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While there has been much outrage about Google “snooping” user data over Wi-Fi, even the FCC says this behavior wasn’t illegal, since the networks in question were public. Is this a sign that the laws around privacy are broken, or is the Streetview furor an overreaction? Read More »

After Wednesdays’ passage of a bill aimed at reforming the FCC, I realized it could serve as a good example to show technologists and entrepreneurs how DC works. Since DC is clearly getting more interested in regulation technology this might come in handy. Read More »

 
 

The FCC has accepted AT&T’s request to withdraw its T-Mobile merger petition, allowing it to resubmit its application if it can overcome the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit. But the FCC didn’t let AT&T get off without releasing its report condemning the merger for all to see. Read More »

AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile seems all but dead. If the deal falls through mobile operators stand to gain or lose depending on which of side of the battle lines the stand. The biggest losers, however, aren’t necessarily AT&T and T-Mobile. Read More »

Following the FCC’s decision to send the $39-billion proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA to an administrative hearing, AT&T has withdrawn its application to combine its spectrum with T-Mobile’s from the regulatory agency. Additionally, it said it will take a $4 billion charge against earnings. Read More »

Verizon dodged a bullet on Tuesday when the FCC denounced AT&T-Mo. No conditional approval means no new regulations to haunt Verizon’s own consolidation plans in the future. Now Verizon needs its archival AT&T to throw in the towel before it can do any more damage. Read More »

The Federal Communications Commission put up a roadblock to the AT&T and T-Mobile merger when it referred the merger to an administrative hearing, and even AT&T seems a bit daunted by the opposition lined up against the $39 billion deal. Read More »

The FCC condemned AT&T-Mo in every way it could think of short of denying the actual merger. Instead it passed it along to an administrative law judge, where telecom deals go to die. But first AT&T has to face down the DOJ. Read More »

China Telecom is moving ahead with plans to pursue an MVNO service in the U.S. starting next year. A China Telecom executive said the branded cellular service will start early next year and will target tourists and travelers who fly between China and the U.S. frequently. … Read More »

Even as the FCC moves to dimiss Verizon’s lawsuit against its network neutrality rules, Big Red gained a victory as the the courts consolidated the lawsuits at the same court that gutted the FCC’s authority in the Comcast P2P case. Read More »

Apple under Jobs set off a policy maelstrom

In bringing the geekiest tech to mainstream consumers, Steve Jobs also helped bring it to Washington, D.C. With the launch of the iPhone, Apple forced Washington legislators to address issues such as spectrum policy and mobile privacy and even got regulators involved in app development. Read More »

The Federal Communications Commission’s controversial net neutrality rules have been officially filed with the Federal Register and will go into effect Nov. 20. But it’s expected to prompt new legal challenges from carriers who question the FCC’s legal authority to implement the rules. Read More »

More Must Reads

The attorneys general of seven states joined the Justice Department’s suit today to block AT&T’s proposed buy of T-Mobile, citing worries about competition. Together these state represent a third of the American population. So what does that mean for the deal? Read More »

The Department of Justice move to block the AT&T-T-Mobile merger has thrown a major wrench in the $39 billion acquisition, which is far from derailed. The deal is much more uncertain now that the DOJ is suing to stop the deal. Here’s what the web is … Read More »

A report shows that by 2018, the traditional phone system is going to be reaching less than 6 percent of U.S. residents. It’s perhaps time to rethink the very notion of what a phone is and what defines the classic phone network. Read More »

When the FCC said it was putting together a report on the future of media, many feared it would recommend subsidies and other breaks for traditional media entities, but the report actually provides very little help for media companies, other than some helpful advice. Read More »

Third-place U.S. cellular carrier Sprint filed a petition with the FCC today formally requesting a block of the AT&T-T-Mobile merger saying it would harm consumers, competition and the broadband economy and would produce little to no tangible public interest benefits. How will AT&T respond? Read More »

AT&T justified its $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile this morning with three main points, spectrum, synergies and the public good. Against a background of incredible data growth, AT&T is ready to recreate a wireless duopoly that mirrors the wireline duopoly we have today. Read More »

AT&T has said it plans to acquire T-Mobile in a deal worth $39 billion. While AT&T has the experience and lobbying muscle to push a deal of this magnitude forward at the FCC and the Department of Justice, here’s how to make your individual voice heard. … Read More »

Telecom giant AT&T dropped a bombshell on Sunday when it announced that it plans to acquire competitor T-Mobile for $39 billion, provided the deal is approved by federal regulators. Here’s what some bloggers, technology analysts, former regulators and other observers are saying about the deal. Read More »

AT&T’s announcement that it would buy T-Mobile for $39 billion in cash and stock is by no means a forgone conclusion, despite the assurances in the press release that it would close within the next 12 months. Sources are divided on the likelihood of regulatory interference. … Read More »

GigaOM and the New America Foundation are sponsoring a debate between Craig Settles, an author and broadband consultant, and Blair Levin, the author of the National Broadband Plan, on how America can meet the broadband needs of its citizens. Click through to watch. Read More »

