FCC

All eyes will be on the Federal Communications Commission in the coming months as it deals with a series of spectrum-related issues that will help determine who is a player in the mobile broadband market and who isn't.

The FCC is under pressure to get as much new spectrum on the market as soon as possible. Wireless operators say they face a crisis if they can't get additional wireless spectrum to fuel the growth of mobile data usage. But as wireless spectrum is increasingly viewed as a limited resource, regulators are faced with politically charged debates surrounding topics associated with spectrum. … Read more

LightSquared says it's not yet giving up its fight to build a nationwide 4G LTE network.

The company, which is backed by Philip Falcone's Harbinger Capital, has invested more than $4 billion into the network, which it hoped would be a wholesale alternative to wireless broadband networks run by AT&T and Verizon wireless. For the past year, the company has been fighting an uphill battle in Washington, D.C., where the GPS industry has rallied political support around its claims that LightSquared's network interferes with its receivers and therefore cannot be built.

So far, the … Read more

Sprint Nextel is getting into the 4G LTE game by building its own network. But to make its dreams a reality, it needs a scarce resource that every other wireless operator around the world is clamoring to get its hands on: wireless spectrum.

And Sprint has already missed two major opportunities. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that in the first few months of this year, Sprint's board shot down the company's plan to purchase prepaid provider MetroPCS. The company also botched talks with T-Mobile USA for a network-sharing arrangement. The impetus behind each of these … Read more

T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel have asked the Federal Communications Commission to suspend its review of Verizon Wireless's purchase of wireless spectrum from cable operators.

The wireless operators want Verizon to disclose more information about the marketing deals it struck with cable operators as part of its $3.6 billion deal with these companies hashed out late last year. The companies say the FCC should suspend its 180-day review of the deal until that information is made public.

In an FCC filing, T-Mobile and Sprint were joined by DirecTV and several consumer groups in asking that Verizon Wireless provide … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission wants to know what the public has to say about government officials asking carriers to disable cell service for public safety purposes. The agency's concern is a reaction to last year's cutting of service by San Francisco Bay Area subway police ahead of a protest.

"Our democracy, our society, and our safety all require communications networks that are available and open, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "Any interruption of wireless services raises serious legal and policy issues, and must meet a very high bar. The FCC, as the agency … Read more

In a letter to the FCC, Verizon has finally expressed its ardent support of arranged marriages locked bootloaders.

Essentially, Verizon argues it knows better than its users which kind of bride or groom user experience its ungrateful children customers prefer--why spend each day with the love of your life some unstable mod when you can have your socially inept second cousin MotoBlur instead?

Droid Life obtained a copy of the letter to the FCC, which was prompted by a formal complaint from a user. Verizon's response dismisses the complaint with typical carrier-speak:… Read more

LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja has stepped down as the company's chief executive officer.

The decision, announced this morning, does not shed much light as to exactly why Ahuja resigned, but reports have already circulating suggesting it has to do something with the Federal Communication Commission's move to block the launch of its 4G network.

In November, Ahuja spoke at the Open Mobile Summit in San Francisco, arguing that there is a disparity between demand for data and the amount of available spectrum, and that the United States is not ready to handle those problems.

Nevertheless, Ahuja will continue … Read more

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Morgan Reed's bio below.

In the Broadway musical "Oliver!," orphaned Oliver Twist famously holds out his empty bowl and asks, "Please sir, may I have some more?" For those of us who make mobile applications, we feel like Oliver, holding out our virtual bowl, begging for more spectrum to fill the hungry bellies of our customers.

App developers cheered when the divided Congress passed legislation providing for incentivized spectrum auctions while freeing up unlicensed spectrum. This is a step in the right direction, but it didn't … Read more

With the passage last week of legislation authorizing the FCC to conduct new spectrum auctions, you might think that the looming spectrum crisis has been averted.

Nothing could be farther from the truth--or more dangerous to the continued health of the mobile ecosystem.

To avoid severe service interruptions or outright collapse of mobile networks, the FCC's 2010 National Broadband Plan estimated that mobile users will need an additional 300MHz of spectrum by 2015 and an additional 500 MHz by 2020. Many industry insiders believe these estimates are actually low.

The FCC now has the authority to conduct auctions to … Read more