12/2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Public Notice (PN) [5 pages in PDF] that requests public comments regarding the possibility of reallocating television spectrum for wireless broadband.

This PN states that "we seek more specific data on the use of spectrum currently licensed to broadcast television stations". It asks, "What factors should the Commission consider when examining and comparing the benefits of spectrum used for over-the-air television broadcasting and those of spectrum used for wireless broadband services?"

It also asks, "What market-based or other incentive mechanisms should the Commission consider to enable broadcasters to choose whether or not to make any spectrum (excess or otherwise) available for reallocation to wireless broadband use?" (Parentheses in original.)

Gigi Sohn, head of the Public Knowledge, stated in a release that "The FCC is displaying significant courage and foresight in asking about the future of the broadcast spectrum. This issue traditionally has not been open for public discussion, and we are pleased to see that it is now part of the broadband agenda."

Sohn added that the FCC should also look "at different uses for all of the broadcast spectrum", and continue "to recognize the importance of the `white spaces´ between digital TV channels which have been set aside for unlicensed uses".

This PN is DA 09-2518 in GN Docket Nos. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137. Comments are due by December 21, 2009.

Adam Thierer, head of the Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF), moderated a panel discussion on December 1, 2009, titled "Let's Make a Deal: Broadcasters, Mobile Broadband, and a Market in Spectrum".

He stated that there is "the potential for a deal to be cut" that would involve "a cash for spectrum swap" that would reallocate spectrum currently used by television broadcasters to wireless broadband use.

The PFF also released a paper on November 4, 2009, titled "An Offer They Can't Refuse: Spectrum Reallocation That Can Benefit Consumers, Broadcasters & the Mobile Broadband Sector". The authors are Thierer and the PFF's Barbara Esbin.

Blair Levin, head of the FCC's efforts to draft a national broadband plan, stated at this event that more spectrum is needed for wireless broadband, and that this spectrum must be in large contiguous blocks and have certain propagation characteristics.

Levin, discussing TV spectrum, said that "the value of the spectrum itself is greater than the value being created for broadcasters in the use of that spectrum". He continued that this a "market dislocation", that for other forms of property would be corrected by the market.

He also stated that it is not clear that all broadcasters in all markets need all of the spectrum allocated to them. This creates an opportunity to strike a deal.

Coleman Bazelon, an economist with the Brattle Group, discussed the value of the TV spectrum, and the gains -- "tens of billions" -- that would be realized by a reallocation.

John Hane (Pillsbury Winthrop) enumerated numerous legal obstacles to reallocation of broadcast spectrum, and argued that there is no looming spectrum crisis.

Andrew Schwartzman (Media Access Project), criticized the conduct of television broadcasters, but expressed opposition to reallocation by auction.

12/2. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a document [52 pages in PDF] titled "Eligible Services List Schools and Libraries Support Mechanism for Funding Year 2010". This list, also sometimes referred to as the eligible services list, or ESL, enumerates the products and services that are eligible for FCC subsidies under its e-rate program.

Also on December 2, the FCC announced and released a document [PDF] titled "Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" that pertains to the products and services eligible for subsidization under the FCC's e-rate program.

The report and order (R&O) portion amends the FCC's rules to provide that interconnected voice over internet protocol (VOIP) and text messaging are eligible. It also provides that video on demand (VOD) servers, ethernet, web hosting, wireless local area network (LAN) controllers, and virtualization software are also eligible.

However, the R&O concludes that telephone broadcast messaging, unbundled warranties, power distribution units, softphones, interactive white boards, and e-mail archiving are not eligible.

The NPRM portion of this item makes, and seeks comments upon, numerous tentative conclusions regarding e-rate subsidy eligibility.

It tentatively concludes that the ESL "should not include separately-priced firewall services, anti-virus/anti-spam software, scheduling services, and wireless Internet access applications", and that "that web hosting should not be eligible for funding under the E-rate program, or, alternatively, should only be eligible for E-rate program funds as a Priority 2 service."

The NPRM further tentatively concludes that "we should change our rules to establish that specific eligible products
and services should be listed in the ESL as opposed to being listed individually in the rules." (Footnote omitted.)

