“With this nomination and appointment, when I depart in mid-May, I'll be leaving a revitalized FCC in great hands."
— Julius Genachowski, the Chairman of the FCC
Rumor has it the new FCC chair is Tom Wheeler, a former cable lobbyist
photo: Core Capital
President Obama is set to nominate Tom Wheeler, a venture capitalist and former cable and wireless lobbyist as the chairman of the FCC, according to the Wall Street Journal. Read more »
How many people have a gigabit connection? Fewer than you think.
It’s tough to count how many homes have a gigabit connection, but we can try to get some numbers to give a sense of how prevalent such connectivity is. The answer is not very. Read more »
The fastest way to speedy networks: ignore Uncle Sam
Austin’s forthcoming Google Fiber gigabit network is a crucial first step to restoring economic opportunities that other cities must follow. The key is partnering with private enterprise on a local level, rather than waiting for federal intervention. Read more »
Analyst: Verizon’s network neutrality challenge may have to wait until fall
We’re going to have to wait a little longer before we know if the network neutrality rules the FCC implemented in 2010 are hear to stay. The courts aren’t likely to hear the case until fall. Read more »
Rating the legacy of outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he was stepping down from the role today. Let’s take a look back and see how he did against our hopes for him back in 2009. Read more »
White spaces networks are not “super” nor even Wi-Fi
The government is hoping that making a band of unlicensed spectrum available as part of the upcoming incentive auctions will help build a nationwide wireless network. Is that the best use of that spectrum? Read more »
The technologies that will save us from the “mobile data crunch”
photo: E.O./Shutterstock.com
The mobile explosion has meant an exponential growth in data use – and punishing traffic to our cellular networks. In the eyes of VCs, that mobile misfortune spells opportunity. Read more »
White House: “It’s time to legalize cell phone unlocking”
As of Jan. 26, it’s illegal for U.S. consumers to unlock their own cellphone but that could change now that the White House has showed support for a petition to overturn the rule. Read more »
To meet the FCC’s Gigabit Challenge, cities will have to get political
Getting to a gigabit city in every state is going to take money, partnerships and a willingness to play politics. Incumbent ISPs are willing to go to the state house to keep projects in limbo. Read more »
Some broadband is better than others, like fiber and …. satellite!
When it comes to broadband most Americas get at least 90 percent of what they pay for and those with fiber to the home or satellite may get even more. Read more »
Comcast buys the rest of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion
photo: Shutterstock / Cedric Weber
Comcast’s purchase of the 49 percent of NBCUniversal that it didn’t already own was expected to take several years, but the cable provider said Tuesday it has bought the rest of the company for $16.7 billion. Read more at paidContent »
More bad news about broadband caps: Many meters are inaccurate
photo: Shutterstock / Aperture 51
An executive at a firm ISPs hire to audit their broadband meters says most of his clients so far haven’t built accurate meters. Read more »
The real Gigabit Challenge is getting ISPs to think like tech firms
Forget getting a gigabit in one city in all 50 states of the U.S. The real gigabit challenge is helping the existing ISPs think like innovators, not like utilities. Read more »
The next Apple TV is still a box, just smaller
Still waiting for Apple to announce a big-screen TV? Then you might have to wait a bit longer: The next Apple TV device will be even smaller than the currently-selling version. Read more »
America has plenty of wireless spectrum — we just need a new way to allocate it
photo: Andrey Titarenko/Shutterstock.com
The conventional wisdom is that we have a radio spectrum shortage. That’s not the case, according to President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. What we need is a much more efficient way to allocate what we have, and that includes a plan for shared use. Read more »
YouTube sucks on French ISP Free, and French regulators want to know why
photo: 20th Century Fox
After users complained about bad online video experiences, France’s telecom regulator launched an investigation trying to figure out if a local ISP was blocking YouTube or if it was just underinvesting in its network. A decision is expected soon, and could have worldwide repercussions. Read more »
Over half of American homes don’t have or use their landline
Don’t use your landline? Don’t have a landline? You’re in the majority according to the latest data from the CDC. The agency is tracking the death of landlines to understand how it needs to adapt its phone surveying techniques to counter bias in landline-only surveys. Read more »
Want to be a news baron? 2013 could be your year
Some famous newspaper titles are going on sale next year. Meanwhile, as analyst Ken Doctor reports, regulators will re-examine rules that limit cross-ownership of media platforms. Read more at paidContent »
Hope springs eternal: FCC says in 18 months you can text 9-1-1
In about 18 months, over 90 percent of wireless subscribers will be able to text 9-1-1 to get the help they need, bringing one more element of our telecommunications infrastructure out of the landline era. It’s a project that’s over two years in the making. Read more »
The state of broadband in the U.S. [infographic]
How do prices, speeds and rates of adoption for broadband in the U.S. stack up with the rest of the industralized world? Not as well as you might think. Here are some key facts on the state of broadband. Read more »
How do you know if your broadband meter is accurate?
