Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Telecom subpanel will meet Thursday to discuss the increasingly hot topic of freeing up spectrum held by the government for use by wireless carriers and other commercial entities. The lawmakers will discuss the progress of the bipartisan federal spectrum working group at a hearing this morning, which should provide a clear picture of the fault lines that separate the two parties with regard to spectrum policy. The administration has recently emphasized spectrum sharing, where multiple companies make use of the same band of airwaves to deploy their services rather than paying to license spectrum exclusively. But some panel Republicans are skeptical that such an approach would work. One thing is certain, such a proposal would demand technical upgrades and significant cooperation on the part of industry.

House Passes FISA Extension Over Objections: The House passed a five-year renewal (HR 5949) of a controversial surveillance law on Wednesday, over objections from liberal Democrats concerned about the warrantless surveillance of U.S. citizens. Civil liberties groups have raised concerns over the program, while Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has placed the Senate version of the bill on hold until more information is released. Markey Introduced Mobile App Privacy Bill: Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., introduced a bill (HR 6377) on Wednesday aimed at increasing privacy protections for data transmitted by mobile applications. Markey has previously expressed concerned about the exploding use of smartphone apps, which are largely unregulated and often use consumers' personal data without their knowledge. At least one software industry group criticized the legislation, arguing it could stall growth in a rapidly growing sector. Nevada Senators Spar Over Online Poker: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is blaming his junior Republican colleague Dean Heller for the upper chamber's failure to pass legislation that would legalize and regulate online poker at a national level. Reid claims he has put together 45 of the needed 60 votes to pass the bill, which is near and dear to Nevada's gaming industry. But Heller claims the gaming industry's preference is for the House to act first on the issue of online gambling. The spat appears to be the latest effort by Reid to undermine Heller's re-election campaign, despite the fact the two are ostensibly working together on an issues crucial to the major casino companies. Study Says Social Media Can Effect Voter Turnout: A study published Wednesday by the journal Nature suggests that social networking messages showing friends that have already voted generated 340,000 additional votes nationwide during the 2010 elections. The researchers blamed a "social contagion" effect for the increase, but noted that about four percent of those who claim they voted were lying. Both parties are relying heavily on social networking as part of their get out the vote campaigns after the Democrats held a decided advantage in that arena during the 2008 presidential campaign. House Democrats Want Prison Phone Rates Reduced: Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Bobby Rush, D-Ill., sent a letter to FCC chairman Julius Genachowski on Wednesday urging him to address the "exorbitant rates that the families of prisoners pay to communicate with an incarcerated family member." Prisoners pay unusually high rates for phone service, with an hour call from prison often costing as much as one month of unlimited home phone service. The pair claim the matter has been pending at the commission for almost a decade and note that regular contact between prisoners and family members during imprisonment reduce recidivism. A coalition of civil rights groups presented a request for relief to the FCC in 2003, known as the Wright Petition. In their letter, Rush and Waxman urged the FCC to approve the Wright Petition and cap prison phone rates. Apple Unveils iPhone 5: Apple unveiled the long-awaited next generation iPhone on Wednesday, boasting the new device is "the thinnest smartphone in the world." While it is smaller and lighter than the previous iteration, it also boasts a larger screen and longer battery life. Apple also unveiled a new line of iPods and software updates for its mobile operating system and other popular programs. The phones will go on sale next week and are expected to sell very well, given the recent slowdown in iPhone purchases as consumers anticipated the new model.