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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that his agency is on track to meet its goal of freeing up 300 MHz of spectrum for mobile broadband by 2015.

He said that to hit its target, the FCC is pursuing auctions, spectrum re-designation, moving government users and spectrum sharing. Although he said he supports "innovative" proposals to share spectrum bands with multiple users, he said clearing remains a "core" policy goal. He pushed back against criticism from the Republican commissioners that the FCC should focus less on unlicensed spectrum. "As innovation opportunities and demand for unlicensed uses continue to grow, and Wi-Fi networks get more and more congested – have you tried using Wi-Fi in a busy airport recently? – we need to ensure unlicensed spectrum opportunities keep pace," Genachowski said.

The first of three presidential debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney reached more than 70 million viewers. Nielsen said 67.2 million viewers watched on television at home — the highest number for a first debate since 1980. That year, 80.6 million watched the only debate between President Jimmy Carter and the Republican presidential candidate, Ronald Reagan. A few second- and third-round presidential debates since then have attracted more than 67 million viewers, including the second debate of the 1992 cycle. Nonetheless, Wednesday’s totals were surprisingly high by almost any standard.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) said that secretive attacks on American computer systems could spark a renewed push for legislation after the election.

The White House is now considering an executive order that would encourage companies to meet cybersecurity standards. Chairman Rogers said the latest briefings "rekindled people's interest in trying to get something done." He argued that CISPA is the only bill that has bipartisan support and could pass in the lame-duck session. "Just pass the cyber sharing bill and we can talk about critical infrastructure next year," Chairman Rogers said.

He also blasted the White House on Thursday for failing to consult with him on a potential executive order to enhance cybersecurity. He argued that his committee researched cybersecurity issues for two years and that administration officials should seek the input and expertise of congressional Republicans. He also charged that the White House has failed to reach out to the business community.

In key battleground states, huge numbers of presidential ads are airing on television stations that are not required to post to the Federal Communications Commission's online political ad database, new data released by the Wesleyan Media Project shows. In four of the nine states considered key in this year's general election -- Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin -- less than half of presidential ads would be disclosed on the FCC database, a Sunlight analysis reveals.

Based on ads that ran from Sept. 9 through Sept. 30:

• Iowa saw 17,000 presidential ads; none of its eight television markets are covered by the FCC order.
• In Wisconsin, 70 percent of the ads recorded aired outside of the top 50 markets. Only the four Milwaukee network affiliates are required to post to the FCC online database. Spending in the state has increased dramatically over the last month.
• Fifty-five percent of ads in Colorado would not be disclosed to the FCC.
• Of New Hampshire's 7,000 ads, slightly more than half have been run in uncovered markets.