Verizon added 16 channels to its FiOS Mobile App, the company said Thursday (http://yhoo.it/IHMADK). Verizon customers who have the free app can now live-stream AXS TV, beIN SPORT, beIN SPORT Espanol, Bloomberg Television, Cine Sony Television, Cooking Channel, Encore, FEARnet, NFL RedZone, Showtime, Showtime Extreme, Sony Movie Channel, Starz, Trinity Broadcast, Universal Sports and TV Guide Network. FiOS TV customers who are FiOS Internet customers can also use their mobile devices and tablets to watch up to 91 live linear national channels at home, said Verizon. The mobile app also offers more than 45,000 on-demand movie titles, it said.

The White House released its second Open Government National Action Plan Friday, intended to build on the three-year project to give citizens more access to government information and databases (http://1.usa.gov/1blIat2). According to a blog post (http://1.usa.gov/18q3Vbg), the new plan will improve the White House’s “We the People” online petitions platform; consolidate the Freedom of Information Act online service and develop common FOIA standards for all government agencies; include a new version of data.gov with expanded access to agriculture and nutrition data; and promote a “participatory budgeting” process “giving citizens a voice in how taxpayer dollars are spent in their communities.” The post’s authors, Deputy Chief Technology Officer Nick Sinai and Senior Director-Development and Democracy Gayle Smith, said the new plan “is another opportunity to set concrete and measurable goals for achieving a more transparent, participatory, and collaborative government."

The FCC scheduled its monthly meeting for 2:30 p.m. Thursday in the Commission Meeting Room, the commission said in a press release (http://bit.ly/1eVbpqV). The starting time was pushed back from 10:30 a.m.

The U.S. Small Business Administration opposes AT&T’s proposed special access tariff revisions, its Office of Advocacy told the FCC in a filing Thursday (http://bit.ly/195zdrH). The SBA is “greatly concerned that the change will result in significant downstream cost increases for small business customers, including both small competitive local exchange carriers as well as end users,” it said. SBA also has “persistent concerns regarding the state of competition in the special access market,” it said. SBA characterized AT&T’s proposed tariff revision (CD Nov 26 p3) as an attempt to “shift demand toward more expensive IP-based offerings by artificially increasing the price of its TDM services.” An all-IP network is something for small businesses to look forward to, but “it should not be financed through artificial price increases in the special access market,” SBA said.

In 18 months, $18 million was saved in Medicaid costs through the FCC’s Rural Healthcare Pilot program in South Carolina for a “tele-psychiatry” initiative, said Commissioner Mignon Clyburn at the agency’s mHealth Expo Friday. “Psychiatric consults are now available 24/7, saving time and delivering better, more responsive service for care providers and patients, while conserving resources for the entire healthcare system.” Clyburn addressed wireless “micro power networks” that the FCC is promoting due to rule changes. Micro power networks “use implant devices to employ micro-stimulation techniques that can restore sensation, mobility, and other vital functions, to limbs and organs,” which could help more than 5 million Americans dealing with paralysis or other “neuromuscular” disorders, she said, according to prepared remarks. Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs), adopted by the FCC last year, “provide a ‘last meter’ wireless link to eliminate the wires and cables that currently tether a patient to the monitor,” she said. MBANs “should improve patient care and reduce overall healthcare costs,” said Clyburn.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s first FCBA Chairman’s Dinner speech began with him being upstaged by his predecessor. When “the FCC chair” was announced, former acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn took the podium instead of Wheeler. “Most of you bought your tickets with high expectations when I was the headliner,” Clyburn told the crowd, which numbered more than 1,600 according to FCBA President Joe Di Scipio. After collecting her own laughs, Clyburn yielded the floor to Wheeler. “Why would anyone voluntarily subject themselves to a comedy routine by me or any other FCC chairman,” asked Wheeler, before starting a speech and multimedia presentation that included vintage video from a 1980’s NCTA event at which a much younger, mustachioed Wheeler was serenaded by a group of dancers dubbed “the Tomettes.” Wheeler’s speech advised the gathered attorneys on the best ways to curry favor with his office -- quoting his books is “very good,” asking for autographs is “tacky” -- and was peppered with pictures of his grandchildren and advice on how to find his books on Amazon.com. Wheeler also told the crowd there was enough wine at the event for everyone, but only if the AT&T and Verizon tables agreed to limit their intake -- which comes as the FCC prepares a voluntary broadcast-TV incentive auction where some have called for limiting the top two carriers’ participation. “Thank the broadcasters for sharing,” Wheeler said. He also made many references to his age as the oldest FCC chairman, implying that his interest in the Civil War comes from having witnessed it -- “You just had to be there,” he said -- and saying he doesn’t understand Commissioner Ajit Pai’s references to 1990s R&B group Boyz II Men. “Many people assume this will be my last gig,” Wheeler said. “Are you kidding? I'm that close to being a senior fellow of the Aspen Institute.” Aspen is where many ex-members go immediately after leaving the agency. Wheeler ended his speech on a more serious note, saying the passing of Nelson Mandela made the night “a historically sad evening” and praising the South African leader’s principles and life.

