Items tagged with Genachowski
Ever since Tom Wheeler unveiled a plan last month that would allow Internet Service Providers to charge for paid content prioritization, accusations have flown thick and fast that the proposed rules would effectively kill net neutrality. On the side of "Scrap Wheeler's net neutrality plan" you have more than 100 corporations including Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter. On the side of "Allowed paid prioritization" you have... well, the ISPs who see it as a marvelous way to increase profits without improving the quality of their product. Now, a pair of Democrats -- Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) and Doris Matsui (D-Cali) have introduced a bill to the House and Senate that would require the FCC to enforce...
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Outgoing FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is leaving his post sometime in the near future, but he’s no lame duck; according to the New York Times, Genachowski and the rest of the FCC are working hard on making in-flight WiFi cheaper, faster, and more readily available. The FCC voted to begin the process of using newly-available 500MHz spectrum to bolster in-flight WiFi. The process will likely years, but the end result will ideally be in-flight WiFi speeds that rival those that people enjoy at home and in various coffee shops and other restaurants. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Unlike airplane-to-satellite Internet service, which is expensive and relatively slow, the ground-to-airplane...
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Did you know that the FCC hasn’t updated its guidelines regarding maximum radiation levels in mobile devices since 1996? FCC chairman Julius Genachowski is apparently aware of this, because he’s looking to launch a formal inquiry into the matter. In a statement that was circulated to news outlets, the FCC isn’t exactly concerned that current standards are too lax, but it makes sense to periodically review standards for an industry that changes and evolves dramatically approximately every three days. There has been much debate in recent years about the potential danger of radiation from cell phones--it’s actually considered a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization--and...
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Families with limited income who are struggling to make ends meet may have reason to consider switching to Comcast. The company has rolled out a new $9.99 service tier that's available nationwide to citizens with at least one child receiving a free school lunch through the National School Lunch Program. The program isn't available to current Comcast subscribers (a significant oversight), but anyone who hasn't had Comcast service in 90 days and doesn't currently have an overdue balance with the company is able to apply. According to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, the new service is intended to bridge the so-called digital divide between low-income families and the rest of the US. "We know that...
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Earlier this week we covered the news that nearly 80 percent of all Internet users worldwide feel that Internet access is a right. In a week, the FCC will present its specific plan for bringing broadband Internet to the estimated 35 percent of Americans who currently either don't have or can't get such service. A new brief discussing the organizations general thoughts is now available and if it's anything to go by, certain provisions the FCC wants to recommend will face stiff opposition from telecommunication companies. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski believes it's essential to extend universal broadband across the US. In order to ensure long term American competitiveness and prosperity, we must...
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FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been a busy beaver as of late; we've previously discussed his thoughts on the importance of the Internet and the FCC's request for comments on how its Internet development funds should be allocated and used. The FCC chair spoke at the Brookings Institute in Washington today; his speech emphasized the FCC's support for network neutrality.If you aren't familiar with the arguments, or haven't paid attention, the question of net neutrality has been percolating for years, at a steadily increasing rate. The question at the heart of the debate is simple—should all Internet traffic be treated equally? Telcos and ISPs generally argue that it shouldn't; Comcast has particularly...
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A few weeks ago, in early August, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski declared that the FCC viewed the creation of a national broadband policy as integral to the future of of the nation. Broadband, according to Genachowski, is "our generation’s infrastructure challenge...It is as important as electricity and highways were for past generations." Now that the first round of requests for broadband stimulus funding have been tallied, Genachowski will have to prove if he actually meant what he said. According to a recent announcement posted at Recovery.gov, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS, not to be...
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