photo: Shutterstock / Aperture 51
After four years, broadband caps are common in the U.S., but so far no agency is watching to make sure those caps are implemented fairly. So what happens when an internet user claims his ISP’s data usage numbers don’t match his own? Read more »
Republicans hate to (spectrum) share: How the election affects the FCC
photo: Flickr user Tom Lohdon
The presidential election will have big impacts on our nation’s tax policies and spending plans over the next four years, but who wins or loses will also play a role in telecommunications policies that will affect every individual on their cell phone and their land lines. Read more »
Subscriber Content
What the shift to the cloud means for the future EPG
The purpose of the on-screen guide has shifted. By connecting the guide to content-recommendation engines and advertising platforms, service providers and connected-TV device manufacturers are using the EPG as an access point for understanding consumers and reaching out to them to own the living room. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Time Warner to make over $350 million-a-year from cable modem rentals
photo: Shutterstock/3DProfi
Time Warner Cable, like some other broadband service providers, is now charging monthly rental fee for modems. That’s hardly a surprise, given the dearth of alternatives for consumers. Of course, the FCC willfully ignores the lack of a competitive market dynamic. Read more »
Spectrum sharing opens a potential attack route
Thanks to a recent government report, the idea of spectrum sharing between federal agencies and consumer broadband applications is gaining ground. But before we encourage sharing, we should ask tough questions about security. Can we share our airwaves without compromising them? Read more »
YouTube wants you to tell on publishers without closed captions
Found a broadcast program on YouTube that doesn’t come with closed captions? Then you can now use a special complaints form to tell on the publisher, who should have supplied subtitles according to new regulations that came into effect earlier this month. Read more »
Which ISPs are capping your broadband, and why?
More than 64 percent of broadband subscribers in the U.S. have a cap on their usage. Are you one of them? This story shows which ISPs are capping your broadband, the structure of those plans and explains why caps are a big business. Read more »
As broadband caps turn 4, it’s time for the FCC to take action
Broadband caps are spreading like Kudzu but the FCC has no oversight of how ISPs implement them or who they affect. While, the agency is showing signs of waking up to the problem, we’ve laid out three areas where it needs to take action. Read more »
FCC Chairman: I’m concerned about data caps
The FCC chairman is concerned about data caps, but that may not mean he’s ready to take any action. At an event in Silicon Valley last night the chairman of the regulatory agency said he viewed anything that would depress broadband usage as a concern. Read more »
Need spectrum? FCC plans TV incentive auction for 2014
The FCC is moving forward with a controversial plan to entice broadcasters to give up their airwaves so they can later be auctioned off to carriers who need more spectrum to deliver mobile broadband. FCC officials expect the auction in 2014. Read more »
Have an opinion on broadband caps? Speeds? Tell the FCC.
The FCC doesn’t seem to realize it’s summer. The regulatory agency has been issuing decisions like crazy. And this week it also released a series of questions that indicate the FCC is thinking about the need for faster broadband speeds and questioning caps. Read more »
What’s up with special access: the $12B surcharge on Sprint and T-Mo?
The FCC halted the deregulation of special access charges, prices companies like Sprint and T-Mobile pay to connect their wireless networks to the Internet. Verizon and AT&T own those circuits, and the FCC wants to know if they charge their competitors a fair rate. Read more »
Bait and switch: What’s behind AT&T’s stance on FaceTime
In blocking Apple’s FaceTime application from its cellular network for certain customers, AT&T is trying to drive customers to new plans and change the debate when it comes to network neutrality. If Ma Bell succeeds it looks like consumers and maybe app developers could lose. Read more »
Web TV needs to have captions starting next month, the FCC rules
Deaf and hard-of-hearing web video viewers have long pressed for a faster adoption of closed captioning, and it looks like the FCC got their back: Content also shown on TV will have to have closed captions when streamed online starting next month, the commission recently ruled. Read more »
The U.S. once again fails the FCC’s broadband progress report
photo: Flickr user Hans Gerwitz
For the third time the FCC has failed the U.S. when it comes to bridging the digital divide. In it’s eighth broadband report the agency finds that broadband is not yet being deployed in a reasonable and timely fashion. So now what? Read more »
Subscriber Content
Consumer privacy in the mobile advertising era
Smartphones can enable an amazing level of connectivity, but they can also allow that activity to be monitored and used in controversial ways. But for mobile marketing to realize its full potential, consumers may need to sacrifice their privacy to one degree or another. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Google Fiber and the community broadband ripple
Community-owned broadband gets a significant boost with the Google fiber announcement, even though Kansas City doesn’t own the network. The trick is understanding which Google tactics can be replicated by community projects and how to use gigabit envy to get municipal networks built. Read more »
AT&T buys NextWave spectrum hoping to create a new 4G band
By buying NextWave, AT&T removes the biggest obstacle to its plan to convert the Wireless Communications Services band from a worthless patch of airwaves to highly valuable 4G spectrum. The deal will cost AT&T $600 million but would pay dividends in new LTE capacity. Read more »
FCC to Verizon: Don’t block tethering apps. Verizon settles for $1.25M
The FCC has come to a settlement with Verizon Wireless that will allow customers of the nation’s largest wireless network to use tethering apps from the Android market, and thus circumvent the $20 monthly fee Verizon charges for using a phone as a mobile hot spot. Read more »
