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Google Still Wants Unused TV 'White Space' for Wireless Web

Broadcasters remain fearful of interference

(Newser) - Google is re-doubling its efforts to get the FCC to allow the development of unused space in the TV spectrum for wireless Internet service, the Wall Street Journal reports. "The vast majority of viable spectrum in this country simply goes unused," the tech giant wrote to the commission....

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle
 Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle 
Mar 24, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle

Justice Dept. doesn't see threat to competition; FCC must still weigh in

(Newser) - The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition...

AT&T, Verizon Will Dominate New Airwaves

Wireless spectrum auction saw no major first-time entrant

(Newser) - AT&T and Verizon were the two top bidders in the airwaves auction that ended this week, representing 80% of the FCC’s record $19.6 billion haul and positioning themselves to offer advanced wireless Internet services, reports the Wall Street Journal. Google, sans licenses, was another winner, gaining open...

FCC Airwaves Auction Sets Record
FCC Airwaves Auction
Sets Record
Mar 19, 2008 8:26 AM CDT

FCC Airwaves Auction Sets Record

But a band that required open access drew a low price

(Newser) - The FCC earned a record $19.6 billion auctioning soon-to-be-available airwaves to wireless network providers, the Wall Street Journal reports after months of bidding closed yesterday. While the auction exceeded the $15 billion the agency expected, it could have earned still more if it hadn’t placed restrictions on certain...

Supremes to Weigh On-Air Swearing

Fox battles the FCC in next big court case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court might take up a gavel in one hand and a bar of soap in the other next term, when it considers a case challenging the FCC’s “fleeting utterances” standards, it announced today. The FCC is appealing a lower-court ruling—which arose when Cher dropped an...

Gates to FCC: Give Us More WiFi Spectrum

Urges regulators to approve Internet use of TV "white space"

(Newser) - A month after Microsoft failed its second opportunity to convince the FCC that companies could deliver broadband Internet via unused TV frequencies without interfering with programming, Bill Gates pushed regulators Thursday to approve the plan, Reuters reports. He said “white space” between channels could allow WiFi to “explode”...

Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads
Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads
Mar 11, 2008 12:20 PM CDT

Net Neutrality May Slow Downloads

Prioritizing data could be more efficient, experts say

(Newser) - The principle of net neutrality can be taken too far, some experts say. The internet could be made much more efficient—and downloads faster—if network managers were allowed to use info about the content they're sending, a Princeton engineering professor tells Technology Review. That would allow them to prioritize...

FCC Member Wants Probe of Ala. TV Station

'60 Minutes' went black as piece linking Rove to ex-gov's case began

(Newser) - An FCC commissioner wants to know why an Alabama TV station went off the air just as a "60 Minutes" segment critical of Karl Rove started, Broadcasting & Cable reports. WHNT blamed a “technical difficulty," but Michael Copps said today he wants to find out whether Sunday's...

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing
Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing
Feb 27, 2008 6:00 AM CST

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing

Cable and ISP giant accused of hiring seatfillers to silence critics

(Newser) - The future direction of the Internet could be at stake in the FCC's decisions on net neutrality, but one of the ISPs concerned did its best to keep opponents out of a hearing on it, Portfolio.com reports. Advocacy group and fierce Comcast critic Free Press says the firm hired...

FCC Ready to Defend Net Neutrality
FCC Ready
to Defend
Net Neutrality
Feb 26, 2008 12:30 PM CST

FCC Ready to Defend Net Neutrality

Agency says it will step in to stop ISPs from blocking access

(Newser) - FCC boss Kevin Martin told a hearing yesterday that the government was "ready, willing, and able to step in" to stop Internet service providers from restricting traffic sent by rivals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Comcast is accused of acting improperly by slowing or blocking access to file-sharing sites....

Broadcaster Rebuts McCain Lobbying Denial

Recalls meeting before FCC letters; McCain did, too, in 2002 deposition

(Newser) - John McCain's campaign has flatly denied that the senator met with a broadcaster or his lobbyist before writing to the FCC on his behalf in 1999. But Bud Paxson remembers the meeting; he says VIcki Iseman set it up, and may have attended, too. "Was Vicki there? Probably,"...

McCain Critics Say Denials Bend Truth

They cite rebuke from FCC chief over letter in 1999 telecom case

(Newser) - John McCain's camp insists he did not act inappropriately on behalf of lobbyist Vicki Iseman's clients, but Talking Points Memo bloggers beg to differ. They point to newspaper articles from 2000 that said McCain—then chair of the Senate Commerce Committee—wrote a letter to the FCC on behalf of...

Microsoft Blunder Dashes Wireless Hopes

Other tech firms dealt blow in quest for TV "white space" airwaves

(Newser) - Twice, the technology sector has looked to Microsoft to help convince the FCC to let it use dormant TV frequencies to deliver broadband Internet – and twice, Microsoft has failed. Last week, the FCC tested a Microsoft device designed to prove the broadband and TV signals could coexist, only to...

Big Bid Ensures Open Access Network in US

FCC auction passes $4.7B threshold; it's a win for Google

(Newser) - Google’s hopes of forcing a piece of the national radio spectrum into becoming an open access wireless network came a step closer to fruition today, Marketwatch reports. The bid price on the “C block” of 700 Mhz spectrum hit $4.7 billion, enough to trigger FCC regulations that...

ABC Faces Hefty FCC Fine for Bare Bottom

Stiff penalty a sign that group is reviving its anti-indecency crusade

(Newser) - The airing of a woman’s bare bottom almost five years ago could cost ABC $1.43 million, if the FCC gets its way. The media watchdog levied the maximum penalty last night against the Disney-owned broadcaster for a 2003 episode of NYPD Blue. The stiff penalty is a sign...

Analog Service Hanging Up on Customers

Digital networks soon only option, but service has its kinks

(Newser) - Phone customers still dialing up using old analog networks will be out of luck—and service—beginning Feb. 18 when the nation’s wireless companies shut down the outdated technology and switch to digital. Of the quarter-billion American cell phone users, the vast majority use digital networks, but some 1...

FCC to Re-Test Wireless Internet Devices

Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves

(Newser) - After a series of unsuccessful tests, the Federal Communications Commission is heading back to the lab to assess a new round of devices for broadcasting high-speed Internet in the white space available in between TV airwaves. The prototypes come from a coalition of top-tier bidders, including Microsoft, Philips, and Intel,...

FCC: Economy Could Dampen Wireless Sale

In credit crunch, smaller bidders face capital shortage

(Newser) - FCC head Kevin Martin registered concern this week about the impact of the credit crunch on the government auction of wireless airwaves scheduled to begin Jan. 24, Reuters reports. The auction, which Congress has ordered to go forward, comes at a time when the meltdown of housing and subprime mortgage...

Crickets Likely at FCC Discount Airwave Auction

Main waves to draw billions, but not so for public/private spectrum

(Newser) - What if the FCC held an auction and nobody came? In 2 weeks, the government will put a  nationwide airwave on the block starting at the low, low price of $1.33 billion. The catch? The lucky winner has to share the band with emergency responders. Right now, no company...

FCC to Test 'Net Neutrality' in Comcast Case

Service provider faces investigation over claims of traffic-blocking

(Newser) - The Federal Communications Commission will investigate allegations Comcast hinders file sharing by blocking internet traffic for some users, the AP reports. Reports last year showed Comcast interfered with popular BitTorrent file-transfer protocol. Comcast has denied blocking data, rather claiming it delays such transfers to maximize network efficiency for all users....

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