Gawker
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dumbphones
Does Eric Schmidt hate show tunes?
The FCC is having its own vote today, on whether or not to allow future wireless gadgets to operate in parts of the radio spectrum already in use by wireless microphones. Google is all for the new spectrum-sharing policy. Professional musicians and their audio engineers are dead set against it. More »
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By Paul BoutinComment by sample032: I thought Journey was done with large venues and working the county fair circuit, these days. Not that it... 2 Responses | Other threads
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commenter of the day
WagCurious
Google's world-domination plans involve airwaves where neither television nor wireless devices play. This issue is so important that Larry Page personally went to Washington to complain to the FCC. Today's featured commenter, WagCurious, weighs in with some field knowledge. Stick around and learn something: More »
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Comment by cowboytwopointoh: no that was not. Firstly, hopping is used all the time by CDMA for cellular access type networks. In fact,... 1 Responses | Other threads
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google
Larry Page calls FCC wireless tests "rigged"
Google cofounder Larry Page brought his shaggy, salt-and-pepper mop to the Dirksen office building in Washington, D.C. to complain to federal regulators about television broadcasters. Google wants access to the dead air between television stations for wireless devices like the new G1 phone from T-Mobile running Google's Android operating system. But an odd alliance of broadcasters and wireless microphone manufacturers oppose opening up the "white spaces" due to concerns over radio frequency interference. Referring to FCC tests held at FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins, Page declared: More »
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By Jackson WestComment by Hyloka: What I don't get is why the wireless microphone manufacturers should get a free-ride on the public airwaves when they... 1 Responses | Other threads
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great moments in customer service
Phone companies can now care even less
The Federal Communications Commission will probably approve AT&T's request to stop filing annual reports on customer satisfaction and service quality. AT&T's angle actually makes sense: Most of the giant telco's modern competitors — cellular and Internet phone companies — don't have to file the data. The FCC is expected to cancel the reports entirely rather than require everyone to file. The Commission's charts show that customer complaints doubled from 2004 to 2006, but that doesn't take into account the ease of griping online in recent years. -
telcos
Comcast backs away from 20-minute delay
A Comcast spokesman contacted an IDG reporter whose report bubbled up to the New York Times today: "Comcast has made no final decisions on how to manage network congestion, despite news reports Wednesday that it will slow traffic for heavy users for up to 20 minutes during times of peak network use." More likely, said the spokesman, the heaviest network traffic users will be slowed for a minute or two at a time whenever parts of Comcast's network get congested. Comcast has been forbidden by the FCC from blocking applications such as BitTorrent outright. But stupid quote of the day comes from the guy at Public Knowledge: "If there was competition, could you slow down your best customers?" No, you could charge them more. (Chart by the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems)
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By Paul BoutinComment by artbrodsky: And why, pray tell, is it a "stupid quote" to say that Comcast is taking advantage of what is, at... more » | Other threads
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broadband
FCC's free broadband plan — the 100-word version
USA Today, the smart paper that plays dumb, has a remarkably clear summary of FCC chairman Kevin Martin's plan for free broadband access — and its opposition by T-Mobile, the company that bought the wireless spectrum next door to the frequencies Martin wants to use. Here, let me make it even snappier: More »
683
By Paul BoutinComment by foobarz: Isn't that why the analog TV spectrum is being converted to digital only in 2009? -- I understood the reason... more » | Other threads
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htc dream
HTC Dream Gets the FCC Stamp of Approval
For those of you keeping score at home, HTC's Dream, due to hit T-Mobile in October as the first Android phone, just got tapped by the FCC's rubber stamp. Unfortunately there aren't any of those h-o-t product shots that the FCC is usually known for to give us a better look at the device, just a lot of black and white. But it does confirm the Dream moniker, that it's got a jog ball, Wi-Fi and it's running on the 850/1700/1900MHz bands. Very exciting! [FCC via Engadget] [Gizmodo]
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Comment by OMG! Ponies!: @ajcali08: I'll believe it when there's an ad for it on TV. I seem to recall a big ceremony... more » | Other threads
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unintended consequences
