The FCC Media Bureau is seeking comment on the way “video clips” delivered via the Internet are closed captioned, the bureau said in a public notice Friday (http://bit.ly/1k9qSYh). “We ask whether, as a legal and/or policy matter, the Commission should require captioning of IP delivered video clips.” Though full video delivered over Internet Protocol is already required to be closed captioned, the commission held off on imposing the requirement on video clips (CD April 19 p11). But consumer groups representing the hearing impaired issued a report arguing that streaming news clips are a primary source of information on sudden calamities such as the Boston marathon bombing, and the lack of captions excludes the hearing impaired (CD May 17 p7). Sens. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., authors of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, sent a letter to the FCC earlier this month asking the commission to require captions on IP video clips (http://1.usa.gov/1ejarJ3). The PN asks about the costs, benefits and technical challenges of captioning IP video clips. It also asks for information about the differences between captioning live or near-live clips -- such as news segments -- and prerecorded clips. The PN also raises the idea of requiring captions on only a subset of IP video clips. Comments are due Jan. 27, replies Feb. 26.

Infoblox completed USGv6 certification, becoming the first network control vendor to pass USGv6 compliance, it said in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1fhEhKc). USGv6 is a standards and testing infrastructure designed to aid the U.S. government’s implementation of IPv6 (http://bit.ly/1fhEhKc). “Infoblox is responding to the global shortage of IPv4 addresses with the industry’s most advanced, interoperable solutions supporting IPv6,” said Cricket Liu, the company’s chief infrastructure officer. Infoblox used the University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability Laboratory for compliance testing, it said.

Cable, satellite and telco customers can now verify their subscriptions in order to live-stream the Sochi Winter Olympics exclusively on NBCOlympics.com and via the NBC Sports Live Extra app at no extra charge, said NBC Olympics in a news release Monday (http://bit.ly/1hX8pig). All competition across all 15 sports will be live-streamed, and customers will also have access to exclusive content, real-time results, medal standings, event highlights and analysis, athlete interviews and profiles and rewinds of all event coverage, said the company. Customers will also gain online access to the coverage of U.S. Olympic Team Trials by verifying their subscriptions, it said. Customers verified 9.9 million devices during the London Olympic Games through the website or on the app, said NBC Olympics.

The FCC Media Bureau identified 406 mutually exclusive (MX) groups from applications filed in the low-power FM window. The applications identified in the MX groups may include applications “the bureau has determined or may at a future date determine are subject to dismissal for legal and/or technical defects,” it said in a public notice (http://bit.ly/18vuXTY). Applicants may begin filing Form 318 amendments using the Consolidated Database System, it said. Some of the groups identified include Alaska Revival Radio, Northland Baptist Ministries and Rage in Wasilla, Alaska, and the Diocese of Rapid City and Western Dakota Technical Institute in Rapid City, S.D., the bureau said (http://bit.ly/1gCbRyq). Applicants in MX groups can resolve technical conflicts through technical amendments, settlements and time-share agreements, it said.

The FTC filed a complaint seeking permanent injunction against Lin Miao and Andrew Bachman, and companies they own, for allegedly placing charges on wireless subscriber bills in violation of federal law. “Defendants have been engaging in a widespread scheme to place unauthorized third-party charges on consumers’ mobile phone bills, a harmful and illegal practice known as ‘cramming,'” the FTC said (http://1.usa.gov/1bLidqK). “Defendants have been operating a scam in which they have been billing consumers for text message-based subscription services even though the consumers did not authorize any purchase of the services.” Mobile subscribers targeted by the companies have been charged for celebrity gossip alerts, “fun facts,” horoscopes and “similar kinds of information,” the FTC said. Many subscribers paid their bills without noticing the charges, the agency said.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., named the invited witnesses for Wednesday’s scheduled hearing on data brokers (http://1.usa.gov/1bIkFOs). Rockefeller announced the hearing last week. The FTC is to release its own study on data brokers in early 2014 (CD Nov 18 p21), and the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Jessica Rich will represent the agency Wednesday. Don Robert, CEO of Experian -- a company that has been part of Rockefeller’s ongoing investigation into data broker business practices (CD Oct 11/12 p12) -- will also testify. Direct Marketing Association Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Jerry Cerasale is to testify on behalf of industry. World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon will represent WPF’s privacy interests. And Annenberg School for Communication Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Joseph Turow will testify.

