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FCC Proposes $4,000 Fine On Comcast For Broadcasting "Fake News"
By 9.25.07
The FCC, always a source of amusement for this website, has decided to crack down on Comcast for broadcasting VNRs or “Video News Releases.” VNRs are produced by PR firms for use as filler by lazy TV news producers. It’s a great deal for TV: They get free content and don’t have to deal with the pressure of doing their jobs properly, and the company gets product placement. Consumers are the only losers.
AT&T Promises Nationwide Naked DSL By The End Of The Year
By 9.20.07
Naked DSL, (DSL without the requirement to have a landline), will be available nationwide by the end of the year, according to statement made by AT&T to the Wall Street Journal.
Verizon Vs. Google: Verizon Wireless Sues The FCC Over "Open Network" Requirement
By 9.14.07
When Google lobbied successfully for the inclusion of an “open network” requirement in the upcoming wireless spectrum auction, it was seen as a coup for consumers. The open network clause would mean that consumers would be able to take their handsets and devices to the network of their choosing.
FCC Takes Action To Prevent Cable Companies From Dropping Digital Broadcast Networks From Analog Cable
By 9.13.07
In 2009, broadcast channels are going to switch over to digital, freeing up a large swath of bandwidth that will be sold to the highest bidder. At that point, says the FCC, cable companies were going to drop broadcast networks from analog cable.
FCC Talks "A La Carte" Cable
By 9.13.07
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin thinks your cable bill is too high.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Suspects "Astroturfing" By Cable Companies
By 8.29.07
la carte cable is really the result of a well-organized lobbying effort by the cable companies.
Mobile Carriers Must Allow Roaming For A "Reasonable" Cost, Says FCC
By 8.8.07
The FCC announced yesterday that commercial mobile phone carriers are obligated to provide roaming connections, including mobile voice calls, text messaging, and push-to-talk services, for a “reasonable” cost. This matters most to customers of small and rural carriers, whose sometimes pay as high as $0.79 a minute to access large carriers’ networks. The political response was as expected: Democrats said the FCC should have included data transfer, and Republicans said the “light regulatory approach” was just right. Sprint said the average roaming cost per minute was four cents, and that no FCC intervention was necessary. And then Sprint ate a newborn and cackled maniacally.
Wireless Consumers Both Win and Lose With New FCC Rules
By 8.1.07
You win some, you lose some. Google’s bid to created an open wireless network was only partially sucessful today as the FCC rejected some of the search giant’s conditions, but adopted others.
T-Mobile And The FCC Tell You To Reply To Txt Msg Spammers
By 7.31.07
Crissy received some txt message spam on her cellphone and was understandably annoyed because incoming txt messages are not included in her package with T-Mobile.
Google Phone Is Coming: Google Says It Will Invest 4.6 Billion To Aquire Wireless Frequencies
By 7.21.07
Google has announced that it will invest 4.6 billion dollars to acquire radio frequencies being abandoned by television broadcasts as they turn digital. The frequencies could be used to provide wireless phone and data services.
Bill To Outlaw "Fleeting" Swear Words Passes Senate Committee
By 7.21.07
Ars Technica says that a bill to give the FCC power over even”fleeting” swear words has passed a Senate committee and now moves on to the full Senate.
FCC Proposes New Rules To Further "Unlock" Cellphones
By 7.10.07
Sick of boring handsets with crippled features? So is FCC chairman Kevin Martin. He’s proposing “sweeping new rules” that would apply to the 700mhz spectrum that is soon to be vacated as television goes digital. What will the new rules be?
Under Martin’s proposal, to be circulated in the agency as early as Tuesday, mobile services in these airwaves would have to allow consumer choice.
True-Life-Tale Of Dealing With A Telemarketer Who Continually Ignored The Do-Not-Call List
By 7.6.07
I just got yet ANOTHER call from a third party selling life insurance policies for BoA. Sometime last month, I told them to stop calling me, and that just because I bank with BoA (I had…I terminated that week before last for reasons unrelated to this) doesn’t mean they’re allowed to keep calling despite my telling them to stop. If I had access to our call records at the moment, I’d list the time, date, and duration of each call, as well as the date I told them to stop.
Cable Companies Will Raise Set-Top Box Rates, Blaming Costs Incurred From FCC Forcing Them To Finally Comply With 11-Year-Old Law
By 7.5.07
Cable companies are using the government’s forcing them to ship new cable boxes with detachable cable cards as an excuse to raise rates on old set-top boxes, AP reports.
Consumers No Longer Forced To Lease Decoders From Cable Company
By 7.3.07
As of last Sunday, cable operators will no longer be able to mandate that you have lease their cable decoder box. The industry agreed on a descrambler format, the CableCARD, which can be loaded into a cable box made by any company. Consumers should see equipment price drops, along with a range of new features. However, the CableCARD will probably only be available to new installations and upgrades.
Tell The FCC What You Think Of An XM-Sirius Merger
By 6.28.07
The FCC seeks public comment on proposed XM-Sirius merger. Namely, what might the common people think about repealing a 1997 FCC ordinance specifically forbidding such a merger…
