Good Morning Tech: GAO says cyber czar needs to step up

Phoenix Center, FCC feud moves into day two. A think tank associated with AT&T continued to trade barbs with the FCC over whether the Commission’s policies will cost the economy jobs. The FCC dismissed a report from Phoenix that its policies could have a detrimental effect; the think tank specifically cited chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposal to reclassify broadband as a telecom service. http://bit.ly/c37ka8

Industry notes

CTIA releases survey. Wireless carriers
reported handling nearly 50 percent more data compared to the last half
of 2009, according to the an annual survey of the U.S. wireless industry
released on Wednesday. http://bit.ly/99hv0O

Could BITAG have stopped Comcast’s net-neutrality breach? Internet service providers could reduce litigation by building
consensus between technical experts on whether certain network
management practices are acceptable, according to Dale Hatfield,
executive director of BITAG. http://bit.ly/9901WR

Verizon to launch 4G is 38 cities this year. Verizon Communications
President Lowell McAdam laid out the wireless arm’s launch plans for its
fourth-generation wireless network, expanding the number of markets
covered when it gets switched on. http://bit.ly/dqVpfR

Apple to build iPhone for Verizon. Apple plans on producing a version of the iPhone for Verizon Wireless customers before the end of this year, according The Wall Street Journal. The new phone would be similar to the iPhone 4 but based on an alternative wireless standard known as CDMA used by Verizon. The phone would likely be released to the public in early 2011. Verizon shares were up slightly on the news. http://bit.ly/a1AwVZ

Facebook unveils new features for organizing friends, downloading user information. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg showed off two new features Wednesday that allow users to download all of their profile information and make it easier to selectively share information with smaller groups of friends. Zuckerberg said Facebook is attempting to build a social platform by letting users create a set of connections that can be used across multiple applications. http://bit.ly/bG0Asc

Scheduled.

Texas lawmakers including Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) and Reps. Pete Olson (R) and Gene Green (D) will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. CDT at Johnson Space Center in Houston to mark the passage of the NASA Reauthorization Act, which President Obama is expected to sign on Thursday. Hutchison’s vocal support helped two key portions of NASA’s human spaceflight program survive the cuts, preserving hundreds of jobs in the Houston area.

On Friday afternoon, President Obama will sign the 21st Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 into law during a
ceremony in the East Wing of the White House. The legislation will
update the Communications Act to increase access to internet, television
and telecommunications for people with disabilities using tools such as
closed captioning and video descriptions. The Act will also help
increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Read
more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/bqji7U

Sought. The General Services Administration is seeking an evangelist to spread the world about Data.gov, the administration’s online data warehouse that federal chief information officer Vivek Kundra has frequently touted as evidence of the White House’s commitment to transparency. The site has been hit with criticism over the lack of useful, new data feeds, which is probably why GSA is looking for an experienced “communications shill.” (h/t: TechPresident) http://bit.ly/9bMuAh