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 »
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 »
Two days in Chattanooga, Tenn. show how a municipal broadband network can pay dividends when community leaders focus on the applications a gigabit network can deliver and consider the long-term economic development potential. And yes, it can even generate enough revenue to become profitable. Read more »
Last September Chattanooga, Tenn.’s public utility (EPB) announced the first gigabit broadband service in the U.S. To fully grasp the economic power of true broadband, community leaders and broadband champions need look under the hood to get the inside scoop.Here’s what gigabit networks can do. Read more »
AT&T on Wednesday announced that it will launch its initial LTE service in five markets – Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. GigaOM had an exclusive first look at the carrier’s LTE network that offered speeds of almost 30 Mbps down and 10 Mbps up. Read more »
Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix won’t take the ISPs attacks against his business any longer. He released a report showing that heavy bandwidth users incur a cost of 1 penny or less per gigabyte over a last-mile network — far less than ISPs are charging. Read more »
The AT&T and T-Mo merger will be decided by a DoJ and an FCC playing by the old rules that don’t take into account the future needs of the mobile industry, nor how the relationship between the players in that industry have changed. That’s a problem. Read more »
Demand for mobile data appears to outstrip the supply of spectrum available to provide Facebook or streaming video on our phones and tablets. However, we are ignoring some very promising technological solutions that could turn the spectrum crunch into a capital spending bonanza by telecommunications companies. Read more »
An independent task force that provides recommendations on broadband policy to the FCC has made its first eight recommendations, including one that relates to the FCC’s recent questions about if megabits per second is a good metric on which to judge broadband. Read more »
AT&T’s strategy for pushing through its $39-billion purchase of T-Mobile, thus consolidating further the majority of the mobile subscribers, 4G-capable spectrum and revenue in the U.S. is fantastic. Let’s take a look at the promises, the changes in strategy and the continuing issues. Read more »
LightSquared, the company trying to create a wholesale fourth generation wireless network is thinking about an initial public offering. Is the company is planning to take investors for a ride using the current spectrum crisis as cover for a questionable business plan? Read more »
The FCC and the DoJ’s review of the $39-billion buy of T-Mobile by AT&T began today. The good news is there’s now a place to file a complaint and the bad news is it’s unclear if the government will stand up for consumers on this deal. Read more »
This week, the broadcast industry is meeting in Las Vegas. However, amid this collegial gathering of industry folks a $33 billion fight is brewing. The fight is nothing short of an entertainment battle royal with TV on one side and the iPhone on the other. Read more »
Leap Wireless, the company behind the prepaid Cricket prepaid service, will transition to a 4G Long Term Evolution Network in the second half of this year, but is dubious about the technology being ready for customers. Leap’s CEO thinks devices will achieve “critical pricing” in 2012. Read more »
A handful of telco and cable companies and their allies are advancing what some consider the sugarcoated destruction of free-market dynamics and the democratic process by attacking North Carolina’s community broadband networks. This runs counter to the National Broadband Plan and democracy. Read more »
While we in the U.S. ponder the implications if AT&T successfully buys T-Mobile, and takes the U.S. down to a mere three carriers, the citizens of Turkmenistan are suddenly faced with only one carrier, after one of its two operators went out of business. Read more »
The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals has dismissed the case that Verizon Communications filed against the FCC over its network neutrality rules. The ruling is a win for the FCC, although Verizon will likely file suit again and Congress is still gunning for the FCC. Read more »
Chip Rosenthal headed the effort to bring Google’s gigabit fiber network to Austin. He says the Texas capital was on the short list of cities, but thinks Austin was passed over because of a state law banning municipal participation in broadband networks. Read more »
Kansas City may not be alone in getting gigabit broadband. In Google’s blog today, it said: “We’ll also be looking closely at ways to bring ultra high-speed Internet to other cities across the country.” Sounds like Google isn’t finished yet. And that’s a good thing. Read more »
Two announcements on Monday night illustrated the yin and yang of the streaming market. Amazon announced a cloud storage drive and cloud music service, and Netflix said it would have to degrade the quality of video streams in response to bandwidth caps. Read more »
Bandwidth.com has raised $22 million in its first round of capital from new growth equity shop Carmichael Partners, which counts former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin as a managing partner. Martin helped score $22 million from institutions and individuals for Bandwidth.com, but has not raised a fund. Read more »
Google announced its plan to build a superfast, fiber-to-the-home network in a lucky town last February and it would name the town in 2010. But last December it named a new person to lead the effort and said it needed more time. Where is the network? 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 »
The FCC may soon have a new chairman according to Washington blog, The Hill. The site reports that FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is ready to leave his role as head of the agency and says his name has been floated as the next Secretary of Commerce. Read more »
The FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking yesterday, seeking to reform the rules around retransmission consent negotiations. While the proposal could clarify the concept of “good faith” negotiations, it does little to improve the FCC’s ability to act if parties aren’t negotiating in good faith. Read more »
The FCC is set to reform the Universal Service Fund, which provides subsidized access to voice services to low-income people. As the FCC looks to reform USF to provide broadband as opposed to voice telephone service, it should modernize its Lifeline and Link-up programs. Read more »
Things are looking up for LightSquared, the company trying to build a wholesale LTE network. It scored a $586 million loan, got a huge waiver from the FCC and some unnamed customers. Yet, its network buildout has slowed and it picked a fight with the Pentagon. Read more »
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration unveiled our nationwide broadband map today, and said that “between five and ten percent of Americans don’t have broadband.” It also asked for help from users to continue the process and will make the data available via an open API. Read more »
The five FCC commissioners traveled to the Capitol today for a hearing on the necessity of its network neutrality rules. The hearing was the first step in a process that attempts to repeal the FCC’s efforts and prevent the FCC from trying to implement them again. Read more »
Not to be outdone by the U.S. government estimates that spectrum currently set aside for digital TV transmission is worth $27.8 billion, CTIA and the Consumer Electronic Association said those airwaves were worth $33 billion. But these estimates make several assumptions. Read more »
President Barack Obama Thursday unveiled his plan to provide 98 percent of Americans 4G wireless coverage. The plan is a mix of programs costing $18.2 billion, but the president believes a new spectrum auction will cover the costs and even help reduce the deficit. 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 »
The U.S. Court of Appeals today denied Verizon’s motion to have the three judges who ruled against the FCC in an earlier network neutrality case hear Verizon’s current attempt to contest the regulatory agency’s network neutrality rules. It’s a small setback for foes of network neutrality. Read more »
Wireless spectrum: It’s the air that mobile service providers breathe, and the FCC has been freeing up chunks of wireless spectrum for our insatiable appetite for wireless services. But turns out it’s not just cell phone companies that want more spectrum; utilities want more, too. Read more »
Last night in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama promoted jobs, high-speed rail and high-speed wireless access. I’m all for fast wireless broadband, but relying on wireless to solve this broadband gap is like relying on low-fat Twinkies to solve the obesity problem. Read more »
Verizon filed a lawsuit today questioning the FCC’s authority to implement the agency’s network neutrality rules, but while the argument here is important, the underlying goal for this lawsuit and others that will be filed is finding a court sympathetic to each parties’ cause. Read more »
Conditions imposed on Comcast and NBC Universal by the FCC and DOJ will require the companies to make their cable content available to new online video distributors. But those over-the-top distributors have some hurdles to jump before the regulatory agencies will enforce those conditions. Read more »
