FCC « regulation2point0

Verizon hits the Wall

February 4th, 2011

Verizon, which is preparing for a surge in wireless Internet use as it starts shipping iPhones, is taking the unusual (but hardly unprecedented) step of reserving the right to slow data service for its heaviest users. Should you care about such “throttling” (the industry’s term, not ours)?

Yes and no. …

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The President on Wireless Nirvana

January 31st, 2011

“Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans,” enthused the president in his State of the Union address. The president didn’t explain how he proposes to get us from here …

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4G Meets Common Sense

January 15th, 2011

MetroPCS, you may or may not know, is a regional wireless carrier that has created a viable market niche with cheapish, no-contract, all-you-can-talk/text plans – and in the process, put competitive pressure on the big carriers. Hence the irony that it is now under …

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The Art of Compromise

December 22nd, 2010

The FCC asserted jurisdiction over the regulation of high-speed Internet services today, and, in particular, how it interprets the controversial concept of “net neutrality.” The rules are complicated (hey, this is Washington). But the general drift is apparent from the public statements made at this morning’s open meeting.

The …

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First, Do No Harm

December 1st, 2010

The Federal Communications Commission has set the agenda for its next meeting, with a proposed “Open Internet Order” front and center. Of course, it’s hard to oppose openness (or mom or apple pie), but there are other issues at stake. Our primary concern is that the FCC may …

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Getting Serious About Net Neutrality

November 1st, 2010

The quarrel over whether Internet service providers (such as Verizon) should be allowed to charge extra to content providers (such as Hulu) for enhanced service has had an inside-ball quality. On the one hand, advocates of new regulation warn of the dark day ahead when the big network operators will …

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Pennies From Heaven

October 16th, 2010

Those of you who actually read your phone bills (can’t say we’re among them) may have noticed a line item labeled “universal service charge.” The amount doesn’t amount to much: a small percentage of long-distance changes that come to a dollar or two per month, at most. But multiply the …

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Scorecard

September 10th, 2010

If you’re confused about the net neutrality controversy – more specifically, what’s at stake, why Google and Verizon cut a deal and how the FCC has blundered into a legal quagmire – don’t miss this analysis by New York Times’ columnist Joe Nocera. For that …

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Hands Off My Cellphone

May 28th, 2010

As mandated by Congress the FCC came out with its 14th annual report [Download Here] on the state of competition in the market for wireless services. And as usual, it is a trove of solid data, a must-have reference for telecom and antitrust …

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Smokin’

May 18th, 2010

Congress requires the FCC to prepare an annual report on the state of competition in the cell phone industry – the 13th edition came out in January 2009. And with the unveiling of the 14th report scheduled for May 20, Verizon Wireless is making public its views on …

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regulation2point0

Verizon hits the Wall

The President on Wireless Nirvana

4G Meets Common Sense

The Art of Compromise

First, Do No Harm

Getting Serious About Net Neutrality

Pennies From Heaven

Scorecard

Hands Off My Cellphone

Smokin’

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