Alina Selyukh

President Barack Obama's plan for overhauling the National Security Agency's phone surveillance program could force carriers to collect and store customer data that they are not now legally obliged to keep, according to US officials.

One complication arises from the popularity of flat-rate or unlimited calling plans, which are used by the vast majority of Americans. While the Federal Communications Commission requires phone companies to retain for 18 months records on "toll" or long-distance calls, the rule's application is vague for subscribers of unlimited phone plans because they do not get billed for individual calls. That could change if the Obama Administration pushes through with a proposal to require carriers -- instead of the NSA -- to collect and store phone metadata, which includes dialed numbers and call lengths but not the content of conversations.

Under the Administration's proposal, the phone companies would be required to turn over the data to the NSA in response to a court-approved government request. US officials said the carriers might be forced to create new mechanisms to ensure that metadata from flat-rate subscribers could be monitored. They said these issues will require further discussion between the White House, Congress and industry.

Comcast’s top lobbyist David Cohen is known to be a savvy political operator, having pushed through the No. 1 US cable operator's landmark acquisition of media giant NBC Universal in 2011.

But when it comes to getting approval for Comcast to buy its biggest rival, Time Warner Cable, Cohen must win over someone just as well versed in the ways of lobbyists and the cable industry: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler.

Comcast will formally request an FCC review of the $45.2 billion Time Warner Cable deal in late March 2014.

Cohen and Chairman Wheeler do not know each other well, according to Cohen, but their paths have crossed in senior political and industry circles. Both men are supporters of President Barack Obama, each helping to raise more than half a million dollars for his re-election campaign in 2012, according to disclosures.

Cohen is no stranger to Obama's White House. Visitor logs put Cohen, who is not a registered lobbyist, there for meetings and receptions 14 times since 2010, including twice at the Oval Office. People who know Cohen and Chairman Wheeler describe them in similar terms: steady negotiators with a strong grasp of the issues at stake, as well as the players at the table.