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Verizon Communications is replacing copper wire damaged by superstorm Sandy with fiber-optic cable, a move that allows the company to sell more services to customers.

The accelerated installation of fiber cable in storm-damaged areas lowers the maintenance costs for the company while providing an almost instant increase in revenue from customers, Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said. Verizon is aiming to transfer as many services as possible off of older, slower copper lines and onto its faster FiOS network, where it wants to improve its scale. "When we convert someone over, they almost always take the double play off the bat," he said, referring to a bundling of two of the companies services that include phone, TV and Internet.

The post-election shake-up on House committees has enhanced the brands of lobbyists who are considered close to the new leaders.

Several House committees that are closely watched by industry will see changes at the top, most notably the Financial Services, Judiciary and Transportation panels. The chairmen of those three committees all have a network of support on K Street to which they turn for advice and counsel — and that can mean more clients and more fees for the lobbyists who are known to be in the inner circle.

Under heavy pressure from the victims of Britain’s phone hacking scandal, Prime Minister David Cameron met with the country’s top newspaper editors and told them “the clock is ticking” on their pledge to adopt a tough new system of press regulation of their own devising if they are to avoid demands by the hacking victims and many lawmakers for a new regulatory system backed by parliamentary statute. After the meeting at 10 Downing Street, a Twitter post in Mr. Cameron’s name said he had told the editors, representing most of Britain’s main national newspapers, that “they need to set up an independent regulator urgently,” with the implication that the government might otherwise have to bow to demands for a law to put teeth into a new system of accountability.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing to explore the nominations of appointees, including current Federal Communications Commission member Mignon L. Clyburn and proposed Federal Trade Commission member Joshua D. Wright.

Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) said, “President Obama has re-nominated Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to another term. This Committee favorably reported her nomination back in 2009, and I am glad that she is willing to serve in this important position for another term. I have always urged Commissioner Clyburn and the other commissioners to approach their work at the FCC with a few simple values: they should protect consumers, promote competition, and make sure that all Americans – including Americans who live in rural places like West Virginia – have access to an up-to-date, affordable communications network. I know she shares these values and look forward to hearing from her about where she thinks the Commission will be going over the next few years.” Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), threatened to pass a resolution of disapproval over the FCC’s media ownership rules, currently under circulation at the agency. Mentioning her newspaper experience, Commissioner Clyburn told the Senators that at her request, the FCC opened up a comment period on the FCC’s broadcast minority report, which showed minority ownership at radio and TV stations was low. “Diversity and media are what I lived and breathed,” Commissioner Clyburn said. The GOP also had a message to send to the FCC about its attempts to regulate the Internet. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) who is retiring from the Senate, told Commissioner Clyburn the FCC’s network neutrality rules “seemed like an overreach.” Sen Hutchison wanted to know if the FCC would seek to reclassify the Internet to impose “common carrier regulations.” Commissioner Clyburn dodged the question, responding she would keep an open mind. “I am not comfortable commenting on a pathway forward,” Commissioner Clyburn said.

On Wright’s nomination, Chairman Rockefeller said, “Our final nominee is Josh Wright, who is a law professor at George Mason University. He has been nominated to be a commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the federal government’s most important consumer protection agency. Mr. Wright is a very accomplished young scholar. He has written extensively on antitrust and other issues that would likely come before him as an FTC Commissioner. In his academic writing – some of which has been funded by groups with a clear anti-regulatory agenda – Mr. Wright makes it very clear that he believes that market forces can solve almost any consumer protection problem. While it is easy to espouse ideas like this from the academic ivory tower, serving as an FTC Commissioner is a very different job. As a commissioner, his job will be to enforce the law as it is written, not as he theorizes it should be. In the real world, some business practices hurt consumers and his job is to protect the consumers, not make excuses for the businesses. I look forward to hearing what he has to say on this subject.” Wright said he would recuse himself from any law enforcement action involving Google for 2 years. Wright, a George Mason University professor, was co-author of a paper in 2011, "Google and the Limits of Antitrust: The Case Against the Case Against Google," defending the company. Wright would not commit to recusing himself beyond that timetable, but Sen Cantwell said she wanted him to give her that answer at a follow-up to the hearing. Sen Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she appreciated that, but wanted a list of the companies who might have business before the FTC that had supported his work so she could get a sense of what he could rule on. Wright was also asked to give follow-up answers on his view of FTC do-not-track and notice and choice proposals.
Chairman Rockefeller intends for the committee to vote on the nominations next week.