How the FCC killed BitTorrent's promising business
When Comcast was caught blocking file sharing on its network, the Federal Communications Commission seemed to strike a blow in favor of peer-to-peer startups everywhere by fining the cable company. Observers assumed that the FCC decision would open the field for file sharing to turn into a legitimate business. But for BitTorrent Inc., a San Francisco startup seeking to commercialize the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol, the move against Comcast led to layoffs instead. The ruling may ultimately prove fatal to the company. More »
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By Owen ThomasComment by Owen Thomas: @funchords: "As for BitTorrent's content-delivery network, it was premised on the notion that BitTorrent would negotiate with ISPs to get... more » | Other threads
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network neutrality
Debate over FCC's regulatory role heats up ahead of Friday vote on Comcast
On Friday, the five commissioners of the FCC are set to vote on whether Comcast should be punished for interfering with traffic over its network. Comcast won't have to worry about fines — at worst, the Internet service provider will only have to agree to stop the specific practice of blocking peer-to-peer BitTorrent traffic and disclosing to customers what network management it practices, which the the company already does. So why should you care? More »
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By Jackson WestComment by mrfomoco: Every time I see these guys, all I can think of is the Greek Council in 'Animal House'. ('Put Neidermeyer... more » | Other threads
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network neutrality
FCC chairman wants to give Comcast a good spanking
Comcast could be subject to an "enforcement action" if the regulators at the FCC vote on August 1st to approve chairman Kevin Martin's proposed punishment for improper network management policies by the Internet service provider. Meanwhile, the boastful buccaneers at The Pirate Bay want to develop universal network traffic encryption meant to make the entire Internet a samizdat free from government and telco prying eyes. [AP] (Photo by AP/Jeff Roberson)
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By Jackson WestComment by G2GdoB2B: I was reading about the download cap Comcast is supposedly going to impose of around 250GB/Month. In the article, [www.internetevolution.com]... more » | Other threads
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politics
FCC to provide special porn-free Internet
There's one fussy detail in the FCC's new plan to give The People free broadband: no porn allowed. Chair Kevin Martin's proposal will require the winning service provider to implement content filters "to protect children," as reported by Ars Technica. Startup M2Z Network once offered the FCC a similar deal, promising to give 95 percent of Americans free broadband with compulsory filters set to "block access to sites purveying pornographic, obscene or indecent material." As defined by? Even if the feds can keep the children from seeing anything unclean, a Pump Up the Volume-style showdown between the FCC and the Happy Harry Hard-On of tomorrow can't be far behind.
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Comment by hackmancoltaire: Did anyone think of just growing up perhaps? Content providers who are serving up elicit content should just put a... more » | Other threads
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wireless
Mr. Page goes to Washington, demanding bandwidth
"If we have 10 percent better connectivity in the U.S., we get 10 percent more revenue in the U.S.," Google cofounder Larry Page told the FCC. He argued in short, that what's good for Google is good for America, speaking in favor of opening unlicensed spectrum known as "white spaces" between television broadcast frequencies. The National Association of Broadcasters and major sports leagues are opposed to the measure, with the NAB citing the FCC's failed tests of equipment made by Microsoft in 2007. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by ThatKid: Please, please send some reporter down to the cafe at Google with all those employee/cereal box photochops and get a... more » | Other threads
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network neutrality
Comcast lies to FCC about blocking file-sharing
Cable copmany Comcast assured the FCC that the company's "network management" practices that involved blocking file-sharing traffic only affected heavy users during peak hours. However, tests found that the Internet service provider blocks such traffic for a majority of users all day, every day, as does fellow ISP Cox. [Torrentfreak] -
google
Spectrum winner Verizon not concerned with letter of the law adherence to Google's "open rules"
The members of Google's team for its multibillion-dollar wireless-spectrum bid worked themselves to exhaustion and sickness. That was all in an effort to force the contest's eventual winner to abide by "open access" rules Google convinced the FCC to adopt last summer for its 700-Mhz spectrum sale. The auction winner, Verizon, seems to have little concern for Google's mobile whimsy. It plans to launch and heavily market "crippled, walled garden phones with no VoIP, Verizon content, highly restricted [terms of service], [and] high priced SMS," according to Broadband Reports. More »