Correction: What the Pennsylvania Wireless Broadband Collocation Act of 2012 streamlines is the deployment of new cell sites, said Christopher Nurse, AT&T regional vice president-external affairs (CD Dec 13 p17).

EchoStar is no longer pursuing a joint venture with Vivendi’s GVT, EchoStar said in a press release (http://bit.ly/19mP4m6). The partnership had been aimed at launching direct-to-home service in Brazil (CD Nov 14 p23).

The Council of Governments applauded the FCC order to ensure reliable 911 service in a statement Friday (http://bit.ly/1bCrCNK). COG is a nonprofit association that deals with regional issues affecting the Washington, D.C., area. The FCC voted to approve an order Thursday that requires carriers to file annual audits on how they are following best practices for 911 connections (CD Dec 13 p7). The order was influenced by regional studies documenting “significant loss” of 911 service in northern Virginia during the June 2012 derecho storm, COG said. All phone companies that provide 911 service must now certify annually that they have implemented best practices including audits of their circuits, maintenance of central office backup power and reliable network monitoring systems, it said. The FCC proves the “power of regional collaboration,” said COG Executive Director Chuck Bean. “With this new rule, we are securing our infrastructure in metropolitan Washington,” he said. “The success with the FCC was built on solid analytics but the change happened because we spoke with a regional voice."

Aereo’s decision not to oppose broadcasters’ attempt to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court of their case against the streaming TV service increases the possibility that the court will review the case, said Stifel Nicolaus analysts. Broadcasters filed a cert petition asking the high court to overturn a 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that rejected a preliminary injunction against Aereo (CD Oct 15 p15). “We believe the justices are generally reluctant to review appeals of preliminary injunction decisions and so far there is no circuit split, which can invite high court review,” Stifel said in a research note (http://bit.ly/1jY0Hnl). This may change if the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals soon upholds a district court decision to grant broadcasters a preliminary injunction against FilmOn X, an Aereo-like service, said the analysts. These actions could spur retransmission consent changes next year, they said. If the broadcasters don’t shoot down Aereo’s service in court, “they could start to push hard for Congress to write new legislation to ensure they receive Internet video provider payments for their programming,” they said. The “largely-unaddressed ‘copying’ element of broadcasters’ lawsuit makes this case too early-stage for Supreme Court review,” said Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant. The courts have barely begun addressing broadcasters’ argument that Aereo’s system makes unlawful copies of broadcasters’ shows, he said in a research note. If the Supreme Court is going to rule on Aereo next year, “it probably needs to announce by January that it will hear the case,” he said. If broadcasters win, the Aereo threat is extinguished, he said. “If broadcasters lose, they can seek legislative change by Congress, where they would likely have the upper hand.” FilmOn X asked the 9th Circuit to overturn a preliminary injunction against it (CD Aug 29 p5). A similar appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also is pending (CD Sept 13 p22). Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation and Engine Advocacy urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn a decision by the U.S. District Court in Washington. The law doesn’t grant copyright holders complete control over the distribution and quality of their works, they said in a friend-of-the-court brief (http://bit.ly/1dxK5hx). “Fair use allows the public to make copies of varying quality in many circumstances, including home recordings of TV programs.” The existence of a service like FilmOn X “does not appreciably increase the risk of a broadcast program being redistributed illegally on the Internet by third parties,” it said. In a separate brief, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, Center for Democracy and Technology and other groups asked the court to approach the case in a way that preserves the holding and principles of the Cablevision case, during which an appeals court found that Cablevision doesn’t infringe copyright by launching a DVR service. The court should avoid any legal theories “that would cast a pall over wide swaths of the modern technological landscape, including the burgeoning cloud computing industry,” they said. CTIA, USTelecom and the Internet Infrastructure Coalition filed along with CCIA and CDT. The groups aren’t taking a stance on either party, they said.