Nortel Networks, which declared bankruptcy in 2009 and raised $7.5 billion auctioning its remaining assets, doesn’t have to allocate those funds through arbitration, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday (http://1.usa.gov/1bNzyBV). “Because the contract at the center of this controversy does not reflect the parties’ intent to arbitrate disputes about the auction funds, we will not compel the parties to do so,” wrote the court, affirming a federal bankruptcy court holding. The unanimous opinion was written by Judge Julio Fuentes and joined by Judge Morton Greenberg and Senior Judge Maryanne Barry. The various debtors comprising the Nortel brand “have $7.5 billion and no agreed-upon method for dividing it,” the court said, noting the bankruptcy court would hold a hearing to allocate the funds.

Three members of Congress asked the FCC to “suspend and investigate” AT&T’s recent special access filing. “We are concerned about AT&T’s recent notice of its intention to eliminate service plans for terms longer than three years and the effect this action, if approved, would have on prices and competition in the marketplace,” said Friday’s letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler from House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “By eliminating these plans, AT&T is effectively increasing rates in some regions by as much as 24 percent -- which would result in increased costs to users by hundreds of millions of dollars.” Several CLECs also criticized the AT&T filing (CD Dec 4 p3). AT&T framed the move in a November blog post as part of the IP transition. “The tariff changes filed today will grandfather DS1 and DS3 term plans greater than 36 months, including ones that have term periods as long as seven years,” Senior Vice President Bob Quinn wrote of changes that could become effective Tuesday. “The first step of that plan is to align the commitments we make to our customers with the goal of transitioning to an all-IP network. That is why today we have taken a step to make sure that multi-year commitments we enter into today for aging TDM-based services reflect the on-going transition to IP and do not extend beyond the expected completion of our transition in 2020.” The members of Congress lamented the “broken special access market” and said they're “pleased” the FCC is collecting data on it. They wanted AT&T’s filing suspended to allow more data collection and not “short circuit” that process.

The FCC should make additional spectrum available to wireless carriers through the upcoming incentive auction and the ongoing work to free up the AWS-3 band, T-Mobile US executives told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, Jessica Rosenworcel, Ajit Pai and Michael O'Rielly in separate meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. T-Mobile executives told the commissioners it’s important the wireless carrier have “an opportunity to obtain low-band spectrum to promote a competitive mobile marketplace,” T-Mobile said in an ex parte filing Friday. The carrier also “advocated for reasonable limits” on Verizon Wireless and AT&T, which together control 80 percent of the U.S.’s low-band frequencies (http://bit.ly/1iHO0iA).

The FCC Wireline Bureau seeks comment on three Rural Health Care Program participants’ appeals of Universal Service Administrative Co. decisions denying funding. Illinois Rural HealthNet, Colorado Telehealth Network and Oregon Health Network argue their non-rural clinics should count as “eligible health care providers” and therefore be eligible for support, said a public notice Friday (http://bit.ly/1bNGKxC). Comments are due Dec. 20 in WC docket 02-60, replies Jan. 3.