FCC to fine network operators who can't find customers
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They can run, and they can hide US network operators who can't locate their customers in the case of an emergency are facing fines of over $2m, having already been given 18-months grace to comply.â¦
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At a time when the nation's wireless companies are increasingly desperate for more airwaves to serve its customers, little-known NextWave Telecom Inc. has networks up and running in 26 markets but has never served a single paying customer.  -The Washington Post
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The U.S. Federal Communications  Commission on Tuesday set a road map for making vacant  television airwaves available for other services by early 2009,  when broadcasters are due to switch to digital signals.
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U.S. regulators said on Thursday  they had proposed penalizing three wireless carriers which the  government says failed to meet new stricter standards for being  able to locate cellular telephone callers in an emergency.
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Cable-modem service provider Comcast said Wednesday that it would welcome a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)&#160;investigation into its broadband traffic management practices.FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, speaking at the&#160;Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas&#160;on Tuesday, said the commission would investigate&#160;complaints that Comcast was blocking some peer-to-peer (P-to-P) traffic. An Associated Press investigation published in October found that Comcast was slowing traffic connected through the popular BitTorrent file-sharing program.A Comcast spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company had not yet received information requests from the FCC. Comcast, in a statement, also defended its practice of sometimes slowing P-to-P traffic during peak traffic times.&quot;We look forward to responding to any FCC inquiries regarding our broadband network management,&quot; David Cohen, Comcast&#39;s executive vice president, said in the statement. &quot;We believe our practices are in accordance with the FCC&#39;s policy statement on the Internet where the commission clearly recognized that reasonable network management is necessary for the good of all customers.&quot;Comcast will work with the FCC to better inform customers about broadband network management, the statement said. &quot;Comcast does not, has not, and will not block any Web sites or online applications, including peer-to-peer services,&quot; Cohen said.Martin also said the FCC would look into complaints that Verizon Wireless and other wireless carriers were blocking access to text-messaging on their networks. In September,&#160;Verizon Wireless denied Naral Pro-Choice America, an abortion rights group, access&#160;when the group asked to allow Verizon customers to sign up for its text-messaging alerts.&#160;Verizon reversed the decision a day later.A Verizon Wireless spokeswoman didn&#39;t immediately respond to a request for comments on Martin&#39;s CES speech.In December, eight consumer and public-interest groups -- including Public Knowledge, the Consumer Federation of America and Consumers Union -- filed a complaint with the FCC, saying mobile phone providers should not be able to block text messages from political groups and advertisers.Public Knowledge and Free Press, both critical of provider traffic blocking, praised Martin&#39;s CES statements. Public Knowledge is pleased that the FCC is &quot;willing to stand by their principles to protect American consumers,&quot; the group said in a statement. &quot;We look forward to FCC proceedings that will determine what are legitimate uses of power by telecom companies, and which are not.&quot;
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â should resist calls to impose net neutrality regulations on broadband providers because such rules could hurt the Internet, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)Â said Thursday.
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WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Federal regulators have fined Sprint and AT&amp;T for refusing full service to some customers with poor credit, saying the companies failed to notify them of their consumer rights.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â has proposed fines totaling $2.8 million to three wireless carriers for failing to meet coverage requirements for an emergency dialing service called E911, the agency said Thursday. The FCC levied the fines against Sprint Nextel, Alltel, and U.S. Cellular for failing to meet a Dec. 31, 2005, deadline for having 95 percent of their networks capable of using enhanced 911, an emergency dialing service that gives dispatchers the location of the call. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said public safety is a top priority at the agency. "I recognize that the public expects us to get these issues right," he said in a statement. "Alltel, Sprint Nextel, and U.S. Cellular failed to meet this critical deadline by a significant margin, despite the clear requirements of the Commission and the needs of their consumers." Sprint Nextel would pay a fine of just over $1.3 million under the FCC's proposal, which the carriers can appeal. Alltel's fine would be $1 million, and U.S. Cellular's would be $500,000, an FCC spokesman said. As of the December 2005 deadline, 81 percent of Sprint's network had E911 service capabilities, while 74 percent of Nextel's network did, according to the FCC. The two companies merged in 2005. About 84 percent of Alltel's customers had E911 service, and about 89 percent of U.S. Cellular's customers did. Alltel and U.S. Cellular have since reached the 95 percent threshold, but Sprint Nextel has not, the FCC said. As of December 2005, 15 million Sprint Nextel customers did not have E911 service, the agency said. Martin called the fines "significant and appropriate." "On the wireless side, Americans increasingly expect that dialing 911 also means first responders can pinpoint a callerâs location, even when the caller is incapacitated or does not know where he or she is," he added. "Our actions today underscore the critical importance that 911 services play in the lives of the public."
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Are you a Comcast customer? Your bandwidth hogging days may be limited.
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A compromise by TV networks and advertisers on a system to count how many people watch commercials has hit a snag.
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LAS VEGAS - The major U.S. regional carriers want to leapfrog cable operators with advanced video services over IP (Internet Protocol), and expected upcoming U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings may help pave the way for those roll-outs.
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Regulators said on Thursday they had  proposed penalizing three wireless carriers which the  government says failed to meet new stricter standards for being  able to locate cellular telephone callers in an emergency.
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Operators joining the new initiative will block sites and respond to user complaints.
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For years, consumers who wanted to cut the cord with their cable company found that getting television and high-speed Internet service often meant the inconvenience of finding two new providers.
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Update Slammed for touting unavailable but unlicensed content
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â has proposed fines totaling $2.8 million to three wireless carriers for failing to meet coverage requirements for an emergency dialing service called E911, the agency said Thursday.
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The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday kicked off efforts that could reshape the communications services available to airline passengers, deciding to auction off spectrum now set aside for air-to-ground phone service and proposing to relax its ban on the use of cellular phones in flight.