Open Range Communications, a WiMAX network that was created to offer rural Americans broadband service, has reportedly lost its CEO and preparing for mass layoffs. The troubles at Open Range signals another failure to bring broadband to rural America. Read more »
The cost of delivering a gigabyte of data will surpass the cost carriers receive for said gigabyte some time in early 2013, according to a chart provided by telecommunications gear vendor Tellabs. 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 »
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 political drama around the Obama administration’s efforts to bring a competitive wireless broadband alternative to the nation are roiled in a technical and now a political debate. The drama centers around LightSquared, and whether or not the White House influenced testimony from a four-star general. Read more »
The spectrum shortage, backed by scary stats from Cisco, is the rationale for a $39-billion merger the Justice Department is currently fighting. The running narrative is we want to use a ton of data but our airwaves can’t handle it. But what if we shared? Read more »
Call it what you want, but Super Wi-Fi or white spaces broadband just got a big win today when the FCC approved the first trial using the radio and database needed to deliver the broadband service. the test brings us one step closer to better broadband. Read more »
AT&T filed its response to the DOJ lawsuit that attempts to stop Ma Bell’s acquisition of T-Mobile, and the response can be summed up as: T-Mobile is a loser, but if we can take it over, it’s a win for customers who will get better service. Read more »
Just because the Department of Justice and Sprint are suing to stop AT&T from buying T-Mobile, doesn’t mean the deal is dead. Analyst firm Strategy Analytics today said it thinks the deal could still happen if AT&T sells off some of its spectrum. Read more »
Not content to let the Justice Department stand in the way of the proposed AT&T buy of T-Mobile, Sprint sued AT&T, Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile on Tuesday under provisions associated with the Clayton Antitrust Act, the operator said. Read more »
The UK’s telecom regulator laid out plans to use white spaces broadband, and expects to see networks in use by 2013, according to a report issued Thursday. If the UK is moving forward, what the heck has happened to efforts in the U.S.? Read more »
Bloomberg TV is making a renewed push to fight its way out of the nosebleed section of Comcast’s channel line-up. Tired of being stuck at 10… Read more at paidContent »
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 saying. Read more »
After the Department of Justice surprised pretty much everyone by suing to stop AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile, the nation’s No. 2 carrier isn’t taking defeat lying down. It has vowed to fight the suit in a statement released this morning. Read more »
The impact of digital technology has shattered long-established monopolies and ways of making money in the newspaper publishing industry. Today, publishers must find ways to subsidize content-creation costs directly, and this report examines a few different approaches, from more flexible paywalls to charging users directly for access and mimicking the business models of other industries, such as online gaming. Companies mentioned in this report include Ford, Netflix, Amazon and Hulu. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A sign of Twitter’s growing power, and increasing need to interface with government to get its message across: the company has hired a new h… Read more at paidContent »
Sometimes knowing you are observed is enough to make you behave well. And the recent hoopla over AT&T releasing unredacted merger filings and an FCC request for more data, raise the question of how much transparency the FCC should sacrifice to protect competitive information. Read more »
Do we really think that Dish wants to build an LTE-Advanced mobile broadband network? I know that it filed a waiver asking the FCC to grant it the ability to use its satellite spectrum to deliver such a network, but let’s get real for a moment. Read more »
From this weekend’s news over Libya’s intermittent access to the web to last week’s drama over San Francisco’s public transportation agency shutting down wireless access during a protest, knowing where the web is at its weakest can help citizens agitate for change or protect their rights. Read more »
Recent allegations of ISPs hijacking search traffic are just the tip of the iceberg. Dane Jasper, CEO of ISP Sonic.net offers his “quick guide to the five levels of ISP evil” and explains just how low some ISPs will go. Read more »
AT&T, on Thursday somehow managed to file a document relating to its T-Mobile acquisition that wasn’t redacted, which noted that it would have to spend $3.8 billion to cover rural areas with its planned LTE network. Read more »
Carriers are preparing ways to change their pricing to charge by applications or services. And as they do, consumers will lose — namely because carriers will offer a variety of their own services that could strangle the quality of anything one might consider over-the-top. Read more »
The Federal Communications Commission said it would combine the review of AT&T’s purchase of spectrum from Qualcomm with the agency’s review of Ma Bell’s $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile. Is the FCC worried about consolidating so much spectrum into the hands of one company? Read more »
Does your Cablevision Internet connection feel a little slow in the evening hours? Turns out you are not alone: The FCC’s new broadband report shows that Cablevision delivers less than 60 percent of its advertised speed during peak hours. Most other ISPs fared significantly better. Read more »
The much rumored and much talked about deal between Sprint Nextel and LightSquared has finally come to fruition, the two companies announced Thursday. LightSquared says that this deal will lower its expenses by more than $13 billion. Here is the breakdown of the deal: Read more »
AT&T’s solid second quarter results were driven by wireless, but its wireline business was nearing growth again — a success for the carrier as it nears the completion of its U-Verse deployment. But amid the cheering for U-verse, the DSL network was getting kicked to the curb. Read more »
NextWave, a wireless spectrum holding company, warned it may be heading to bankruptcy. But NextWave has spectrum that could be used for mobile broadband that it has been trying to sell since November 2009. Its financial woes explain why the U.S. spectrum policy is so difficult. Read more »
This week both Republicans and Democrats proposed drafts of mobile spectrum bills that would incent television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum to be used for mobile broadband. But one of those bills could hurt the development of more unlicensed airwaves. Read more »
Writing on behalf of the NCTA, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell cited the wide array of TV apps popping up on connected TVs, tablets and mobile devices at this year’s Cable Show were proof that the FCC’s suggested AllVid standard will be unnecessary. 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 »
LightSquared, the company betting it all on a wholesale 4G wireless broadband network, said Tuesday it has raised $265 million from existing and new investors. None of the investors were named, but it brings LightSquared’s total funding to $2.3 billion just in the last year. Read more »
The FCC’s net neutrality rules are their final steps to becoming a real law. Soon they will be on their way to the Federal Register. Once that happens, anyone can file a lawsuit and get the ball rolling on testing the rules in court. Read more »
Pictures and details of the next generation of Roku set-top boxes have been revealed, thanks to a filing with the FCC. So should you get ready to buy one? It probably depends on if you already own a Roku — and how much you like Angry Birds. Read more »
LightSquared filed a reporton Thursday that shows that its planned wholesale LTE wireless network would interfere with existing GPS equipment, and suggested a three-part plan to resolve the issue. The report, filed with the FCC, could throw the operation of LightSquared’s network into some doubt. Read more »
Sometimes it’s not what you say, but what you don’t say that matters, and in today’s release of the annual wireless competition report, the Federal Communications Commission silence speaks volumes. The problem is, no one knows what that silence is saying. Read more »
Allied Fiber may be able to do something the FCC can’t: help make American broadband just a bit more competitive. In a few weeks it will begin construction on its new type of optical network. It’s six months late, but better late than never. Read more »
LightSquared, the company trying to build a wholesale 4G wireless network using a mix of FCC waivers, satellite spectrum, a to-be-built terrestrial network and a helluva lot of gumption may have signed a deal with Sprint. Read more »
In a phone interview with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, we chatted about how he hopes to narrow the broadband adoption gap, why broadcasters and distributors should play nice in their retransmission negotiations and why AllVid is still important for the future of TV applications. 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 »
In the war to control access to services over wireless networks, the Free Press, a consumer group, has filed a complaint with the FCC because Verizon has reportedly asked Google to disable tethering on Android devices. Read more »
