FCC Ruling Changed Phone Industry in 1968; It Could Happen Again Today
104268
By Kevin Maney  Maybe U.S. consumers need another Carterfone to bust open the cellphone industry.    No, this is not referring to some hotline on Jimmy Carter's White House desk. ("Mr. President, Brezhnev's on the Carterfone yet again.
280430
In a victory for Verizon Communications, a law will make it harder for cities to build Internet networks that compete with major telecommunications providers.
556450
Next week, the FCC will likely change the rules on unbundled networks largely in ways favorable to the Regional bells.
141745
WASHINGTON The Associated Press reports some details are coming out today about proposed federal rules for regional phone companies.
648385
(InfoWorld) - SkypeÂ is looking to a 1968 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to open up the country's mobile phone industry for "unlocked" devices and third-party applications -- such as Skype. The eBayÂ unit, a pioneer in peer-to-peer VOIP (voice over Internet Protocol), petitioned the FCC this week to affirm that the landmark Carterphone decision applies to the cellular world. That ruling, which involved an early type of wireless handset, said carriers couldn't stop consumers from attaching any device to the wired telecommunications network as long as it couldn't do any damage. Letting any device connect to cellular networks would gradually open the door to a wide range of new choices for consumers, including handsets that use VOIP for voice calls over operators' 3G (third-generation) data networks. Almost all cellphones in use on mobile networks in the U.S. are sold by the operators and locked so they can't be used on another provider's network. But Skype's proposal also would stop carriers from blocking or forbidding applications on 3G networks -- again, as long as those applications can't damage the network. The plan cuts to the heart of mobile operators' revenue stream, which still predominantly comes from voice calls and also depends on exclusive ringtone, music, video, and other services offered by the carriers. But there's no reason the earlier ruling on the wireline phone network shouldn't apply to mobile, according to Christopher Libertelli, Skype's senior director for government and regulatory affairs. In addition, preventing carriers from blocking outside applications is in keeping with the FCC's policy on network neutrality, he said. Cellular providers have always had closed networks, but the rollout of 3G makes possible many more uses of those networks, he said. "What we're trying to do is get in front of that trend so that policy is set in the correct way," Libertelli said. In addition to the new rules, Skype proposed an industry forum to determine what types of devices are harmful to the wireless network. The mobile industry promptly slammed Skype's petition. It would freeze innovation, according to a statement by Steve Largent, president and CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), an industry group. "Skype's self-interested filing contains glaring legal flaws and a complete disregard for the vast consumer benefits provided by the competitive marketplace," Largent said. Skype's Libertelli said the company has a big job to do in educating cellular companies and others but believes the change would help carriers by creating new uses for their networks. It's hard to predict how the FCC may respond to Skype's petition, said Johna Till Johnson, president of Nemertes Research, in Mokena, Illinois. In recent years the agency has been alternately supportive and wary of disruptive technologies, she said. It might even drag its heels on making a ruling, not wanting to be drawn into a big political fight. It's most likely to come down somewhere in the middle, Johnson believes. Though the cost of phone calls might fall if Skype won, there could be a downside: Without the incentive of selling their captive services, cellular companies might be less motivated to upgrade their networks, Johnson said. Skype expects the agency to put the petition out for public comment and response, a process that would take several weeks.
305178
The Federal Communications Commission is expected to approve Tuesday a proposal by Chairman Kevin Martin that will allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper Â overturning a 32-year-old rule.
235537
Despite a recent court victory for the area&#39;s largest telecommunications company, the battle for your home phone service isn&#39;t about to end.
115341
The Federal Communications Commission ruled 3-2 that states are now barred from imposing telecommunications regulations on Internet phone providers, which treat calls no differently than any other application on the Net.
691040
So writes Reed Hundt, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
532776
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has ruled that incumbent local exchange carriers must connect to VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) services, overruling two state public service commission opinions.
732656
Lawmakers are talking about rewriting the eight-year-old landmark law governing the nation's telephone, cable and media businesses.
631788
Wireless companies are under pressure to police the services they carry amid mounting concern that today's increasingly versatile cell phones can be gateways to a lot more than football highlights and pop videos.
32091
Cable or Bell. The Supreme Court takes a crack at broadband regulation.
107918
The FCC ruled that Vonage&#39;s broadband telephony service is not subject to traditional state public utility regulation and asserted its federal authority over VoIP.
194350
ASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will require incumbent telephone carriers to continue offering parts of their networks to competitors while the commission rewrites those network-sharing rules.
347035
The Supreme Court is expected to review a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that ruled cable modem services should be regulated as a telecommunications service.
300598
The modern world wouldn't be what it is if it weren't for a little piece of technology that emerged from Bell Labs in 1947.Photos: Sixty years of transistors