offset USF funding commitments in 2015, such as model-based Connect America Fund Phase II support, Gregg said. "These assets also provide the reserve funds which the FCC will use to mitigate the $1.5 billion annual increase in the Schools and Libraries Fund, and to underwrite CAF Phase II competitive bidding support." The assets include $6.8 billion in investments, the report said.

The federal USF had more than $8 billion in financial assets as of Dec. 31, said the 2015 annual report of Universal Service Administrative Co., which oversees the fund for the FCC. The USF, which had assets of $4.5 billion in 2006, paid out $8.4 billion in 2015 but collected more than that, further increasing its cash and other assets, said industry consultant Billy Jack Gregg in an email Wednesday summarizing findings from his analysis of the annual report (see 1603310052). A portion of the assets was used to offset USF funding commitments in 2015, such as model-based Connect America Fund Phase II support, Gregg said. "These assets also provide the reserve funds which the FCC will use to mitigate the $1.5 billion annual increase in the Schools and Libraries Fund, and to underwrite CAF Phase II competitive bidding support." The assets include $6.8 billion in investments, the report said.

The Copyright Office is likely to encounter both praise and criticism of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Section 512 in comments on the CO's ongoing study of Section 512, stakeholders said in interviews. Comments were due after our deadline Friday on the CO's study, which will assess the effectiveness of Section 512's safe harbor provision and the current notice-and-takedown process. The study will also examine Section 512's counter-notification process and legal standards related to the section (see 1512300039). The CO said Friday it's extending the deadline for parties to file to participate in the office's planned Section 512 roundtables in New York and Stanford, California, to April 11. The New York roundtable is set for May 2-3 at the New York University School of Law, while the Stanford roundtable is set for May 12-13 at Stanford Law School (see 1603180059).

The Copyright Office is likely to encounter both praise and criticism of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Section 512 in comments on the CO's ongoing study of Section 512, stakeholders said in interviews. Comments were due after our deadline Friday on the CO's study, which will assess the effectiveness of Section 512's safe harbor provision and the current notice-and-takedown process. The study will also examine Section 512's counter-notification process and legal standards related to the section (see 1512300039). The CO said Friday it's extending the deadline for parties to file to participate in the office's planned Section 512 roundtables in New York and Stanford, California, to April 11. The New York roundtable is set for May 2-3 at the New York University School of Law, while the Stanford roundtable is set for May 12-13 at Stanford Law School (see 1603180059).

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called FCC rate-of-return USF changes a "win-win" for rural consumers wanting broadband and phone consumers paying into the USF. Clyburn said she was proud the FCC went beyond fixing a stand-alone broadband problem that prevented rural telcos from receiving USF support when customers with high-speed Internet access dropped traditional phone service. "We are also establishing a blueprint to connect unserved households and modernize the Connect America Fund to ensure that rate-of-return carriers use finite resources as efficiently as possible," she said in a statement that accompanied the 249-page Order and Further NPRM released Wednesday (see 1603300065).

Commissioner Mignon Clyburn called FCC rate-of-return USF changes a "win-win" for rural consumers wanting broadband and phone consumers paying into the USF. Clyburn said she was proud the FCC went beyond fixing a stand-alone broadband problem that prevented rural telcos from receiving USF support when customers with high-speed Internet access dropped traditional phone service. "We are also establishing a blueprint to connect unserved households and modernize the Connect America Fund to ensure that rate-of-return carriers use finite resources as efficiently as possible," she said in a statement that accompanied the 249-page Order and Further NPRM released Wednesday (see 1603300065).