700MHz

Verizon Wireless won't lose much by selling some of its "high-quality" wireless spectrum, but it has much to gain if the Federal Communication Commission approves its controversial deal to buy spectrum from cable operators.

On Tuesday, Verizon said it planned to sell licenses in the A and B blocks of the 700MHz spectrum which it acquired in an FCC auction in 2008. The company said it would put the licenses up for sale, if it could get approval from regulators to buy another chunk of spectrum from a consortium of cable operators, that includes Comcast and Time … Read more

Ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. is still without a nationwide network that would let first responders from different agencies and jurisdictions communicate with each other over emergency radios.

In late August, the National Security Preparedness Group pointed to the lack of the national interoperable radio network recommended by the 9/11 Commission. And the commission itself recently issued a report card that expressed concern over communications capabilities.

One of the biggest problems immediately following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City was that firefighters and police were unable to … Read more

An advocacy group has filed a complaint with the FCC that argues Verizon Wireless shouldn't be allowed to block tethering apps that let people connect their computers to the Internet through their phones' 4G wireless data network.

"This practice restricts consumer choice and hinders innovation regardless of which carrier adopts such policies, but when Verizon Wireless employs these restrictions in connection with its LTE network, it also violates the Federal Communications Commission's rules," said the advocacy group, Free Press, in its complaint to the FCC yesterday. Those rules say Verizon "shall not deny, limit, or … Read more

AT&T is pinning its future on getting its hands on more wireless spectrum. But should regulators allow AT&T, which owns more wireless spectrum than any other wireless operator across the nation, to gobble up even more of this scarce resource?

That's the big question that the Federal Communications Commission is grappling with as it scrutinizes the planned merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, which will transfer all of T-Mobile's spectrum to AT&T. The FCC is also in the middle of considering AT&T's plan to buy spectrum in the lower part of the 700MHz band of spectrum from Qualcomm.… Read more

Qualcomm is suspending direct sales of devices that use its MediaFlo mobile TV service as the company prepares to pull the plug on its mobile broadcast TV service sometime next year, the company said Tuesday.

The company said in a statement that it will maintain the mobile broadcast TV network to ensure current customers can use the service until the spring of 2011. But after that, it appears the company will discontinue the service and refund customers. Qualcomm didn't say for sure what it plans to do with the valuable wireless spectrum it used to build the network and … Read more

Google and other technology companies that wanted access to more free spectrum have gotten their wish.

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously agreed to open up unused broadcast TV spectrum for unlicensed use.

Despite protests from TV broadcasters, entertainers, professional sports leagues, church pastors, and some congressional leaders, the FCC approved rules for devices using spectrum that sits between broadcast TV channels. This 300MHz to 400MHz of unused spectrum known as "white spaces" is considered prime spectrum for offering wireless broadband services because it can travel long distances and penetrate through walls.

"As an engineer, I … Read more

Companies lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to access unused spectrum known as "white spaces" won a big victory on Wednesday when Chairman Kevin Martin threw his weight behind the proposal citing findings in an FCC report that was also issued Wednesday.

Martin held a press conference with reporters early in the day in which he pledged his support for the use of the white space spectrum and announced that the issue would be up for vote at the FCC's next open meeting on November 4. Martin has long been in favor of opening up additional spectrum that … Read more

A Web site for matching buyers and sellers of wireless spectrum went live on Friday.

The site SpecEx.com, which is run by a start-up called Spectrum Bridge, is aiming to make sense of an existing secondary market for wireless licenses, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The Federal Communications Commission periodically auctions off wireless spectrum licenses. Most of the spectrum licenses are used to provide cell phone service or to provide two-way radio communication or for emergency personnel. But there is some spectrum that is not used and lays fallow.

Big wireless operators, such as Verizon Wireless, AT&… Read more

While most American TV watchers and broadcasters are preparing for (fretting over) the long-planned DTV transition in February 2009, broadcasters along the U.S. southern border are requesting an exemption from shutting down their analog broadcasts--up to five years after the deadline. The House of Representatives, according to an article by HD Guru, has already passed the DTV Border Fix Act bill by unanimous consent.… Read more