FTC Commissioner Julie Brill suggested that the commission first deal with the practices of data brokers who recognize themselves as such, before delving into issues of defining who is and isn’t a data broker. Neither she nor the commission as a whole knows enough about data brokers’ collection practices now, she said Tuesday at a Broadband Breakfast Club event. Brill was asked to specify “who fits into the definition of data broker” and what action the FTC is contemplating in that area.

LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters shouldn’t be afraid to participate in the “unique opportunity” presented by the coming voluntary incentive spectrum auction, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said during remarks at the NAB Show late Monday. For stations that decide to share channels with other operators or move from higher UHF frequencies to lower VHF ones, the auction will provide a “sizable cash infusion for returning some or all spectrum,” he said. “Our phones have been ringing at the FCC with broadcasters expressing genuine interest in participating and expressing thoughtful questions,” about how the auction will work, Genachowski said. “Don’t be afraid to be interested,” he said. “Others already are."

LAS VEGAS -- Broadcasters hopes they might get scaled back a draft FCC order on online public-file disclosure dwindled late Monday after Chairman Julius Genachowski delivered a sharp rebuke of industry arguments against the proposed requirement. In a speech at the NAB Show (http://xrl.us/bm37ck), Genachowski countered one-by-one the arguments raised by broadcasters against putting online for all to see the political file they're required to keep publicly available on paper at stations. “Despite the proud history of broadcast journalism ... some broadcasters and a few others have strongly resisted online disclosure,” Genachowski said. “It’s the 21st Century. I call it common sense."

Two Florida jurisdictions, Perry City and Bradford County, decided to drop out of the North Florida Broadband Authority’s (NFBA) middle mile BTOP project, citing the availability of broadband in the area, the project’s lack of action, and differences in guiding principles. However, the project could be getting three new cities on board, General Manager Richelle Sucara told us. She claimed the project, which started with 23 participating entities, is on track. NTIA appears to be pleased with the progress.

The Office of Management and Budget granted emergency approval for most of the information collection requests in the Lifeline order, but not before the FCC removed two provisions from the emergency request. Information collection related to the temporary address reverification rule, which requires reverification of a subscriber’s address every 90 days, and the requirement for a biennial audit for all recipients of more than $5 million annual support were removed. “FCC may re-submit these removed collections for OMB review at a later date after further consideration,” the OMB wrote in its notice Friday (http://xrl.us/bm33ez).

LAS VEGAS -- Touting recent policy victories, NAB CEO Gordon Smith told an NAB Show audience that the trade association “is back” and must continue fighting against efforts to encroach on TV spectrum and for policies that will help broadcasters flourish. Additionally, he said, the industry needs to, and through its NAB Labs initiative has begun to, invest in new technologies. “Our adversaries would like people to believe the best days of broadcasting are over. We will prove them wrong,” he said.

An FCC proposal to allow channels larger than 25 kHz in the enhanced specialized mobile radio (ESMR) portion of the 800 MHz band is good for consumers, Sprint Nextel said in comments filed at the agency. The FCC sought comment in February (CD Feb 24 p10) on a June petition from Sprint asking the FCC to clarify that its rules allow the larger channels. Other industry groups filed in support of Sprint, which owns a big chunk of the ESMR spectrum.

Continuing Comcast’s drive for a more advanced access architecture for cable operators, the company has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to vendors for equipment complying with the industry’s new Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) specifications. And equipment makers including Cisco and Motorola Mobility are introducing new CCAP equipment and getting orders for them, their representatives said in interviews.

LAS VEGAS -- The next-gen ATSC 3.0 over-the-air broadcast standard under development at the Advanced TV Systems Committee for terrestrial ultra-high-definition TV (UHDTV) delivery won’t be backward-compatible with existing ATSC or the coming ATSC 2.0 standards, said Jim Kutzner, senior director of advanced technology at PBS. The standard will represent a “major fundamental technology shift” from the current system, he said Sunday at the NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering Conference. Still, ATSC 3.0 is needed to “keep broadcast television relevant” amid growing competition from other content-delivery players, Kutzner said.

A spectrum sharing order, set for a vote April 27, will move the FCC a step closer to holding an auction of broadcast spectrum, a key component of recently enacted spectrum legislation, agency and industry officials said. Meanwhile, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is poised to make a high-level appointment of someone to oversee FCC follow up on the legislation, working, at least at first, with former Wireless Bureau Chief Ruth Milkman.