Yes, this was the week of the Facebook debacle and the Google-Oracle decision, but we focus our weekly review instead on some remarks by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski at The Cable Show in Boston.
Here Benton Foundation Chairman and CEO Charles Benton and others offer their unique perspective on communications policy. We invite you to read and comment on these original posts, start by registering for a benton.org account.
Yes, this was the week of the Facebook debacle and the Google-Oracle decision, but we focus our weekly review instead on some remarks by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski at The Cable Show in Boston.
The more they stay the same. Try as we might to talk about new issues facing the Commission, the old challenges just keep coming back. In fact, they never go away.
It was the best of oversight hearings, it was the worst of oversight hearings. Oh, who are we kidding – we’ll never pull off a Dickensian metaphor throughout this week’s roundup. But we did note the coincidence that the three agencies most responsible for extending the reach and affordability of broadband in the US were called before Congress for oversight hearings this week. There was wisdom; there was foolishness. There was light and dark.
On May 7, 2012, the Senate approved the nominations of Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission. President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate Pai and Rosenworcel back on October 31, 2011 and the nominations were soon sent to the Senate. When the new commissioners are sworn in – which should happen any day now, really -- the FCC will have five commissioners for the first time in over a year. On May 8, the Benton Foundation was proud to publish an op-ed by former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps who gave his take on what we can expect of an incoming FCC commissioner. Here’s a quick look at just a few of the issues that popped up in Headlines this week that the FCC will be addressing in the months ahead.
Someone asked former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps a few months ago, what should we expect of an incoming Commissioner? “Four things,” he replied.
Our big story of the week comes from across the pond, in London Town where, for many months, regulators have been examining the business practices of one of the world’s largest media empires.
Late last week, the House Republican leadership declared this Cyber Week – and who are we at Headlines to disagree? Here’s what we know what was decided as we go to press – along with some thoughts about what it all means. We start, perhaps uncharacteristically, at the end of the process.
Fueled in no small part by a Congressional hearing, the need for more spectrum devoted to wireless telecommunications services was a big topic this week. AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint say they need more spectrum to meet the exploding demands for mobile data. If they don’t get more soon, they warn, mobile users will experience slower, spottier connections – and higher prices.
America, we have a problem: billions of anonymous dollars pouring into a tsunami of negative TV advertising aimed at distorting political campaigns and manipulating election outcomes. Our civic dialogue—the prerequisite of successful self-government—is being short-circuited by deep-pocketed individuals, corporations and other groups operating on the smug premise that elections should be bought by the power of money rather than fought by the power of ideas.
The public interest community and media reform movement suffered a major body blow today, when the Media Access Project (MAP) announced it will suspend operation next month.
With a two-week Spring Recess looming, Washington communications policymakers were busy this week. Here’s some highlights.
Back in December 2011, Verizon Wireless and some of the largest cable TV companies in the US announced a transaction in which Verizon will pay the cable companies $3.6 billion for wireless spectrum.
On March 21, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held a hearing on Verizon’s proposed acquisition of spectrum from cable companies and related commercial agreements.
We’re taking a step back today from our usual focus on the past seven days to look at the progress made on implementation of the National Broadband Plan over the last two years.
On the day after Apple unveiled the newest iPad, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department has warned Apple and five of the biggest US publishers that it plans to sue them for allegedly colluding to raise the price of electronic books. In just a few short years, e-books have gone from fringe product to mainstay of the publishing industry, exploding in popularity.
Today I begin a monthly blog for the Benton Foundation. I’m excited about doing this and thank my friend Charles Benton for the opportunity to share my thoughts with Benton’s faithful readers. Let’s begin with an overview gleaned from 10 years as FCC Commissioner.
The Mobile World Congress convened in Barcelona, Spain, this week. The agenda-setting event is where wireless network operators, cellphone manufacturers, content providers, advertising gurus, and Internet players industry gather to assess the nearly $2 trillion wireless industry. Although we like the shiny new devices launched at the event as much as anyone, we’ll focus instead on trends in the business and the changes sought in regulation of the industry.
Was it just last week when we shared lots of gloom and doom about the state of US privacy? Who could have predicted that so much would change so quickly. On February 23, the White House released Consumer Data Privacy in a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy which includes a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.
As we hope Headlines readers well know, on December 19, 2011, Verizon Wireless and SpectrumCo filed an application for the consent of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to the assignment of 122 Advanced Wireless Services (“AWS” -- the 1710-1755/2110-2155 MHz bands) licenses from SpectrumCo to Verizon Wireless. The 122 licenses cover 120 markets. This past week was a first deadline for the public to tell the FCC about their concerns about the transaction.