This item is FCC 09-105 in CC Docket No. 02-6. Initial comments will be due within 30 days of publication of a notice in the Federal Register. Reply comments will be due within 45 days. As of the December 2, 2009, issue of the Federal Register this notice had not yet been published.

12/1. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski gave a speech [8 pages in PDF] in Washington DC.

He began by making a broad claim for FCC jurisdiction, beyond that actually conferred by Congressional statutes. Referring to the "Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector", he stated that "we have a single agency with jurisdiction reaching across this vibrant sector".

He added that this is "in contrast to the common arrangement in the rest of the world where two or three agencies handle these areas".

He did not reference the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which has statutory authority with respect to several telecommunications matters, or the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), which possesses other telecommunications responsibilities. Nor did he mention the antitrust authority of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice in the context of the mergers and other conduct of ICT companies. Nor did he acknowledge that the FTC is also the agency with primary responsibility from protecting consumers online. Nor did he state that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the trading of securities of ICT companies, that the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) regulates the exports of ICT companies, or that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (OUSTR) and Department of State (DOS) negotiate ICT related trade and international agreements. He omitted numerous other federal agencies that are responsible for conducting and funding ICT related research and development and education.

Nor did he state that while the FCC has statutory authority with respect to telecommunications, spectrum, cable, satellite, radio and television, and is building its authority over the internet by legislation and administrative fiat, it has little to no authority over most other components of  information technology.

Genachowski also asserted that going forward the FCC possesses the "excellence", "talent", and "openness" to "produce real innovation". He did not reflect on the history of the FCC, which has often been to inhibit innovation in telecommunications.

He also stated that the document titled "National Broadband Plan", which the Congress mandated in February of this year in HR 1, is a "national innovation plan".

He spoke at length, often in lofty language, about innovation.

He also addressed the FCC's universal service tax and subsidy programs. He said that "Our work will include a plan to reform the biggest pool of money that the FCC administers -- the Universal Service Fund."

He continued that universal service "continues to support yesterday's communications infrastructure". He added that "The goal of universality is as important as ever" and "we need to reorient the fund to support broadband communications". See also, related story in this issue titled "FCC Expands and Seeks Comments on List of Items Eligible for E-Rate Subsidies".

Regarding FCC regulation of spectrum usage, he said that "We'll look at increasing spectrum flexibility and opening secondary markets for licensed use. And we'll look to unlicensed spectrum as well". Also, "we will need to find ways to free up new spectrum to mobile broadband. This will require examining old allocation decisions".

See also, related story in this issue titled "FCC Seeks Comments on Reallocation of Spectrum from TV to Wireless Broadband".

12/1. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Computer Security Division (CSD) released a document [35 pages in PDF] titled "Mobile Forensics Reference Materials: A Methodology and Reification", along with an associated release, and a NIST developed software program that can be downloaded and used to populate a cell phone with data, and access data on a cell phone.

The just released document pertains to the testing and validating of forensic tools that access data from cell phones. This document covers seizing data from handsets and identity modules, such as Subscriber Identity Modules (SIM), but not removable memory cards, because "they can be treated using traditional forensic procedures similar to those used with disk drives".

The data that can be seized from phones includes the content of text messages, photographs, videos, address books, and call information, including International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers (unique numbers that identify devices), Electronic Serial Numbers (ESN), and phone numbers.

The equipment and software used to extract data from mobile devices is sold off the shelf and over the internet. It can be mobile. Some sellers advertise the ability of their products to acquire data "in seconds".

The NIST stated in its release that "Cell phones reveal much about our daily communications -- the who, when and what of our calls and texts. A small chip card within most phones, called an identity module, stores this and other data for a subscriber. A subscriber identity module (SIM) accommodates phonebook entries, recently dialed numbers, text messages and cellular carrier information."

The NIST release also emphasizes the use of these products by law enforcement agencies to investigate criminal activity and prosecute criminals.

However, these products are also used by law firms and their forensic consultants to acquire, analyze and present evidence in judicial proceedings.

These products can also be used by employers to monitor the activities of their employees. These products can also be used in industrial espionage. These products can also be used by thieves to steal personal information, surveil, and invade the privacy of people who use cell phones and other mobile devices.

