commissions

FCC to hold hearing on early termination fees

The Federal Communications Commission will discuss a proposal at an open meeting Thursday that could reduce the cost of getting out of your cell phone contract.

The industry-sponsored proposal would give new cell phone customers a 30-day grace period to cancel their contracts without penalty. After those 30 days, early termination charges would then be pro-rated over the life of the contract. This means customers who want out of their contract in month 20 would pay less than those cancelling their service after only four months.

Cell phone operators have argued that they must impose early termination penalties on contracts … Read more

DTV transition hits speed bumps

The transition to digital TV is not going as smoothly as some had hoped, according to some government agencies that testified to Congress earlier this week.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office showed that nearly half of the households that could lose TV service after the transition to digital broadcasting are still unprepared for the switch.

About 84 percent of consumers were aware of the transition, but many didn't know what they had to make sure their TV service wasn't interrupted, the GAO report said. More than half of those surveyed said they were aware of … Read more

Movie industry taps FCC to change rules

The Motion Picture Association of America is looking to make a deal with the Federal Communications Commission to get the latest Hollywood movies on TV much sooner after their original release. But there's a catch.

In exchange for the faster release, the MPAA wants the FCC to change its rules to allow the industry to prevent these movies from being recorded on DVRs and viewed on some high-definition TVs.

The MPAA filed its petition last week. The FCC is currently asking for comments on the proposal, and it could make a decision on the petition later this summer.

Even … Read more

EU to member nations: "Use more open source"

Last week I asked, "Should governments legislate open source?" This week, European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, the European Union's top antitrust official, sidestepped the "legislation" part and went for advocacy instead.

No citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one, through a government having made that choice first....We need to be aware of the long-term costs of lock-in: you are often locked-in to subsequent generations of that technology. There can also be spillover effects where you get locked in to other products and services provided … Read more

FCC decision on XM-Sirius merger coming soon

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Thursday he expects the agency to make a decision soon about the Sirius Satellite Radio merger with rival XM Satellite Radio.

Martin said during an interview on CNBC's Squawk on the Street Thursday that he expected the commission to "do something soon." But he defended the long review process by saying that the deal was "extraordinary" and raised difficult issues. Specifically, he said the FCC already had a rule in place that prohibited the merger of the two satellite radio companies.

Originally, the agency barred satellite radio companies … Read more

Comcast targets bandwidth hogs in test

Comcast will start testing a new method for managing traffic on its network this week that targets heavy Internet users.

Starting Thursday, Comcast will test a new system that will throttle back or slow down traffic during times of congestion for heavy bandwidth users. The initial tests will be conducted in Chambersburg, Pa. and Warrenton, Va. Later this summer the company plans to expand testing to Colorado Springs, Colo.

Comcast, the largest cable provider in the U.S., has been under fire for months after it was discovered the company had been slowing down peer-to-peer traffic on its network. The … Read more

FCC ponders auction for free wireless service

The Federal Communications Commission is considering a new plan that would require winners of an upcoming spectrum auction to provide free wireless Internet services.

The FCC could soon vote on a plan to auction off 25 megahertz of spectrum in the 2155MHz band of spectrum. As part of its plan, the commission would require the winner of those licenses to provide some free wireless Internet service.

The FCC sees the plan as a way to provide broadband Internet service to millions of Americans who either can't afford or don't want to pay for high-speed Internet access. Few details … Read more

DTV transition on track for broadcasters

The transition to digital TV is going smoothly for broadcasters, according to a government report issued earlier this week. But lawmakers are still worried that consumers may still be confused or unaware of the change.

In February 2009, TV broadcasters will vacate wireless spectrum used to broadcast analog TV signals. Instead, broadcasters will transmit digital TV signals, which use spectrum more efficiently and provide better picture quality. The transition to digital means that some older TVs, and TVs with analog-only tuners, will have to be retrofitted to tune into digital signals.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) report issued Tuesday said … Read more

Mobile subscribers really do want more choice

Consumers want more choice when it comes to mobile phone service.

At least that's the big conclusion from a consumer survey published Wednesday by IBM's Institute for Business Value. According to the report, 80 percent of consumers said they'd prefer a service provider that gave them more choice in the applications and services available on their mobile device.

This is welcome news for advocates of open networks, such as Google. The Internet giant has effectively lobbied the Federal Communications Commission to include a provision in the recent 700Mhz spectrum auction to force the winner of some licenses … Read more