John Eggerton

Broadband operators are looking for some movement on broadband “nutrition” labels. Congress mandated the labels so consumers can better gauge just what kind of broadband service they are getting, including price, speed and quality. The Federal Communications Commission then came up with rules for the program, which it released in a Nov 2022 Report and Order.

Big Tech could be fighting a losing battle with a bipartisan movement in Congress for new regulations on social media use by children, including getting kids off such platforms entirely. The Senate Commerce Committee approved two bills, the Kids Online Safety Act and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (CTOPPA), sending them along to the full

Ready or not, the Federal Communications Commission’s program to “rip and replace” suspect network technology is coming. And one trade association representing smaller carriers says there isn’t enough funding to do the job, and that means there could be ripping without replacing that puts some areas of the U.S.

Video streamers and other edge providers are fighting a multi-front war in Washington lately, as Congress applies pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to apply good-faith negotiation rules to over-the-top content providers, as it does traditional video providers, and as hundreds of rural broadband providers and associations call on the agency to make edge providers contribute to broadband buildout subsidies. The FCC wrestled with the issue of how and whether to regulate th

Anna Gomez, President Joe Biden's nominee for the open Democratic seat on the Federal Communications Commission, told the Senate Commerce Committee that she supports reclassifying internet access as a Title II telecommunications service. Since Gomez’s bureaucratic background left little room for Republicans to attack her in the same way as Gigi Sohn, she’s got a seemingly better chance of getting confirmed. Currently, the FCC classifies internet access as an information service under Title I of the Communications Act, and not subject to common-carrier/open access regulations.

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington told Congress that he and his fellow commissioners need to serve as a check on the power of the chair. According to testimony for the House Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing, Commissioner Simington, a Republican, said that if the agency does not adopt rules allowing for full commission oversight of decisions made by staffers under authority delegated by the chair, Congress should step in to mandate it. “The FCC chair has broad discretion in delegating matters to career officials and political appointees, which restricts those matte

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent a clear signal to Congress she is not looking to apply multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) regulations to streaming video services, and that she does not think the regulator has the authority to expand into that area in any event. Rep.

Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] has weighed in on the political forces that prevented her from taking a seat on the Federal Communications Commission after her nomination by President Joe Biden and her decades of experience in communications, primarily as a public advocate and briefly as a top FCC adviser.

The House Commerce Committee’s Republican leadership has scheduled the latest Big Tech beating on Capitol Hill and they have signaled it will be filled with Republican red-meat issues. The official beating will commence on March 28 at 10:30 a.m., but it has already begun. Unlike a recent Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing that had bipartisan backing, the House hearing notice is filled with partisan shots. In a joint statement, House Commerce Chair Cathy Mc

The Biden administration appears to be in no hurry to withdraw the nomination of Gigi Sohn, its first choice for the third Democratic seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, or perhaps it was caught somewhat off guard by the need to find a new candidate. It has been more than two weeks since the embattled withdrew her name for consideration.