11/30. The Federal Communications Commission published its notice in the Federal Register that announces, describes, and sets the comment deadlines for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) [107 pages in PDF] that proposes to regulate the network management practices of broadband internet access service providers. The FCC titles this proceeding "In the Matter of Preserving the Open Internet Broadband Industry Practices". This NPRM is FCC 09-93 in GN Docket No. 09-191 and WC Docket No. 07-52. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 30, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 228, at Pages 62637-62662. See also, stories titled "FCC Adopts Internet Regulation NPRM", "Text of Proposed Internet Regulation Rules", "Statutory Authority and Ancillary Jurisdiction", "More Praise for the FCC's NPRM", "More Criticism of the FCC's NPRM", and "Sen. McCain Introduces Bill to Block FCC Regulation of Internet or IP-Enabled Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,008, October 23, 2009. January 14, 2010 is the deadline to submit initial comments. March 5, 2010 is the deadline to submit reply comments. The FCC announced these deadlines on October 22, 2009, when it adopted and released this NPRM.

11/30. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced in a release [PDF] that "it has awarded grants to fund broadband mapping and planning activities in Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri under NTIA's State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program."

11/24. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published a notice in the Federal Register that sets comment deadlines for its Notice of Inquiry (NOI) [31 pages in PDF] regarding "empowering parents and protecting children in an evolving media landscape". Initial comments are due by January 25, 2010. Reply comments are due by February 22, 2009. This item is FCC 09-94 in MB Docket No. 09-194. The FCC adopted this NOI on October 22, 2009, and released it on October 23, 2009. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 24, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 225, at Pages 61308-61316.

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The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The agenda for the week provides that the House will consider HR 320 [LOC | WW], the "CJ's Home Protection Act of 2009", and HR 2873 [LOC | WW], "Enhanced S.E.C. Enforcement Authority Act", under suspension of the rules. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of November 30.

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day two of a two day event hosted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "From Town Criers to Bloggers: How Will Journalism Survive the Internet Age?". See, September 30 notice [PDF], notice in the Federal Register, October 7, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 193, at Pages 51605-51608, and agenda [PDF]. See also, story titled "FTC Requests Comments on Journalism, New Media and Online Advertising" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,994, October 1, 2009. This event was originally scheduled for September 15, 2009. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:30 AM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee (SHSGAC) will hold a hearing on the nomination of Caryn Wagner to be Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis U.S. Department of Homeland Security. See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled "Will Arbitron’s Personal People Meter Silence Minority Owned Radio Stations?". Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:15 AM. The House Judiciary Committee (HJC) will meet to mark up several bills. The third item on the agenda is HR 3190 [LOC | WW], the "Discount Pricing Consumer Protection Act of 2009". See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

11:00 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 219, at Page 59013. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Cyberspace at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Cyber, National and Economic Security". Sherri Ramsay (National Security Administration) will speak at 9:15 - 10:00 AM. Rosemary Wenchel (Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence) and Dawn Meyerriecks (Office of the Director of National Intelligence) will speak at 1:00 - 2:30 PM. Peter Fonash (DHS NPPD National Cyber Security Division) will participate in a panel at 2:30 PM. See, schedule. Location: National Conference Center, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA.

Day two of a three day workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the ISO/IEC 24727 Identification cards, Integrated circuit card programming interfaces. This is a multi-part standard for interoperable identification, authentication, and signature services for credentials and applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 6, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 214, at Pages 57451-57452. Location: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [7 pages in PDF] regarding how to measure broadband adoption, and how the government can plan consumers' decisions to adopt broadband. This item is DA 09-2403 in GN Docket Nos. 09-47, 09-51, 09-137. See also, story titled "FCC Seeks Comments on Broadband Adoption" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,013, November 11, 2009.

8:30 AM - 2:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 219, at Pages 58966-58967. Location: L'Enfant Plaza East, Suite 3207, 490 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

8:45 AM - 1:00 PM. The Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies will host an event titled "Telecoms Symposium". The first panel is titled "Economists Panel". The speakers will be Marius Schwartz (Georgetown University), Jonathan Baker (FCC), Robert Willig (Princeton University), and George Ford (Phoenix Center). The second panel is titled "Does Congestion Matter?". The speakers will be Edward Amoroso (AT&T), Jason Livigood (Comcast), and Rob Curtis (FCC). FCC Commissioner Meredith Baker will give a speech. This event is free. See, notice. Location: University Club, 1135 16th St., NW.

