FCC

FCC chairman calls on ISPs to help fight cyber attacks

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski wants Internet service providers to work with government and security experts to adopt voluntary standards to protect consumers from cyber attacks.

On Wednesday, the chairman gave a speech in Washington, D.C., in which he discussed voluntary measures that ISPs and other technology companies could take to help protect the public from three major cyber threats: botnets, domain name fraud, and IP hijacking.

"Cyber attacks pose a critical threat to our economic future and national security," he said in his speech. "If you shut down the Internet, you'd shut down … Read more

T-Mobile asks FCC to block spectrum sale to Verizon

T-Mobile is not too pleased with a plan Verizon Wireless has hatched to acquire nearly $4 billion in wireless spectrum.

According to The Washington Post, which obtained the documents, T-Mobile lodged a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission yesterday, urging the government agency to block the sale of wireless spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks--collectively known as SpectrumCo.--to Verizon.

According to the Post, T-Mobile believes the sale could provide Verizon with an "excessive concentration" of wireless spectrum.

Verizon announced plans to acquire the so-called Advance Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum in December. If the … Read more

LightSquared: Going from bad to worse

Things are not looking good for LightSquared, the wireless startup that had planned to build a nationwide wireless broadband network.

Today, Reuters reported that the company said it plans to cut 45 percent of its workforce to conserve cash.

"This and other cost savings measures will allow LightSquared to continue to navigate the regulatory process as it works with the appropriate government agencies to find solutions to the GPS interference issue and bring its $14 billion privately funded wireless broadband network to more than 260 million Americans," according to the statement.

And yesterday, several news outlets reported that … Read more

Dish looks to FCC for cues on its spectrum strategy

Dish Network, sitting on an increasingly valuable stash of spectrum vital to powering wireless data traffic, is waiting on a key waiver from the Federal Communications Commission before deciding on its next move.

The waiver, similar to one that the FCC yanked from LightSquared earlier this week, would allow Dish to use its spectrum to build its own high-speed wireless network. If the FCC doesn't grant the conditional waiver to Dish, it would explore several options including the sale of the spectrum or a partnership with another carrier, CNET has learned.

The moves that Dish could make have broader … Read more

Spectrum auction compromise part of payroll tax cut bill

It looks like Congress will finally authorize incentive spectrum auctions.

Today, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate agreed on legislation that will authorize the extension of the payroll tax cuts and the unemployment benefits. And they also authorized the Federal Communications Commission to auction off wireless spectrum as part of the package. Revenue from the incentive auctions will be used to help pay for the tax cuts and unemployment benefits.

The spectrum auction was proposed as part of the 2010 National Broadband Plan. It calls for TV broadcasters who have wireless spectrum they aren'… Read more

Spectrum crunch: All talk, no action, and consumers suffer

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Roger Entner's bio below.

Spectrum is the fuel that runs wireless, and the country is quickly running out of it.

In fact, the U.S. will run out of spectrum capacity to support wireless broadband networks in the next three to five years. That's not just my opinion. The White House, the FCC, and Congress share it, which is remarkable in this era of never-ending disagreements inside the beltway.

So the hunt is on for more spectrum. But there are few options because spectrum is scarce, with most of it … Read more

How politics inflame the 'spectrum crisis'

Two years into a decade-long plan to free up wireless spectrum to handle an explosion in mobile data traffic growth, Washington politics are crippling the Federal Communications Commission's ability to reach any of its goals.

In March 2010, the FCC identified in its National Broadband Plan a dire need for more spectrum in the U.S. It outlined a timeline for getting 300 megahertz of spectrum in the pipeline by 2015 with an additional 200MHz opened up for auction by 2020. In total the plan would create 500MHz of new wireless spectrum that could be auctioned off, or nearly … Read more

Facebook embraces stage names

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Facebook embraces celeb pseudonyms VoIP must report service outages FLA: Foxconn facilities are 'first class' Update to stop address data snatchers Google+ is a man's world Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

AT&T eyes smaller rivals for spectrum, WSJ says

Well, that didn't take long.

AT&T appears ready to get back in the hunt for more spectrum, now eying smaller wireless rivals MetroPCS and Leap Wireless and satellite-TV provider Dish Network, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Dallas-based telecommunications giant is just two months removed from the collapse of its deal with T-Mobile USA, which would have given the company additional spectrum, allowing it to bulk up its network and better handle the rising tide of cellular traffic driven by smartphones, tablets, and other connected devices.

The T-Mobile deal was essentially halted by regulators as anti-competitive, … Read more

LightSquared's deal with Sprint further falters

If the Federal Communications Commission suspending LightSquared's initial approval waiver yesterday weren't enough, the fledgling wireless network was dealt another blow today. Its deal with Sprint Nextel may fizzle.

Sprint said it would have to return $65 million to LightSquared if the wireless venture failed to get FCC authorization by a mid-March deadline, according to The Wall Street Journal. Sprint set this deadline last month with the announcement that if LightSquared doesn't get FCC approval by mid-March then the carrier would terminate its agreement with the company.

Last July, in a 15-year arrangement to push 4G, LightSquared … Read more