fcc

Wolf King's bongo keyboard

As sick as it undoubtedly seems, we're all about keyboards here at Crave, whether they be of the computing or musical variety (or both). And we're particularly fond of those that aren't afraid to break the mold, figuratively and literally.

Wolf King's new gaming keyboard falls somewhere in between those last two categories. Proposed in FCC filings, the weird creation has seven hotkeys and blue backlights but has a relatively small 14.3- by 3.4-inch footprint, according to Gizmodo. The gear maker is no stranger to unusual designs, but this one goes disturbingly further than … Read more

This week at the 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.

LG KP105a Nokia E51 Samsung 920SC … Read more

FCC chairman supports Google's Open Handset Alliance

Federal Communications Chairman Kevin Martin on Tuesday threw his support behind Google's Open Handset Alliance.

On Monday, Google officially unveiled Android, its new mobile phone software. It also announced the Open Handset Alliance. Thirty-four companies have said they will join the alliance, which will work on developing applications on the Android platform. Members of the alliance include mobile handset makers HTC and Motorola, mobile operators T-Mobile and Sprint-Nextel, and chipmaker Qualcomm.

It should come as little surprise that Martin would support the alliance. Earlier this year, he made open devices a requirement in the rules for the upcoming 700MHz spectrum auction, … Read more

This week at the 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 is a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.

LG CU920 LG KP210 LG L705i … Read more

FCC urged to stop Comcast Internet blocking

Members of the SavetheInternet.com Coalition and Internet scholars from Harvard, Yale and Stanford law schools filed a petition and complaint with the Federal Communications Commission Thursday in response to claims that Comcast is blocking some kinds of peer-to-peer traffic.

The complaint comes after the Associated Press discovered, based on its own testing, that content was blocked on several Comcast broadband connections using the peer-to-peer filing sharing network BitTorrent. Other Comcast users have also complained that their BitTorrent content has been blocked.

In their petition, the groups claim that Comcast is violating the FCC's Internet Policy Statement, which essentially … Read more

Episode 595: Has HD DVD won?

Verizon Wireless drops 'open access' challenge

Verizon Wireless' court fight against new federal rules that require "open access" on some forthcoming wireless networks appears to be no more.

The No. 2 U.S. wireless carrier on Tuesday filed for "voluntary dismissal" of its September petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, according to the court docket. The filing for dismissal was reported earlier Wednesday by Dow Jones/Associated Press.

At issue are Federal Communications Commission rules for an upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum, also known as the analog television band. That band is scheduled to … Read more

Broadband-over-power-lines battle goes to court

WASHINGTON--A dispute that could affect the roll-out of broadband over power lines, which some hope will one day compete with cable and DSL services, went before a federal appeals court on Tuesday, but no immediate resolution occurred.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard arguments from attorneys for the Federal Communications Commission and the American Radio Relay League, which represents amateur radio operators, about FCC rules aimed at allowing BPL services to flourish.

Therein lies the dispute: The FCC says its rules, which date back to 2004, have struck the right balance between encouraging unlicensed … Read more