FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will announce Thursday that the commission will act at its Nov. 30 meeting to seek comment on spectrum-related proposals affecting wireless carriers and broadcasters, the chairman said in an interview Wednesday. Genachowski, scheduled to headline the commission’s Spectrum Summit, will also warn that the nation’s spectrum deficit will hit 300 MHz within five years if, as analysts predict, mobile broadband traffic grows to as much as 35 times recent levels.

Telephone companies in states like Wisconsin and Maine have contacted state legislators as they challenge local stimulus projects. The companies cited competition issues, but their efforts aren’t likely to go far, officials and experts said in interviews.

Ensuring deterrence and resilience to enhance cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, government officials said at the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Cybersecurity Conference at Gallaudet University. The administration recognizes that “this is not just a government issue,” said Howard Schmidt, White House cybersecurity coordinator. “We need to fully engage and use the intellectual capital we have … to develop the right mechanisms for managing the risks that we have out there.” No one is naive enough to think “we'll have 100 percent security” or that there'll be no disruptions, Schmidt said. But the administration wants to ensure that when an attack happens, “the effect is minimal, duration is as short as possible and we're able to recover and get back to full operations as soon as possible,” he said.

The Broadband Initiatives Program has disbursed more than $3.5 billion in loans and grants and created some 25,800 jobs, the Department of Agriculture said Wednesday. The Rural Utilities Service and the NTIA have improved broadband access for 7 million Americans by 297 infrastructure projects, four satellite awards and 19 “technical assistance” grants, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. But Hill leaders and industry lobbyists are voicing skepticism about the way the Obama administration is measuring the impact of broadband stimulus.

The FCC is sticking to the sidelines in the Cablevision-Fox dispute that left all of the cable operator’s 3 million video subscribers without access for a fifth day to the three News Corp.-owned TV stations in the New York area and in Philadelphia. On Wednesday, Commissioner Michael Copps became the second FCC member to speak out against the contractual dispute, raising net neutrality concerns voiced by others. Chairman Julius Genachowski the day before criticized both sides for “petty gamesmanship” (CD Oct 20 p1). The head of the Fox affiliates group told us his members back the network’s position, as TV stations owned by networks and those held by independent companies seek more money to be carried by subscription-video providers.

A stricter international mechanism for assigning liability for interference to satellite and terrestrial networks will likely be up for negotiation at the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference, officials said during an ITU policy-setting conference in Guadalajara, Mexico. Existing administrative and regulatory procedures can cope with the “vast majority” of cases, the U.K. said.

New York City, Seattle and others that received FCC waivers in May to build local public safety networks in 700 MHz spectrum, but were left out when the NTIA awarded Broadband Technology Opportunities Program money, told the commission they're re-evaluating what to do next. The NTIA gave grants to Los Angeles County, the San Francisco Bay area, Mississippi and a few others, but most of the 21 waiver recipients were left empty-handed. Waiver recipients were required by the FCC to provide updates on progress in building systems.

A group of TerreStar affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to restructure hefty debt obligations, the company said. EchoStar, the largest secured debt-holder, will provide $75 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) funding allowing TerreStar to continue operations and backstopping a $100 million rights offering, raising speculation by industry analysts of increased EchoStar involvement in future operations. TerreStar warned investors this summer it was considering filing for bankruptcy (CD Aug 10 p5). The filing Tuesday may allow for large spectrum acquisitions in the 2 GHz band, observers said.

Operators who want to offer service in the 3.65 GHz band have yet to ask the FCC to change its rules, two attorneys active in wireless issues said late Monday, at the Wireless Communications Association show. Until operators come forward, the FCC won’t have anything to act on even if it chose to make changes, said Steve Coran, who represents WISPs among his clients, and Paul Sinderbrand, longtime counsel to the WCA.

Repurposing the Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) bands should be a top priority of the FCC to promote the rollout of 4G services, FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker said Tuesday at the Law Seminars International Conference on Spectrum and Broadband. Baker listed three other “action items” the FCC should move on quickly to promote 4G service in the U.S. She also predicted that work on overhauling the Universal Service Fund will start in December and dominate the commission’s agenda next year.