Senate Judiciary Committee leaders sparred Thursday over the costs that three pending data breach bills would impose on U.S. businesses before adjourning due to a lack of quorum. The committee approved three amendments to Chairman Patrick Leahy’s, D-Vt., S-1151, and shelved at least four more because only four members were present to vote. The committee will resume the markup Sept. 22 at 10:00 a.m. in room 226 of the Dirksen Senate office building.

Retransmission consent revenue from NBC’s station group and compensation from its TV station affiliates could amount to “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars” for NBCUniversal, Steve Burke, executive vice president of Comcast and NBCU CEO, said at a Bank of America conference Wednesday. “If we get what I think the market will shake out at for our own stations, plus we get a big chunk of what our affiliates end up charging,” NBCU will see large gains in retransmission consent revenue at the broadcast division, he said. “Perhaps our biggest upside at NBCU in the near term is broadcast."

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has asked cable lobbyists about what the commission should do with carrier of last resort (COLR) obligations as it contemplates universal service reform, cable executives told us Wednesday. Wireline staff have also asked questions about whether cable companies would be willing to go through the eligible telecommunications carrier process if the commission gets rid of the provision for ILEC right-of-first refusal in the proposed America’s Broadband Connectivity plan, executives said in a reporters’ briefing Wednesday at NCTA headquarters in Washington.

The FCC has yet to act on nearly 30 waiver requests from local governments that hope to build out early public safety networks using 700 MHz spectrum. Among the applicants is New Orleans, where public safety communications became a major focus six years ago during and after Hurricane Katrina. Other major cities that asked for waivers but have yet to receive them are Chicago and Philadelphia. States including Florida, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma also have sought waivers from the FCC.

There’s muted interest among lawmakers and policymakers on retransmission consent deals. That’s even with a blackout (CD Sept 2 p3) between a broadcaster and multichannel video programming distributor entering a third week, executives from both industries said in interviews. They said the FCC and members of Congress haven’t been very active on the issue, and there’s no indication that soon will change. The founder and head of Mediacom, one of the companies in the current dispute, said more blackouts would garner additional attention on the Hill. Mediacom CEO Rocco Commisso also said he’s frustrated the government isn’t doing more to level the field between MVPDs and TV stations.

LightSquared will announce next week a new precision GPS receiver prototype aimed at dispelling claims that a fix for the GPS interference problem is impossible, said LightSquared Executive Vice President Jeff Carlisle. While the new receiver won’t actually fix all of the interference problems with GPS, the new receiver will be touted as a “proof of concept,” he said Wednesday during a conference call with reporters. The FCC and NTIA recently said additional testing of LightSquared’s proposed terrestrial wireless service are necessary before LightSquared can begin commercial terrestrial operations. Meanwhile, GPS interests and some lawmakers voiced support for the NTIA and FCC decision.

There must be a spectrum revamp “somewhere along the line” to free up more frequencies for carriers that are capable of acquiring and deploying them, said Verizon Communications Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo during a Bank of America conference Wednesday. Meanwhile, it will cost up to $250 million for repairs to Verizon’s wireline operations damaged by recent storms, he said.

GENEVA -- The first U.S. group proposals to the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) are the first to address the agenda for the 2015 conference. They include items on wireless avionics intra-communications, a review of the use of the band 5091-5150 MHz by the fixed satellite service (FSS), continued studies to allow uninterrupted future operation of mobile satellite service (MSS) systems, wireless broadband services, modernization of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System and a review of the Radio Regulations for e-navigation. The U.S. proposal on wireless broadband services hasn’t appeared on the ITU website, a source said. It was described in July by U.S. officials (CD July 29 p9). The 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference will recommend to the ITU Council agenda items for WRC-15.

The American Jobs Act’s inclusion of spectrum won praise from senators seeking to reallocate the 700 MHz D-block to public safety. The Act’s public safety section hews closely to the Senate Commerce Committee’s Spectrum Act, S-911 (CD Sept 13 p1). But House Commerce Committee Republicans who have favored a commercial D-block auction are continuing on their own path to spectrum legislation, a committee spokesman said Tuesday.

The new eligibility criteria to the Rural Utility Service telecom infrastructure loan program for public safety expand the eligible purposes for loans for the deployment of 911 access and integrated interoperable emergency communications systems, Deputy Administrator Jessica Zufolo said Tuesday. Systems include multiuse networks, homeland security communications, transportation safety communications and E-911 location technologies used outside urban areas, she said at an Internet Innovation Alliance event. The agency recently published the eligibility requirements for public safety in rural areas.