What to expect in Tech/Telecom this week

Back in D.C., the telecom crowd is saying happy 15th birthday to the Telecom Act of 1996 on Tuesday. To celebrate, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scheduled its monthly meeting the same day. The commissioners are expected to move on an initial pillar of their plan to reform the Universal Service Fund, a major pool of telecom dollars that was expanded into its current form by the 1996 Act. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will give a curtain raiser speech on USF at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) on Monday, which will stream online. Read a preview of the speech in The Hill.

The Energy and Commerce Communications subcommittee holds its first hearing of the year on Thursday, scrutinizing stimulus spending that went to broadband deployment. Republicans have criticized the broadband grants as potentially wasteful, pointing to grants that subsidized broadband in place that already have an adequate network infrastructure. House Republicans are preparing a bill to increase accountability in this program.

Fresh off the President Obama’s shout-out to emergency broadband in the State of the Union, the fight over how to build a mobile network for police and fire fighters returns to Capitol Hill this week. Public safety officials head to town newly fueled by President Obama’s announcement that he supports allocating a valuable block of the airwaves to emergency responders. They are expected to meet with members to advocate for legislation making it so, and will hold a press conference early in the week.

Opponents will also try to get the word out. T-Mobile and Sprint, who say the D Block should be auctioned off to commercial providers, will hold a briefing on Monday featuring a former Motorola executive. They want to fund a public safety network with the proceeds from the auction, sharing the airwaves with public safety. This cheaper option has support from House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Online privacy will also grab some headlines in the coming days. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill) plans to reintroduce his online privacy bill, according to a Rush aide. The bill gained support last year from eBay, Intel, and Microsoft. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif) is also likely to introduce an online privacy bill this week, according to a Speier aide. Her bill will direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a “Do Not Track” mechanism preventing online marketers from collecting data on Internet users who opt out. Rush’s bill did not include “Do Not Track,” but provided a safe harbor for companies who participate in such a federal program if one is created.

The House Judiciary Intellectual Property subcommittee will try to keep the ball moving on patent reform at a Friday hearing. Legislation to streamline the patent system cleared Senate Judiciary last week.

Comments on so-called “bill shock” are due at the FCC on Tuesday, with carriers expected to push back on whether the agency has the authority to create these rules. The “bill shock” effort is aimed at forcing wireless companies to notify customers when they are about to incur overage charges.