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11 Feb 2012 15:04

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Politics, Tech: The official 3G dead-zone map, courtesy of the FCC

The Official 3G Deadzone Map, Courtesy of the FCC

  • FCC announces creation of mobility fund: In a press release Friday morning, the FCC reaffirmed its commitment to increasing broadband and mobile coverage in rural areas. The agency announced the creation of a new Mobility Fund, a new addition to the Connect America Fund, created to “accelerate our nation’s ongoing efforts to close gaps in mobile wireless service.” Included in the press release was a reminder that the agency will soon host a $300 million reverse auction, with the winner receiving $300 million to provide rural broadband coverage. They also revealed an interactive map of the nation’s worst coverage areas, created with online map-making tool MapBox. source
Posted by Scott Craft • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Nov 2011 11:38

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Biz, U.S.: Off the table (for now): The AT&T merger with T-Mobile

  • what After a long back-and-forth with the government over the implications of the merger, AT&T said Thursday (that’s right, on Thanksgiving!) that they would not pursue FCC approval of a merger with T-Mobile.
  • why It looked very unlikely to get through regulators’ clutches. The merger would have effectively marginalized Sprint in the market, leading the FCC to call a hearing on the merger, and the DOJ to file an antitrust suit.
  • however Both AT&T and T-Mobile have much to lose from the stunted deal — AT&T in penalty fees (reaching into the billions) and lost infrastructure, T-Mobile in declining business. They will probably try again soon. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 May 2011 23:28

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Biz: Blatant evidence the FCC is in bed with big corporate entities

  • January After a long year of hand-wringing, including much complaining by consumer groups, the FCC approved the merger of NBC Universal and Comcast by 4-1. There was much teeth-grinding.
  • May One of the four commissioners who voted for the merger, Meredith Attwell Baker, has a new job. Wanna guess where? It rhymes with “bombast.” Or, perhaps, “total conflict of interest.”  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Dec 2010 09:50

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Politics: Mitch McConnell is a jerk who’s clouding the net neutrality issue

  • This would harm investment, stifle innovation, and lead to job losses. As Americans become more aware of what’s happening here, I suspect many will be as alarmed as I am at the government’s intrusion.
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch “I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about” McConnell • Talking about net neutrality, which proves that he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. If only Ted Stevens were still alive to remind Mitch that the ‘net is a series of tubes. What happens to your own personal Internet when an obstructionist jerk like McConnell tries to favor large corporations over consumers? It won’t be like a dump truck. It’ll be like your own busted series of tubes that you’re paying out of the wazoo for. All because McConnell wants you to think that all government regulation is bad, even when it’s not bad. While this net neutrality policy is kinda weaksauce, it’s better than letting AT&T and Comcast regulate usage. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Dec 2010 10:19

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Tech: The Woz on net neutrality: Big telecom screws customers

  • Every time and in every way that the telecommunications careers have had power or control, we the people wind up getting screwed. Every audience that I speak this statement and phrase to bursts into applause.
  • Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak • Offering up his take on the whole net neutrality battle, an argument he explains in great detail by noting how he, being the inventive guy he is, has run up against the big telecommunications companies multiple times in his life, first with his dial-a-joke service (which he had to stop because the cost proved to be way too expensive), and then, years later, with his nice-guy attempt to wire up his entire neighborhood with free cable access (no, really). The Woz’s main argument in this case? “Local ISP’s should provide connection to the Internet but then it should be treated as though you own those wires and can choose what to do with them when and how you want to,” he writes, “as long as you don’t destruct them.” That’s something that a lot of people can certainly get behind, for sure. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Dec 2010 10:40

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Tech: FCC could compromise on net neutrality policy this week

  • In case you’re concerned about this net neutrality mess, you might want to keep an eye out this week. See, the FCC is about to decide on a compromise proposal which would force network providers to accept all traffic, while conceding that it’s OK for them to manage network congestion and charge users more based on their usage. This policy would have the support of the three Democratic members on the FCC’s board, but the two Republican members would prefer that the Internet remain free of regulation. Which we, by the way, seriously don’t understand. This is one of those cases where, if the government doesn’t step in, consumers will seriously get trampled on. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Oct 2010 22:34

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Biz: FCC’s smart response to Fox/Cablevision fight: Live-tweeting the game

Matt Cain relieved after 7 strong, 2 H, 0 ER. Giants scored on two singles, throwing error. SF up 3-0 top 9 http://fcc.gov/consumerTue Oct 19 22:51:49 via webThe FCC
FCC

  • This is what we’ve come to as a country. The FCC, stuck in the middle of a pissing match between two of the most annoying companies on the face of the planet, actually live-tweeted a little of today’s Phillies/Giants NLCS game. Cablevision, News Corp., take notes: When you idiots bitch about money, the FCC’s going to make you look really stupid. Someone in the Obama administration’s bureaucracy knows how to land a blow with social media. Well-played. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 Jul 2010 20:57

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Politics: The Fairness Doctrine: Why you should miss the broadcast balancer

  • Imagine a world where you didn’t hear only what you wanted to hear. In the age of the Fairness Doctrine, broadcasters were actually required to give time to the voices they might otherwise choose to shut out.
  • AOL News opinion guy Barry Weintraub • Lamenting the long-lost Fairness Doctrine, which created boring TV but led to a much more well-informed electorate. Now, let’s face it – in the age of blogging, we could never realistically go back to this, because technology has become more customized in the 20-odd years since the FCC took it away. But it’s probably important to note how it ended. Basically, Reagan staffer Mark S. Fowler, claiming that it violated the First Amendment, started tearing apart the long-standing policy as FCC chairman. Just seeing how television – let alone talk radio, that quickly-budding bastion of angry politics – has changed in the last 20 years suggests how necessary it or something like it just might be. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 May 2010 20:13

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Tech, U.S.: The FCC twists, turns its way through the net neutrality wormhole

  • before The FCC planned to use
    its weight to move
    carriers to follow net
    neutrality rules it created.
  • then A federal court said this
    wasn’t legal and that
    Congress should make
    a net neutrality law.
  • now The FCC now plans to …
    regulate the Internet like the phone system. How
    wacky! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Apr 2010 12:20

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Tech, U.S.: Twitter can’t believe Federal Court’s net neutrality decision



Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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