federal communications commision

President Barack Obama has nominated former lobbyist and venture capitalist Tom Wheeler to serve as the next head of the Federal Communications Commission.

The White House made the announcement Wednesday. Wheeler's appointment as chairman of the agency was widely anticipated. His name had been on the shortlist of potential candidates for months, and several news agencies reported on the impending appointment.

Wheeler would replace current FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who has headed up the agency since 2009. Current FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn will serve as the interim chairwoman until the Senate confirms Wheeler's appointment.

Wheeler has the support … Read more

The Department of Justice said today that Sprint and T-Mobile should be given a fair chance at acquiring wireless spectrum in the Federal Communication Commission's upcoming incentive spectrum auction.

The antitrust division of the Justice Department laid out its argument in a filing to the FCC.

"The Department concludes that rules that ensure the smaller nationwide networks, which currently lack substantial low-frequency spectrum, have an opportunity to acquire such spectrum could improve the competitive dynamic among nationwide carriers and benefit consumers," the Justice Department said.

The FCC is currently drafting rules for an upcoming auction that will … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission officially opened an inquiry today into whether U.S. standards need to be updated to protect people from cell phone radiation.

Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a notice of inquiry last June that looked at a series of questions surrounding whether the current standards need to be updated or whether the agency's testing practices should be altered. But it took nine months for the notice of inquiry to become an official part of the FCC docket.

Now that the notice of inquiry is officially registered, the FCC can begin its review and receive comments from the … Read more

While departing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has talked a lot about pushing for high-speed broadband to more Americans and has championed the cause for getting more wireless spectrum on the market, critics say his record on these issues is spotty at best.

Genachowski today announced he would be stepping down from his post as FCC chairman. He has been chairman of the agency for four years. In a speech to colleagues announcing his resignation, he pointed out the FCC's many accomplishments including the drafting of the National Broadband Plan and its focus on promoting both traditional and … Read more

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Friday that he is stepping down from his post as head of the agency.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday about the chairman's plans. Genachowski was nominated by President Obama to the chairmanship in March of 2009. In a speech to to his colleagues at the FCC, Genachowski pointed out accomplishments of the FCC over the past four years.

This included advancements in wireless, broadband and reforming outdated policies to reflect more modern needs.

"Over the past four years, we've focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission took the first steps today toward freeing up more wireless spectrum to boost Wi-Fi data speeds and ease congestion on Wi-Fi networks in hotels, airports, and homes.

During its meeting today, the five-member commission approved a proposal that will allow 195 megahertz of additional wireless spectrum in the 5GHz band to be used for unlicensed Wi-Fi use. This will increase the amount of available unlicensed spectrum by 35 percent. This is the largest block of wireless spectrum the FCC has freed up for unlicensed use in 10 years.

The commission also agreed to create rules that … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission held the first of several planned field hearings today in Hoboken, N.J., to review what went wrong with the nation's communications network during Superstorm Sandy.

The storm, which was one of the worst to hit the East Coast of the United States, knocked out about 25 percent of all cell sites and cable service in the 10 states affected by the storm. Of course, in certain regions where the storm hit the hardest, such as New York and New Jersey, these figures were much greater.

In Long Beach, N.Y., on Long Island, every … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission's chairman, Julius Genachowski, wants to see gigabit speed broadband services in all 50 states by 2015.

At a meeting of U.S. mayors in Washington, D.C., today, Genachowski called on municipal leaders and service providers to deploy gigabit speed broadband in at least one community in each of the 50 states in the next two to three years. Genachowski said that by participating in the "Gigabit City Challenge" communities would turn themselves into innovation hubs that would create valuable jobs for its citizens.

Genachowski has been a big proponent of faster broadband … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission is making progress in its effort to free up 500MHz of additional wireless spectrum by 2020, but much work is still needed in order for the FCC to meet its goal.

On Tuesday, the commission approved rules that would free up 40MHz of satellite spectrum that had been allocated for satellite use to be used for wireless broadband service. And it also moved forward with setting up an auction next year for 10MHz of wireless spectrum in the PCS H block. The H Block spectrum that will be auctioned off sits next to the satellite spectrum … Read more