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telecommunications act

FCC commissioner: BART critics may be right

ASPEN, Colo.--Criticisms aimed at the San Francisco Bay Area's subway system for temporarily pulling the plug on cellular service have raised "very valid points," a federal regulator said.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said that the agency is still investigating what happened when BART pulled the plug on cell service on August 11 in four subway stations in downtown San Francisco in anticipation of a protest. (A BART board meeting is currently under way--check back later for CNET coverage.)

"What the heck happened, what precedent does it set, were there any laws that were broken?" … Read more

Vodafone: We were forced to send pro-Mubarak texts

The Egyptian government of President Hosni Mubarak forced Vodafone to send out prescripted, propagandistic text messages during the country's recent unrest, the carrier said today in a statement on its Web site.

A text message by someone identified as "Vodafone" was sent to an Associated Press reporter in Egypt on Sunday appealing to the country's "honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honor," according to an AP report.

But Vodafone said the Egyptian government can use its emergency powers under the country's Telecommunications Act to … Read more