The FCC shouldn’t require broadcasters to use real-time closed captions for local news programming, said the NAB in an ex parte filing Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1kwywtp). “The considerable costs that would be imposed on local news operations to implement real-time captioning would not necessarily be outweighed by any significant benefit to viewers.” Instead, the commission should allow broadcasters to continue to use Electronic Newsroom Technique. Phasing out ENT, which generates captions from a script stored in a station’s computer or from a teleprompter, would impose costs on broadcasters that “would likely result in a loss of competitive local news coverage,” NAB said. Securing real-time captioners costs more in smaller markets, NAB said. The commission should allow broadcasters to keep using ENT and “set a reasonable date” to evaluate the effectiveness of improved ENT systems, NAB said.

Tribune Broadcasting requested a license for a Ku-band transportable transmit-only earth station. The facilities will be uesd to provide news and event coverage “via digital video and audio carriers to WTIC-TV, Hartford, Conn., and WCCT-TV, Waterbury, Conn.,” it said in an application to the FCC International Bureau (http://bit.ly/1iTnpiv). WXMI Grand Rapids, Mich., also applied for a Ku-band transmit-only earth station (http://bit.ly/1e3njCM).

CEA hailed the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act (HR-3674) as “an innovative approach to federal spectrum management and reallocation.” The bill, introduced Monday (CD Dec 10 p3), would give government agencies financial incentives to give up or share their spectrum. It would create a federal spectrum incentive auction fund, which would allow some agencies to get auction revenue from the spectrum they have given up and potentially use those funds to offset sequestration losses. “Effective and efficient use of spectrum, both commercial and federal, is vital to ensuring that our nation has enough supply to keep up with demand,” said Veronica O'Connell, CEA vice president-congressional affairs, in a Tuesday statement. “By providing the right mix of incentives, we hope it will encourage federal users to seriously consider terminating or sharing existing spectrum assignments.” CEA hopes the bill will have “strong bipartisan support” during its Wednesday markup and urges “quick consideration” by the full House, O'Connell said.

Globecast and Measat signed an agreement with France’s Mezzo Live HD to deliver Mezzo programming to the Asia-Pacific region on the Measat-3 satellite. Mezzo Live HD Asia “is a new around-the-clock TV channel for the Asia-Pacific region,” Globecast said in a news release (http://bit.ly/1kwOQtZ). Broadcast in French, the channel will be subtitled in 11 regional languages, it said. Globecast will receive the channel’s signal at its technical operations center in Paris, it said. Then the channel is sent via fiber to a Hong Kong teleport for uplink onto the Measat-3 platform, Globecast said.

The Utilities Telecom Council asked the FCC to “streamline” the process by which utilities or other critical infrastructure entities can access the Connect America Fund (CAF) as a certified eligible telecom carrier (ETC), and make available funds that go unused by price-cap carriers for serving unserved and underserved areas (http://bit.ly/1dmivDM). “By removing these barriers, the Commission would promote broadband deployment” by electric utilities, said UTC in a Monday letter. “UTC suggests that the Commission permit entities whose applications for ETC designation are still pending (and who are otherwise eligible) to be eligible to obtain access to CAF through its Phase I or Phase II funding mechanisms. That way, an entity that succeeds in applying for CAF to serve a certain unserved study area can become an ETC after it has successfully obtained access to CAF funds.” That would reduce the uncertainty and delay that often discourages utilities from participating in CAF, the group said. “This simple change can release market forces that are unnecessarily restrained under legacy requirements from the Universal Service Fund that have been carried over and made applicable to the CAF."

Frontier Communications wants Comcast customers to know it has their backs, said the telco in a news release Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1dmkqIv). Customers who relied on Comcast’s recently canceled secure backup and sharing services can switch to “Frontier Secure,” which “proactively prevents your life from being ruined by cyber-attacks,” said the telco. The Frontier service offers firewall protection, backup and sharing services and identity protection. “We are winding down the secure backup and share feature, however, we continue to offer all of our Internet customers the most comprehensive security suite, Constant Guard, which includes the top-rated Norton Security Suite for no additional cost,” a Comcast spokesman told us. “With it, our customers can shop safely during the holiday season and protect their computers from malware."

Sorenson began rolling out a change in its Telecommunications Relay Services that it says will prevent unregistered softphones from dialing 911, the company told the FCC Monday (http://bit.ly/1jJ2g8C). A softphone is computer software that allows VoIP calls. The ability to dial 911 will be activated as soon as the user registers the softphone, Sorenson said.

The new version of the FCC Process Reform Act is “a bipartisan compromise” but not without its disappointments, said House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., in her opening statement at the bill’s markup late Tuesday afternoon. “While I appreciate the inclusion of the bipartisan/bicameral FCC Collaboration Act of 2013 (HR-539), I'm disappointed that this provision will not take effect immediately upon enactment,” Eshoo said. “For years, current and former FCC Commissioners have called on Congress to pass ’sunshine reform.’ A delay in implementation is the unnecessary delay of a much needed reform.” The bill should be changed in the House or possibly in the Senate, she said. The House Commerce Committee plans to vote on it Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in 2121 Rayburn. Eshoo praised FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s own process review initiative, started since his confirmation. She backs the Federal Spectrum Incentive Act (HR-3674), introduced Monday, which she co-sponsored. “Passage of this legislation is a win-win for federal agencies, the wireless industry and most importantly for consumers,” she said. In his markup opening statement, Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., cited pride in both the process reform and spectrum legislation, backing their passage. The spectrum bill “would incent agencies by offering a percentage of net auction proceeds to agencies willing to do the hard work of making their systems more efficient,” Walden said. He urged his colleagues to back the bill and “work on creative ways to bring additional spectrum.”

Cloud-based TV service nimbleTV began offering its service in the New York City metropolitan region Tuesday, the company said in a news release. The service allows users with addresses in that area to watch TV on any device with an authenticated cable subscription, the release said. Customers can watch “their favorite local cable programming -- including local news, sports and major networks -- anywhere, anytime and on any device,” it said. The base service, which requires an existing cable subscription, costs $3.99 a month. Users can buy a subscription TV package that will allow them to stream local, cable and premium cable channels starting at $29.98 per month. Both kinds of services include DVR capability. CEO Anand Subramanian said: “Our approach simply improves existing pay TV -- it does not displace it."

The federal government’s decision to redact information in its response to a petition from technology companies seeking to disclose more information about U.S. surveillance requests “is within the discretion of the executive branch, and in any event does not interfere with the legal arguments the companies can offer,” it responded to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (http://1.usa.gov/J2WikO). The response to FISC released Monday and dated Friday is the most recent move in the months-long attempt by five tech and social media giants -- led by Google and Microsoft -- to argue the First Amendment gives them the right to disclose the specific number and type of government surveillance requests they receive as long as they don’t disclose the content or surveillance target (CD Oct 3 p5). The federal government released a response in October urging FISC to deny the tech companies’ request. The companies responded in November, asking for more transparency in the government’s response, saying the redacted portions obfuscated the government’s legal rationale behind its stance and violated the First Amendment (CD Nov 14 p19). “None of the legal arguments in the government’s public brief have been redacted,” said the government’s most recent response. “The classified information is irrelevant to the companies’ argument about the scope of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s nondisclosure provisions.” The tech companies have until Dec. 20 to respond.