Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski told lawmakers he will consider closing a rulemaking docket that was opened in 2010 to reclassify broadband as a basic utility subject to strict, telephone service-like regulation.

With the passage of a 10-month payroll tax cut extension, the broadcasting industry emerged relatively unscathed from one of its biggest political and policy battles in years.

Vice President Joe Biden Feb. 21 announced the release of a report from the Council of Economic Advisers highlighting the importance of “incentive” spectrum auctions, as a vital offset for the just-passed payroll tax cut extension.

North Carolina was granted a one-year adjustment to a health reform regulation on insurer spending on medical claims and quality improvements, while Wisconsin's request was denied, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Feb. 16.

Consumer advocates told a House panel Feb. 15 that stronger medical device safety oversight is needed, especially now that the Food and Drug Administration has a potential new user fee agreement with industry.

LAS VEGAS—Health information technology industry stakeholders should comment extensively both on what they like and do not like about soon-to-be-released proposed regulations for Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive programs from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, an ONC official said Feb. 22.

President Obama's $3.803 trillion fiscal year 2013 budget plan retains previous administration proposals to nearly double the wireless spectrum available for mobile broadband and to create a nationwide, interoperable, public safety broadband network that would link fire, police, and emergency first-responders in the event of a national emergency, such as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

BRUSSELS—Antitrust regulators in the United States and the European Union gave approval Feb. 13 to Google’s $12.5 billion takeover of Motorola Mobility despite warnings from consumer groups that the acquisition would ultimately lead to increased prices for smart phones and tablets.

Cisco Systems has released its latest forecast of mobile data usage, finding that video made up more than half of all wireless data traffic in 2011 and will soar to more than 70 percent of traffic by 2016.

Google Inc.'s acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the acquisitions of certain Nortel Networks Corp. patents by Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Research in Motion Ltd., and Apple's acquisition of certain Novell Inc. patents were given the green light on Feb. 13 by the Justice Department.