All three FCC commissioners told Congress the agency’s priorities range from spectrum auctions to the Internet Protocol transition to a forthcoming order to be circulated on rural call completion. They testified Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, in a hearing that ranged well beyond the FY 2014 budget slated for discussion.

World Trade Organization new director-general Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil starts, replacing Pascal Lamy … Free State Foundation hires Sarah Leggin, ex-law clerk for then-FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell and at CTIA and the foundation, as legal fellow, as Seth Cooper moves to Washington state and title changes to adjunct senior fellow, and Gregory Vogt, sole telecom law practitioner, named visiting fellow … Reverb Networks wireless networks company names Zoran Kehler, ex-Z/K Advisors and K/K Consulting, as CEO … Signiant file movement software for media and entertainment firm hires Greg Hoskin, ex-Miranda, as managing director-European and Asia-Pacific regions … Oppenheimer Europe hires Xavier Moreels, ex-ING, as managing director, and Nigel Daly, ex-own firm, as executive director, to start European technology and telecom investment banking franchise, of which Moreels is head … NAB TV board adds CBS Senior Vice President-Washington John Orlando filling CBS network seat, in place of CBS Executive Vice President-Planning, Policy and Government Affairs Marty Franks, retiring at month’s end (CD May 30 p19) … Tribal Technologies names Michael Marquez, Code Advisors, to board of mobile analytics firm … Lobbyist registrations: Google-owned GPS firm Waze, Sisu Strategies, effective Aug. 24.

World Trade Organization new director-general Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil starts, replacing Pascal Lamy … Free State Foundation hires Sarah Leggin, ex-law clerk for then-FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell and at CTIA and the foundation, as legal fellow, as Seth Cooper moves to Washington state and title changes to adjunct senior fellow, and Gregory Vogt, sole telecom law practitioner, named visiting fellow … Signiant file movement software for media and entertainment firm hires Greg Hoskin, ex-Miranda, as managing director-European and Asia-Pacific regions … Oppenheimer Europe hires Xavier Moreels, ex-ING, as managing director, and Nigel Daly, ex-own firm, as executive director, to start European technology and telecoms investment banking franchise, of which Moreels is head … Logicalis Group CEO Ian Cook to retire from post at end of data center and cloud services firm’s financial year, become chairman, succeeding Jens Montanana, who is named chairman of Westcon Group, replacing John McCartney, remaining a non-executive director of the communications, network infrastructure, data center and security products distributor … Centershift CEO Terry Bagley leaving job, resigned from board of Internet-based self-storage management applications firm, which promotes James Hafen to both jobs and adds him to board … Splunk promotes Stephen Sorkin to chief strategy officer of machine-generated data firm … NewVoiceMedia hires Eric Coyle, ex-Salesforce, as vice president-sales engineering of cloud contact center vendor … Sailthru names Tien Tzuo, Zuora, to board of software-as-a-service company … Reverb Networks wireless networks company hires Zoran Kehler, ex-Z/K Advisors and K/K Consulting, as CEO … Tribal Technologies names Michael Marquez, Code Advisors, to board of mobile analytics firm. Lobbyist registrations: Google-owned GPS firm Waze, Sisu Strategies, effective Aug. 24.

An Aug. 6 FCC Wireline Bureau public notice that eligible telecom carriers must file their 2013 annual reports no later than Oct. 15 leaves many questions unresolved, U.S. Cellular said in a letter to the FCC. Among them, the carrier said there are open questions on reporting requirements on tribal engagement and on broadband deployment. The FCC “should make it clear that ETCs are not required to demonstrate their compliance with Tribal government statutes and regulations, but instead are required only to engage with Tribal governments regarding issues related to the ETCs’ compliance with Tribal government laws and regulations, and to submit a report to the Commission describing this engagement,” U.S. Cellular said (http://bit.ly/19TjmLz).

