Items tagged with FCC
T-Mobile’s Binge On initiative at first seemed like a pretty good deal for its customers. In exchange for reduced video quality (480p), T-Mobile customers could enjoy unlimited streaming from partner services including Hulu and Netflix without hitting their monthly data pool.
Initially, FCC Commissioner Tom Wheeler...
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Several Internet service providers (ISPs) have drawn the attention of the Federal Communications Commission with so-called "zero-rating" offerings, which is the practice of exempting certain services from counting against a customer's data cap. What FCC chairman Tom Wheeler wants to figure out is whether or not...
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It probably won't come as much surprise that Comcast and its customers aren't on the same page when it comes to data caps. Simply put, Comcast is in favor of charging extra when a customer goes over a set amount of data per month, while customers despise them and have filed over 13,000 related complaints with the...
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T-Mobile's been on a mission to disrupt the wireless market, hence why it calls itself the un-carrier. One of the more recent and controversial initiatives to come from T-Mobile is Binge On, a program that allows that allows customers to access certain streaming services without it counting against their data caps. On...
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Have you ever felt like you're being followed? Excuse us for feeding into your paranoia, but you are being tracked. It happens each and every time you surf the web, and it's going to keep happening, even if you've enabled that feel-good "Do Not Track" setting in your browser that most websites and online services ignore.
They ignore it
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You would have thought that companies would have wised up after Marriott was caught using unlicensed jamming equipment in conference rooms to block the Wi-Fi hotspots of its paying customers. Predictably, when hotel patrons would complain about not being able to access the Internet with their smartphones or mobile...
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Just over a month ago, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) really stuck it to AT&T, fining the communications giant a whopping $100 million fine for misleading customers with regards to throttling data speeds. After hearing from thousands of disgruntled customers over the past few years that complained about...
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It's official -- AT&T is now the proud owner of DirecTV, making it the largest pay TV provider in the U.S. and the world. The $49 billion acquisition bumps AT&T's customer base in the U.S. to 26 million, along with 19 million customers in Latin America, including Mexico and the Caribbean. It also makes AT&T and...
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AT&T may have failed in its attempt to acquire rival wireless provider T-Mobile for $39 billion back in 2011, but as for its proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of satellite TV service giant DirecTV, federal regulators are set to approve the deal. Doing so would end a more than yearlong review process that began in May of 2014 when the deal
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AT&T just doesn’t seem to be able to keep it nose clean when it comes to its “old” unlimited data plans. While AT&T has done a pretty amazing job of shifting the majority of its smartphone customers over to more lucrative (for AT&T) Mobile Share Value plans, it still has to contend with unlimited data customers that...
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Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler has asked the wireless industry to voluntarily support the addition of features that would make it more difficult and/or less desirable for for thieves to steal mobile phones. A couple of the measures the FCC would like to see smartphone makers and wireless carriers adopt include
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Today is a good day: net neutrality rules are now active. Despite the fact that some companies have initiated legal action against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for its approval of net neutrality rules, the US Court of Appeals has worked in its favor by refusing to put a halt on things, stating...
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AT&T's loathing of the FCC's Open Internet Order isn't as strong as its desire to acquire satellite TV provider DirecTV. As such, the telecom is expected to put into writing a promise to abide by the FCC's net neutrality rules in order so that the government organization will be comfortable in green lighting the...
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A Bloomberg report that came out on Memorial Day was right on the money when it came to Charter’s ambitions to take on cable juggernaut Comcast. Bloomberg learned that Charter would scoop up Time Warner Cable (TWC) for $195 per share, valuing the transaction at roughly $55 billion.
Charter confirmed the acquisition this morning, valuing
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It looks as though North Carolina’s municipal Internet fight is about to get a bit nastier. North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper has “gone to the mattresses” in order to stop the FCC from exerting its power over state affairs.
But before we get into this latest development, we need a bit of a backgrounder. ...
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Late last week, we reported on the lack of sympathy FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). While ISPs complain about how net neutrality -- and especially Title II classification -- could stifle innovation and hurt competition, Wheeler's response was a simple: "You don't have a lot of...
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Long before the FCC passed its net neutrality rules, the agency's chairman, Tom Wheeler, didn't instill much confidence in those who favored them. This hinged on comments Wheeler previously made -- some of which made it sound like he didn't properly understand why net neutrality was important. Fueling this anxiety...
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Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York on Monday, FCC chairman Tom Wheeler went on record with his thoughts on the now-dead $42 billion bid by Comcast to absorb Time-Warner Cable (TWC), saying that he thought Comcast CEO Brian Roberts made a "really good decision" in choosing to end the takeover attempt rather...
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As expected would happen, AT&T along with several other telecoms and cable companies have reportedly filed a stay request to prevent the Federal Communications Commission from reclassifying broadband Internet service as a public utility under Title II of the Communications Act, a piece of legislation that's over 80...
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The opposition to the $45 billion Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger is growing. Late last week, we reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) antitrust division is damn near close to recommending that the deal be nuked. The DOJ’s recommendations could ultimately lead to a lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal in its...
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The assault on the FCC’s net neutrality rules is well underway and a bill introduced by Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) may strike the killing blow.
As we noted yesterday, a telecom trade group filed a lawsuit this week, alleging that the FFC’s reclassification of broadband Internet as a utility violates federal law. But...
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Well, that didn’t take long. It was only a week ago that FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler predicted lawsuits would challenge the FCC’s classification of broadband Internet service as a utility – and fail. Today, the United States Telecom Association set out to prove him wrong. The industry trade group filed a lawsuit that...
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