TDS Telecom has selected Actiontec Electronics as the Customer Premise Equipment supplier for its new Gigabit Ethernet service. The service, which will offer 1 Gbps downstream and 400 Mbps upstream, will use Actiontec’s T2200H Universal Broadband Gateway, Actiontec said Wednesday. The telco selected the T2200H because “it delivered the fastest throughput of all the devices TDS tested in trials,” Actiontec said (http://bit.ly/1k4gXV4).

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) touted HR-4646, the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2014, in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1nd2xVX), flagging an event that day with institute officials and Reps. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., and Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C. Murphy introduced the bill May 9 and it has 20 co-sponsors, 10 Republicans and 10 Democrats. It was referred to the House Oversight Committee. The bill would create an independent body to assess and potentially nix any regulations deemed unnecessary. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., introduced companion legislation in the Senate, S-1390. PPI economists Michael Mandel and Diana Carew developed the ideas for the regulatory review body, the institute said.

CEA-2047, which enables consumer electronics to communicate their energy use to computers, tablets and smartphones running smart-energy apps and third-party energy management services, was approved as a CEA standard, said the association in a news release (http://bit.ly/TvcMYI). CEA-2047 “recognizes that a manufacturer knows how much energy a device will use during operation based on its design,” CEA said Tuesday. “This information can be programmed into the device and used to calculate its energy usage over time, without adding complex metering circuitry. An energy management system or a smart-energy app can then gather the information over the network and present it to consumers on their TVs, PCs, or mobile devices.” The CEA-2047 release was announced at CEA’s Technology and Standards Spring Forum, which opened Monday in Seattle for a five-day run.

Security firm Chertoff Group said Thursday it entered a “strategic alliance” with public relations firm Edelman to offer integrated communications and security consulting services to companies. “Our goal is to help clients prevent a crisis from arising in the first place while taking the necessary steps that should an event occur, they are able to act promptly, communicate clearly with accurate information, and maintain the trust of their stakeholders,” said Chertoff Group CEO Chad Sweet in a news release (http://bit.ly/1vakwxw). Chertoff’s chairman and co-founder is Michael Chertoff, former homeland security secretary.

The FTC is requesting another round of comments on its study of patent assertion entities, it said in a Tuesday news release (http://1.usa.gov/1sqzfA2). PAEs are companies whose main business model involves buying patents and then asserting them against others allegedly infringing on those patents, the FTC said. Comments can be submitted electronically (http://bit.ly/1hK5t4l). The study was announced in September (CD Sept 30 p15).

The federal government must adopt one definition of telehealth and eliminate cross-state licensing and payment issues hindering the expansion of telehealth, said the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in a report released Monday (http://bit.ly/1jjCrYJ). Healthcare is “thoroughly regulated, largely at the state level,” the report said. “Because states are often reluctant to give up regulatory authority, even when their regulations favor producers over consumers and limit nationwide innovation, federal government interventions are necessary.” Lawmakers heard a similar message -- which has become a common refrain for many in the tech industry and medical community -- during a recent hearing on the issue (CD May 2 p8). The Food and Drug Administration also updated its health information technology (IT) framework to clarify its definitions of health IT devices. But the ITIF report recommended Congress go further, by passing two pending bills -- the Telehealth Modernization Act of 2013 (HR-3750) and the TELE-MED Act (HR-3077). The former would define telehealth “to include health care delivered by real-time video, secure chat, secure email, or telephone,” while the latter “would allow Medicare providers licensed in one state to provide services to Medicare beneficiaries in another,” according to the report.

Verizon shareholders voted down a proposal that would have detailed how the company is “responding to regulatory, competitive, legislative and public pressure” to ensure its network management polices and practices promote net neutrality. The proposal was up for a vote at Verizon’s annual meeting Thursday in Phoenix. Four other shareholder proposals were defeated, a Verizon news release said, dealing with lobbying activities, severance approval policy, shareholder right to call a special meeting, and shareholder right to act by written consent. The proposal was sponsored by the Nathan Cummings Foundation, a liberal think tank that owns nearly 6,000 shares (CD March 25 p13). The Verizon board “strongly disagrees” with the contention that the company “has not provided its customers with evidence” of a commitment to open Internet policies, a March proxy statement said (http://bit.ly/1h2dEvG).

A communications company attempting to sidestep government surveillance orders failed earlier this year, according to documents the Justice Department released Friday about phone surveillance (http://1.usa.gov/S2LojW). According to Justice and the declassified documents, a communications provider petitioned the government Jan. 22 to “vacate, modify or affirm” the Patriot Act Section 215 request, which involves passing along phone metadata of customers to the government for surveillance purposes. The provider pointed to the December decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, issued as part of a case brought by activist Larry Klayman, that said phone surveillance was likely unconstitutional, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court shot down this argument in an order on March 20 and called that previous court decision “unpersuasive.” The FISC upheld the 1979 Supreme Court case Smith v. Maryland as the guiding case in this instance.

The Department of Defense (DOD) and the General Services Administration (GSA) should “use caution in imposing a set of baseline cybersecurity standards,” the Telecommunications Industry Association said Monday in comments filed with the GSA (http://bit.ly/S2Wsxz). The agencies were seeking public comment on joint recommendations that the federal government institute baseline cybersecurity standards as a condition for contract acquisition awards. The recommendations were issued as part of the implementation of President Barack Obama’s cybersecurity executive order (CD Jan 30 p20). TIA said it believes “efforts to improve cybersecurity, including in federal procurement, should leverage existing standardization and related accreditation programs in all cases possible.” Cybersecurity requirements “should be outcome-driven, not focused on the process by which a contractor may innovate to get to that outcome.” Federal acquisition risk management strategies should rely on voluntary, consensus-based standards where possible, TIA said. The group said it supports the agencies’ recommendation that the government develop common cybersecurity definitions for federal acquisitions. GSA should “provide clarity” on the scope of the recommendations and ensure implementation efforts “ensure flexibility and the ability to innovate,” TIA said. Implementation should also take into account international standards, the group said (http://bit.ly/S2Wsxz).

Nokia said Monday it expects to close the sale of its Devices & Services business to Microsoft on Friday. The deal “is now subject only to certain customary closing conditions,” it said. Microsoft agreed last year to acquire the Nokia business unit for about $7.2 billion (CD Sept 4 p5).