OVERNIGHT TECH: Telecom subpanel tackles cybersecurity

“Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but it also features seamless sign-in and sync so you can take your personalized web browsing experience with you wherever you go, across devices,” Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post.

For now, the browser is only available on phones running the Android 4.0 operating system, which includes only a handful of models, such as the Galaxy Nexus.

{mosads}The Chrome app is available for download, and is not currently bundled in the Android operating system. Microsoft’s years long antitrust battle with the Justice Department revolved primarily around the company bundling its Internet Explorer browser in Windows. Apple bundles its Safari browser as part of iOS on iPhones.

The Federal Trade Commission is currently probing Google for its own potential antitrust violations.

FCC release Lifeline order: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday released its 326-page order to overhaul its Lifeline program, which helps poor Americans afford landline phone service. 

The commission voted last week for the changes, which aim to root out fraud and abuse in the multibillion-dollar subsidy.

The order creates a database to ensure multiple companies are not receiving subsidies to provide service to the same customer and sets national eligibility standards for the program. The commission also established a pilot program to use some of the funds to expand broadband Internet access. The commission says the changes will save $2 billion over three years.

“We’ve preserved a vital part of the safety net: affordable access to a phone to find a job, track down a child, or call 9-1-1,” Sharon Gillett, chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau, wrote in a blog post. “We’ve kept program costs in line. And we’ve looked ahead, beginning to orient the program to the broadband future. In my book, that’s what smart government is all about.”

ICYMI:

The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology reported a bill Tuesday that would update the government’s investment plan for network and information technology.

LightSquared asked the FCC to set tough technical standards for the design of GPS devices.

The FCC is seeking to commission a study of the public’s information needs so the agency can better meet its obligations.

President Obama took Tuesday’s White House Science Fair as an opportunity to announce his multimillion-dollar plan to improve the nation’s science and math education programs, a move he said that will “get America in shape to win the future.”

Fewer people are following presidential campaign news than they did four years ago, according to a study released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center.