9:00 AM - 4:45 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host the first of five public workshops regarding amending the Horizontal Merger Guidelines (HMG). See, DOJ release, FTC list of questions, and FTC HMG Project web site. See also, stories titled "Antitrust Division and FTC May Amend Horizontal Merger Guidelines" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1987, September 23, 2009, and "DOJ's Shapiro Discusses Upcoming Revisions to Horizontal Merger Guidelines" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,015, November 16, 2009. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

RESCHEDULED FROM OCTOBER 22. 10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on 3993, the "Calling Card Consumer Protection Act". See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division. (CRD). Tom Perez, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the CRD, will testify. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 448 [LOC | WW], the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2009". It also includes consideration of the nomination of Thomas Vanaskie to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, and Louis Butler to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court (WDWisc). The SJC rarely follows is published agendas. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Ben Bernanke to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See, notice. Location: Room 106, Dirksen Building.

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Advisory Committee for Cyberinfrastructure. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 16, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 219, at Page 59013. Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 1235, Arlington, VA.

2:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Advisory Committee on Diversity for Communications in the Digital Age will hold a meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 30, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 209, at Pages 56196-56197. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (Room TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics will host a presentation by Uri Simonsohn (Wharton). Location: FTC, ground floor Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 8:30 PM. The Department of State (DOS), Sweden, Ericsson, and the Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) will host an event titled "International Innovation and Broadband". The speakers will be Philip Verveer (DOS Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy) and Jonas Hafström (Sweden's Ambassador to the U.S.). Registrations and cancellations are due by 5:00 PM on November 30. The price to attend ranges from $10 to $25. See, registration form [PDF]. Location: House of Sweden, 2900 K St., NW.

Day two of a two day event hosted by the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association (AFCEA) titled "Cyberspace at the Cross Roads: The Intersection of Cyber, National and Economic Security". Michael Brown (DHS) will speak at 9:10 - 10:00 AM. Robert Butler (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber and Space Policy), Barbara Hoffman (Department of the Navy), and Robert Rego (Air Force Space Command) will participate on a panel at 1:00 - 2:30 PM. See, schedule. Location: National Conference Center, 18980 Upper Belmont Place, Leesburg, VA.

Day three of a three day workshop hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on the ISO/IEC 24727 Identification cards, Integrated circuit card programming interfaces. This is a multi-part standard for interoperable identification, authentication, and signature services for credentials and applications. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 6, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 214, at Pages 57451-57452. Location: National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Board Room/Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, SW.

Implementation date of the Census Bureau's (CB) "interim final rule" amending the Foreign Trade Regulations (FTR) to eliminate the requirement to report a social security number (SSN) as an identification number when registering to file and filing electronic export information in the Automated Export System (AES) or AESDirect. See, notice in the Federal Register, August 5, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 149, at Pages 38914-38916.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Consumer Advisory Committee (CAC) will meet. The agenda includes discussions of captioned telephony, digital closed captioning and video description, CG Docket No. 09-158 (regulation of billing information), web media design, and the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). See, FCC notice and notice in the Federal Register, November 19, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 222, at Pages 59977-59978. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

3:00 - 4:00 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) will meet by teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 10, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 216, at Page 58036.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Copyright Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ((USPTO) in response to the Notice of Inquiry (NOI) regarding the draft treaty [PDF] proposed to the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) by Brazil, Ecuador, and Paraguay. See, notice in the Federal Register, October 13, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 196, at Pages 52507-52509, and story titled "Copyright Office and USPTO Issue NOI Regarding Treaty Based Exemption to Anti-Circumvention Provisions" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,003, October 15, 2009.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice (PN) [4 pages in PDF] that requests comments to refresh its record regarding wireless location tracking accuracy and reliability. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 18, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 221, at Pages 59539-59540. This PN was released on November 6, 2009. It is DA 09-2397 in PS Docket No. 07-114. See also, story titled "FCC Extends E911 Location Tracking Rules to Interconnected VOIP" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,589, May 31, 2007, and story titled "FCC Adopts E911 Location Tracking Accuracy Benchmarks" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,640, September 17, 2007, and story titled "FCC Files Opposition to Stay in Challenge to Its Latest Wireless E911 Location Tracking Mandates" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,729, March 11, 2008, and story titled "FCC Seeks Comments on Wireless Location Tracking Rules" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,833, September 26, 2008.

