Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: FCC

FCC stories: 114 news summaries

61 - 80 of 114 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

FCC Member Wants Probe of Ala. TV Station

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

Mar 4, 08 4:10 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Karl Rove • FCC • Don Siegelman • Alabama • Michael Copps • Kevin Martin • governor • blackout • WHNT • technical difficulties • political decision

Comcast Stooges Pack FCC Hearing

Cable and ISP giant accused of hiring seatfillers to silence critics

Feb 27, 08 6:00 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Comcast • FCC • net neutrality • ISP

FCC Ready
to Defend
Net Neutrality

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

Feb 26, 08 12:30 PM CST
(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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • Comcast • FCC • broadband Internet • file sharing • net neutrality • ISP • Kevin Martin • Internet access

Broadcaster Rebuts McCain Lobbying Denial

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

Feb 23, 08 10:05 AM CST
(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,"... More »

MORE ABOUT:
ethics • John McCain • FCC • lobbying • Vicki Iseman • Paxson Communications

McCain Critics Say Denials Bend Truth

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

Feb 21, 08 4:40 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • FCC • Vicki Iseman

Microsoft Blunder Dashes Wireless Hopes

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

Feb 13, 08 3:08 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Microsoft • FCC • broadband Internet • airwaves • white space

Big Bid Ensures Open Access Network in US

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

Jan 31, 08 10:17 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • FCC • wireless • spectrum auction • 700 Mhz

ABC Faces
Hefty FCC Fine for Bare Bottom

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

Jan 26, 08 2:01 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • FCC • ABC • indecency • First Amendment • NYPD Blue

Analog Service Hanging Up
on Customers

Digital networks soon only option, but
service has its kinks

Jan 21, 08 3:01 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • Verizon • General Motors • AT and T • Sprint Nextel • phone service • Alltell • digital networks • analog networks • T-Mobile

FCC to Re-Test Wireless Internet Devices

Companies seek to broadcast web over unused TV airwaves

Jan 19, 08 12:20 AM CST
(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,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • Microsoft • FCC • broadband Internet • Philips • WiFi • rural area • wireless technology

FCC: Economy Could Dampen Wireless Sale

In credit crunch,
smaller bidders face capital shortage

Jan 18, 08 10:24 AM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Congress • FCC • Verizon • AT and T • Kevin Martin • spectrum auction • Frontline Wireless • subprime crisis

Crickets Likely at FCC Discount Airwave Auction

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

Jan 15, 08 2:32 PM CST
(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... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Google • FCC • airwaves • AT and T • spectrum auction • emergency responders

FCC to Test 'Net Neutrality' in Comcast Case

Service provider faces investigation over claims of traffic-blocking

Jan 9, 08 12:54 PM CST
(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.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • investigation • Comcast • FCC • file sharing • BitTorrent • ISP • probe

Feds Ease TV Switch With Coupons

Money will help those who still use antennas upgrade to digital before '09

Jan 2, 08 3:13 PM CST
(Newser) - For the estimated 14.3 million households still getting their TV via antenna, there’s hope: The federal government yesterday began handing out $40 coupons to help buy converters ahead of the 2009 digital cutoff, the AP reports. The problem, Congress says, is that few know about the $1.5... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • Government Accountability Office • digital television • digital broadcasting • TV antenna

Paul Allen to Bid in FCC Wireless Airwaves Auction

Airwave auction draws applications from a diverse group from Google to Chevron to AT&T

Dec 19, 07 9:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is joining the competition for wireless airwaves being auctioned by the FCC next month. Allen’s firm, Vulcan Spectrum, applied, as have Google, Verizon, AT&T and others, to bid for the 700-megahertz spectrum that goes on the block Jan. 24, reports Reuters. Allen's investment company,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • municipal wireless • wireless service • 3G wireless networks • Paul Allen

FCC Loosens Cross-Media Ownership Ban

Newspapers, local TV stations can share parent company

Dec 18, 07 4:05 PM CST
(Newser) - The FCC loosened a 32-year-old ban on simultaneous ownership of a newspaper and a radio or TV station in the same city today, the Washington Post reports. The commission voted 3-2 along party lines after a dispute-filled meeting. Afterward, one of the Democratic commissioners said, "Powerful companies are using... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • Kevin Martin • media ownership

FCC Angers All Sides With New Media Rules

Cable companies fume at limits, and senators protest relaxed regs

Dec 18, 07 7:05 AM CST
(Newser) - The FCC is set to push through new rules on media ownership today, to the consternation of everyone from telecoms to free-speech advocates, writes the Wall Street Journal. The commission will introduce two new regulations: one will allow media companies to buy both newspapers and television stations in the top... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • Kevin Martin • media conglomerates • media cross ownership

FCC Chief
Won't Delay Media Vote

Defiant Martin wants to relax ownership rules
in broadcast, print

Dec 14, 07 10:31 AM CST
(Newser) - FCC chief Kevin Martin will push ahead with a vote next week to allow media companies to own a broadcasting station and newspaper in the same city, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move comes despite heavy criticism from senators who say he's rushing into a major policy change without... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • Tribune Company • Kevin Martin

FCC Asked
to Stop Text Censoring

Net neutrality advocates object to providers blocking messages

Dec 11, 07 10:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Consumer groups have banded together to lobby the FCC to prevent cellphone companies from blocking text messages, the Washington Post reports. The issue of carriers censoring messages from political groups and competing services has become the latest front in the net neutrality campaign. Consumers Union and other advocates are insisting... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • censorship • net neutrality • Naral • telecommunications • texting

FCC Chief Gets Grilled on Hill

House members want cross-ownership
vote delayed; Dems plead for oversight

Dec 6, 07 1:37 PM CST
(Newser) - FCC Chairman Kevin Martin faced angry questioning from both sides of the aisle at a House oversight meeting yesterday, as many urged the commissioner to delay December 18's vote on a controversial change to media cross-ownership rules. Martin said the plan, which would allow companies to own both a newspaper... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FCC • House of Representatives • House Energy and Commerce Committee • Kevin Martin • media cross ownership • Subcommittee on Telecommunications

61 - 80 of 114 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>


from our news partners