With its rules on network neutrality, the FCC has protected the current state of the Internet, left the future of the web unregulated and punted on most of the challenging issues that lay before it — from requiring wireless networks to be open to allowing managed … Read More »

The FCC implementation of rules around network neutrality on Tuesday may open up a change in the way carriers price mobile broadband — and it’s not going to get cheaper. Uncertainly over network neutrality has held U.S. operators back when it comes to new pricing plans. Read More »

This is the fourth and final post in a debate between Blair Levin, the writer of the National Broadband Plan, and Craig Settles, a broadband industry consultant. Levin is convinced critics of the plan gloss over the level of detail that went into its creation. Read More »

Net Neutrality, a drama that has dragged on for years, lurched forward today with new rules from the FCC that will impose some basic protections for an open Internet but will leave wireless with less safeguards than wired broadband. Here’s what the Web is saying: Read More »

The FCC today approved an order that will enshrine the policies of network neutrality — the idea that ISPs can’t hinder or discriminate against lawful content flowing across their pipes — as regulations enforced by the FCC. Here’s how we got here. Read More »

The FCC today said it would vote on rules to prevent ISPs from discriminating against the bits flowing across their networks, but it wouldn’t publish the full text of those rules until a few days after the vote due to a compromise with Democratic commissioners. Read More »

Tomorrow, the FCC will unveil its policy framework around network neutrality (yes, it did this last September but network neutrality is like tech policy’s Groundhog Day) and vote on the proposed rules. But even after the vote, it is an issue that won’t go away. Read More »

The author of the National Broadband Plan is happy to debate the plan. He agrees with an earlier column that said broadband is a critical economic development tool and takes work, but wants to set the record straight on speed goals and how to fund them. Read More »

When it comes to broadband, it’s the applications, not speed that matters, but by default, then we need to admit our national goal of 4 Mbps broadband probably isn’t fast enough to deliver the up and coming apps, and may doom the U.S. to inadequacy. Read More »

A fight between Comcast and Level 3 may be simple commercial disagreement over how much traffic Level 3 will send Comcast now that Level 3 is the content delivery network for Netflix, but many believe the spat has the potential to change how the web works. Read More »

Yesterday FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski unveiled a framework for the regulatory agencies net neutrality efforts — the idea that a broadband provider cannot interference with the delivery of lawful bits over its network — that received fairly lackluster support. But we found a compelling counterpoint in … Read More »

The FCC today opened the door to metered pricing plans on wireline broadband networks such as those attempted by Time Warner Cable and AT&T. In a speech outlining his network neutrality proposal, Julius Genachowski condoned usage-based pricing as a means to ensure continued investment in networks. Read More »

The FCC is moving forward on a vote for long-promised net neutrality rules, fulfilling a goal Chairman Julius Genachoswski laid out more than a year ago. The regulations, which will be heard on Dec. 21, will require wireline providers to follow stricter rules than wireless. Read More »

The FCC moved to begin freeing up TV broadcast spectrum for wireless and fixed Internet use in a decision that could ultimately lead to an auction of 120 MHz of spectrum.The vote could help the U.S. stave off a spectrum crunch as mobile Internet use soars. Read More »

A showdown between Comcast and Level 3 over fees Level 3 has agreed to pay the cable giant to carry its traffic has touched off a debate as to whether Comcast is abusing its power or if it’s simply holding Level 3 to a fair standard. Read More »

Level 3, the middle-mile Internet provider and the newly crowned content delivery network for Netflix, has accused Comcast of violating the tenants of network neutrality as the cable company seeks an additional payment to deliver content from Level 3 to its subscribers. Read More »

Internet services providers are calling for an Federal Communications Commission with less authority over regulating broadband, just as the FCC reportedly prepares to vote on new neutrality rules. It’s all part of a larger attempt by the telecommunications industry to undercut the power of the FCC. Read More »

The effort by broadcasters to bring an over the air televison (like a mobile phone version of a Sony WatchMan) continues with a group of 12 broadcasters today announcing plans to upgrade TV stations in 20 markets so they can deliver live video to portable devices. … Read More »

What keeps a man like FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski up at night? Try 40th out of 40. That’s the U.S.’ ranking in broadband improvements from 1999-2009 according to a study last year. Genachowski is worried that the U.S. is in danger of losing its competitive advantage. Read More »

The FCC is planning the equivalent of a “take back the airwaves” campaign to address a shortage in spectrum that will hit by 2013. Today, the agency released a paper detailing the growth of mobile broadband and its plans to get more spectrum. Read More »

As the FCC promotes the National Broadband Plan, it appears convinced that making 100 Mbps speeds available to 100 million households within 10 years will have a positive impact on economic development. But is there too much emphasis on speed as a predicator of economic success? Read More »

The FCC may be struggling in its attempts to create real network neutrality rules, but it’s having better luck with pushing consumer-friendly reforms in the wireless business. This week it plans to help consumers stop incurring giant and unexpected data charges on their mobile phones. Read More »

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has come under fire from all sides over his and the FCC’s stance on Net Neutrality. But if there is one bright spot, it has been the recent order to free up under-utilized TV spectrum and use it for broadband. Read More »

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