The House will meet the week of December 7-11. See, Rep. Hoyer's release.

10:00 AM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) will hold its first meeting. See, FCC notice and notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 220, at Pages 59183-59184. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room, 445 12th St., SW.

8:30 AM - 5:45 PM. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will host a public workshop titled "Exploring Privacy". See, release and event web page. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

The Intellectual Property Owners' Association (IPO) will host an event titled "20th Annual Conference on U.S. Patent and Trademark Law and Practice". See, notice. Location: Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

Deadline to submit comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [9 pages in PDF] regarding universal service and intercarrier compensation. This document states that its purpose is to assist the FCC in drafting a document titled "National Broadband Plan". See also, story titled "FCC Requests NBP Comments on Universal Service and Intercarrier Compensation" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,016, November 17, 2009.

EXTENDED FROM NOVEMBER 30. Extended deadline to submit comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in response to its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding deceptive marketing of credit reports. See, notice of extension [PDF] and notice of extension in the Federal Register, November 27, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 227, at Pages 62260-62261.

8:30 AM - 3:15 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Technology Innovation Program (TIP) Advisory Board will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 220, at Pages 59133-59134. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Employees' Lounge, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Day one of a three day conference hosted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Empowering E-Consumers: Strengthening Consumer Protection in the Internet Economy". The deadline to request permission to attend is November 27. Attendance is free. The event will be webcast. See, conference web site and schedule. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave.,  NW.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) will host an event titled "Invitational Symposium on the Future of Private Antitrust Enforcement". At 9:30 AM there will be a panel titled "Expanding Empagran". The speakers will include James Fredricks (DOJ Antitrust Division). At 11:00 AM there will be a panel titled "The Legality of Reverse Payments". The speakers will include Seth Bloom (Senate Judiciary Committee staff). Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) will give the lunch speech. At 1:45 PM there will be a panel titled "Extending the ACPERA". The speakers will include Scott Hammond (DOJ's Antitrust Division). At 2:30 PM there will be a panel titled "Class Certification in the U.S. and Abroad". At 3:30 PM there will be a panel titled "Twombly's Children". See, Supreme Court's 2007 opinion in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, and story titled "Supreme Court Rules in Bell Atlantic v. Twombly" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,585, May 22, 2007. See, AAI notice. Location: National Press Club, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division's Economic Analysis Group will host a presentation by Ron Goettler (University of Chicago) and Brett Gordon (Columbia University) titled "Competition and Innovation in the Microprocessor Industry: Does AMD spur Intel to innovate more?". See, paper [53 pages in PDF] with the same title. To request permission to attend, contact Patrick Greenlee at 202-307-3745 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: DOJ, Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

8:30 AM. Day one of a two day partially closed meeting of the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Emerging Technology and Research Advisory Committee (ETRAC). The agenda for the open portion of this meeting includes a discussion of "Deemed Export Control Methodology". See, notice in the Federal Register, November 24, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 225, at Page 61333. Location: Room 6087B, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

8:30 AM - 3:15 PM. The National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Board of Overseers will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 17, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 220, at Page 59133. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Lecture Room A, Gaithersburg, MD.

9:00 AM - 5:45 PM. Day two of a three day conference hosted by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) titled "Empowering E-Consumers: Strengthening Consumer Protection in the Internet Economy". The deadline to request permission to attend is November 27. Attendance is free. The event will be webcast. See, conference web site and schedule. Location: FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 25, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 226, at Pages 61662-61663. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

9:30 AM - 2:00 PM. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, November 23, 2009, Vol. 74, No. 224, at Pages 61113-61114. Location: Room 4813, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, NW.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security". The witness will be Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security. See, notice. Location: Room 216, Hart Building.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Public Notice [PDF] that requests comments regarding "identifying and remedying barriers to broadband deployment and adoption on Tribal lands". This is to aid the FCC in drafting its "National Broadband Plan". This item is DA 09-2093 in GN Docket Nos. 09-47, 09-51, and 09-137.