fcc

Best Buy challenges FCC over analog TV sales penalty

The Federal Communications Commission says Best Buy and other retailers must pay more than $3 million in fines for selling analog TVs without labels that explain the sets won't work after the digital TV switchover next February.

In a 41-page legal document filed last week (and dug up by Ars Technica), Best Buy essentially says, "Oh yeah? Make us."

There have been many bumps along the way to the February 2009 switch to all-digital TV in the U.S. The FCC is spearheading the transition and has established deadlines to help it along. Best Buy alone was … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 727: Microsoft to Yahoo: Let's take it slow

Actual tech news today! For example, Microsoft is re-wooing Yahoo, Nintendo is stomping through the console market like Godzilla in Mario's Kart, the first public Firefox 3 candidate is now available, and Apple is trying to win direct downloads for the new iPhone. Oh, and if our caller from UPS is to be believed, those iPhones might be starting to arrive in stores right now! (Dear CBS: Send pie!) Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 727

Microsoft, Yahoo forced into each others’ arms http://www.news.com/8301-13860_3-9947185-56.html http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Microsoft-Yahoo.html http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7407585.stm… Read more

Comcast invests in P2P start-up

Comcast is befriending another peer-to-peer software company in the hopes of finding a way to harness the power of P2P without choking its network.

On Monday, Comcast, the largest cable operator in the U.S., said it was entering a strategic relationship with the start-up GridNetworks, a company that makes software to manage peer-to-peer video traffic.

Comcast also said it has invested in the company's $9.5 million first round of funding, which was led by Panorama Capital. Cisco Systems also invested in this round of funding. Specific financial details of the funding have not been disclosed.

Comcast has … Read more

Samsung Soul clears FCC

Only the most passionate cell phone geeks know that the Federal Communications Commission holds a treasure trove of information on upcoming handsets. Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.

Huawei C5100 Huawei C5588 Huawei U3307 … Read more

Can the Feds enforce Net neutrality? Maybe not

WASHINGTON--Federal regulators may be probing Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent filesharing traffic, but can they actually take action, if they choose, against the company or any other broadband provider on Net neutrality grounds?

The answer may not be simple. And if the FCC and other regulators are really powerless--in other words, if they need Congress to enact new laws--it means that any threats to take action against Comcast, based on alleged violations of the law today, are merely empty ones.

That's the issue that former staffers and officials from the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission took up … Read more

FCC starts over with emergency network push

WASHINGTON--A high-profile government auction earlier this year failed to attract enough private investment dollars for airwaves dedicated to a nationwide broadband network for emergency responders. On Wednesday, federal regulators began trying to resuscitate the idea.

At its monthly meeting, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted to begin accepting comments from the public on a wide range of questions about what to do with that chunk of the 700Mhz spectrum, which is scheduled to be vacated by analog TV broadcasters next February as part of the congressionally mandated switch to all-digital programming. The spectrum is considered valuable both for commercial operators … Read more

Nokia 6210 Navigator, HTC Touch Diamond hit FCC

HTC Touch Diamond Huawei U3305 Motorola … Read more

Why Uncle Sam must stop subsidizing inefficient companies

From time to time, I'm going to open up this space to guest writers with an interesting point of view. This week, Gregory L. Rosston is taking a turn in the spotlight. Rosston is the deputy director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and of the Public Policy program at Stanford University. He served as the deputy chief economist of the Federal Communications Commission from 1994 to 1997.

The Federal Communications Commission is about to continue its anticompetitive policy of protecting incumbent telecommunications providers at the expense of consumers. The FCC has one focus--making consumers better off … Read more

Report: N.C. town to switch off analog TV early

For the vast majority of Americans, analog TV sets aren't supposed to go black as part of the switch to all-digital broadcasts until February 17, 2009. But federal regulators are expected to announce Thursday that Wilmington, N.C., has volunteered to make the transition several months early as part of a last-minute test of sorts, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The waterside town of about 100,000 plans to cut off its analog broadcasting as soon as September 8, according to the Journal and confirmed by a source familiar with the matter. North Carolina is Federal Communications Commission Chairman … Read more

Google to Verizon: Don't shirk open access responsibilities

Google wants reassurance from Verizon Wireless that it will comply with open access rules that were part of the Federal Communications Commission's recent 700MHz auction.

Verizon Wireless was the winning bidder in the auction of an important sliver of spectrum licenses in the 700 MHz spectrum auction, which raised a record $19.6 billion for the U.S. Treasury. As part of the rules of the auction, the winner of the C-Block licenses is required to allow any device to connect to the network and is also required to allow any application to be downloaded on devices that use … Read more