Staff from the FCC Media Bureau demonstrated use of the Channel Finder search tool, proper filing of a construction permit application and use of the Consolidated Database System Tuesday during the first webinar on the application process for low-power FM licenses. Applicants can use the Channel Finder to search for available frequencies in their communities, said Gary Loehrs, an Audio Division staff member. “It will show you channels that meet spacing requirements,” he said. Before selecting the available channels, “there should be more investigation to see if these channels are suitable and that would require an engineering study,” he said. The tool also can help applicants determine their distance to AM stations and airports, “or if the structure your antenna is mounted on requires FCC analysis,” he said. Eligibility for applying for an LPFM construction permit requires qualification as a noncommercial, nonprofit educational entity, said Parul Desai, also of the Audio Division. Tribes, tribal organizations and entities providing public safety radio services also are eligible, she said. Applicants who are part of a university must find out if the university already has a broadcast station, Desai said. “In which case, the local chapter of the university can apply if you're separately incorporated” and there is a separate local mission that the applicant can qualify for, she said. If the university has a full-power station that isn’t run by students, then an applicant can apply for an LPFM station as long as it will be student-run, she said. Applications must be filed in the Oct. 15-29 filing window and the next webinar will be held in early October (CD Aug 12 p15).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added individuals and an entity to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Aug. 20.

The FCC scheduled the reverse auction that will award up to $50 million in one-time Tribal Mobility Fund Phase I support for Dec. 19. Auction 902 was previously slated for Oct. 24. “In order to provide interested parties ample time to analyze the updated lists of eligible census blocks released concurrently with this Public Notice and to take any further steps required to establish eligibility for participation in Auction 902, we delay the auction date,” said a Wednesday public notice from the Wireline and Wireless bureaus (http://bit.ly/18dQe09). The order also lays out rules for the auction, which is to be a single-round, sealed bid auction, with bidding “on predefined bidding areas consisting of eligible census blocks aggregated by Tribal lands and census tracts, and in some cases consisting of individual census blocks in Alaska,” the notice said. “Auction 902 will award one-time support to carriers that commit to provide 3G or better mobile voice and broadband services to Tribal lands that lack such services,” the notice said. “Support will be allocated to maximize the population covered by new mobile services without exceeding the budget of $50 million. Winning bidders will be obligated to choose whether to deploy 3G service within two years or 4G service within three years after the award of support."

The State Department on July 18 issued a Travel Warning for Mali, advising U.S. citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to the war-torn West African country. After a coup deposed former Malian President Amadou Toumani Touré in March 2012, northern Mali degenerated into a large-scale conflict. Tribal rebel groups and Islamist militants are a presence in the region, despite French intervention in early 2013 to quell instability. The UN has since deployed a peacekeeping force to Mali. The State Department says kidnappings and other attacks remain a threat in the country. The security situation in the capital, Bamako, is stable, according to the department, but U.S. citizens should exercise caution. The Embassy has prohibited all personal travel outside the region surrounding Bamako for U.S. government employees. Senou International Airport in Bamako continues to operate at full capacity.

Congress should consider federal online gambling legislation as states are passing and implementing their own laws, said members of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection during a hearing Wednesday, echoing those who testified. Between concerns about protecting vulnerable consumers -- including children -- and concerns about the use of online gambling by terrorists to launder money, “I hope this is something that we move on very quickly,” Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., said. “Shame on us if we don’t get something done on this.” Lawmakers at the hearing also received a demonstration of verification software that relies on biometric data, including voiceprint and facial recognition, from Thomas Grissen, CEO of biometric security company Daon.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, will announce a bipartisan list of cosponsors for his online poker bill -- announced last week (WID July 12 p6) -- in the next two weeks, he said during a press teleconference Tuesday. Barton said he has not yet secured a House Commerce Committee hearing on the bill but is “hopeful and optimistic that Chairman [Fred] Upton [R-Mich.] will extend me that courtesy.” Barton said his staff has been in contact with staff from the offices of Nevada Sens. Harry Reid (D) and Dean Heller (R), but he has not yet had a phone call or meeting with the senators. “I hope to do that in the very near future,” he said. The recently introduced online poker bill “is a state’s rights bill,” Barton said. Under the bill, states are automatically included in the federal system, but, if they choose to opt out, “the governor of the state simply sends a letter to the Secretary of Commerce,” making it a “very easy opt-out bill.” Barton said his bill addresses “a lot” of the issues American Indian tribes -- which operate their own gambling entities -- have had in the past. “With that many Indian tribes, you're never going to get 100 percent” on board with the bill, he said. Barton’s bill would allow tribal entities to operate online even if their state has opted out of the federal system and would allow tribal entities to retain their sovereignty, “but their rules and regulations have to be concurrent with the states’,” he said. “They're very sensitive, as they should be, about the sovereignty issue.” Barton has “developed a trusting relationship” with the tribes so that they “are very open and at least know we're listening to them,” he said.