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Comment by WagCurious: If Google desires to change the airwave business it should have gotten into the airwave business. more » | Other threads
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politics
Comcast, telcos ritually abused at FCC hearings in Palo Alto
Young San Jose resident Alex Polvi presented the least informed, but probably most typical argument for net neutrality in his public comment featured in this video clip from the rescheduled network neutrality hearings hosted by the FCC at Stanford today. But hey, even if he said "Internet" more than a dozen times, he didn't say "marketplace of ideas" or "fascism," like many of the other commenters. The people who should be most worried about the complex debate aren't free speech advocates or corporations, however, but big pharma. Listening to arguments for and against were a more powerful soporific than Ambien. Highlights from the seven hour session after the jump. More » -
politics
Comcast chickens out of FCC hearings at Stanford
Superlawyer Lawrence Lessig won't have Comcast to kick around at the FCC hearing on network neutrality — the principle that broadband providers can't discriminate against certain kinds of Internet traffic — being held at Stanford tomorrow. The event was only scheduled after Comcast paid chumps to fill chairs at an earlier hearing at Harvard in an obvious effort to squelch debate. With Comcast working with BitTorrent and just today joining with legal file-sharing startup Pando to work on a "bill of rights" for file sharers and ISPs, the company is trying to make voluntary moves in an effort to stave off involuntary regulation. I was planning on attending, if only because it promised to be an entertaining nerdfight — now, I'm not so sure. Since public hearings are supposedly democracy in action, you tell me if I should bother buying a Caltrain ticket. More » -
file sharing
Sandvine reports $7 million first quarter loss
Canadian network equipment manufacturer Sandvine reported a $7 million loss for the quarter ending February 29th, the first "disappointing" quarter in the company's history according to CEO Dave Caputo. The company makes network management equipment such as the deep packet sniffers Comcast was accused of using to throttle file sharing protocols such as BitTorrent. Caputo assured investors that the debate over ISP traffic management and network neutrality is "cooling somewhat." I'm not so sure — I'm expecting the rescheduled public hearings on Comcast's traffic management policies at Stanford next Thursday to be rather charged. Sandvine's stock is trading at a quarter of it's one year high.
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By Jackson WestComment by sample032: I say you put your money where your mouth is and short them. more » | Other threads
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copyfight
Bell Canada's peer-to-peer throttling mess
Bell Canada, the largest Internet service provider for our neighbors to the north, has admitted to using "deep packet sniffers" [Ed's note: Sounds intriguing, am assigning Melissa to look into these people] to throttle peer-to-peer protocol transfers such as BitTorrent downloads. Executives there obviously hadn't spoken to peers at national broadcaster CBC, which recently started legitimately distributing shows via P2P, as has American network NBC and musicians like Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. The company also throttled traffic from ISPs that buy bandwidth wholesale from the company. Net neutrality groups are lobbying Canadian officials to regulate Bell Canada into submission. But Minister of Industry Jim Prentice is opposed to any further regulation, and the Conservative Party-led government has been in favor or easing current regulations on telcos. Meanwhile, here in the states, Comcast has cozied up to BitTorrent and the FCC has proven more amenable to arguments in favor of net neutrality.
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By Jackson WestComment by raincoaster: Not only that, but downloading from peer to peer networks is LEGAL in Canada. Uploading is a different story, but... more » | Other threads
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larry alder
Google's wireless-spectrum team begged board to stay in auction
Google's public stance: Shucks, it never wanted to win the FCC's airwaves auction. The company just wanted to bid the auction's reserve and thereby force the winner into opening the spectrum, Google lobbyist Richard Whitt told the New York Times. The plan almost failed. More »
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Comment by WagCurious: Google is pretty good at storing a bunch of data on Linux based servers. What in the world that has... more » | Other threads
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lazy valleywag
Failed spectrum bid taxes Googlers' health
Google PR's party line: Even though Verizon Wireless and AT&T mostly won the FCC"s 700-Mhz spectrum auction, Google got what it wanted out of the bid by forcing the carriers to agree to "open" their new airwaves to any wireless device, including the still-mythical Googlephone. Google's latest actions speak otherwise: Google telecom lawyer Richard Whitt has moved from talking about 700 Mhz to new spectrum, formerly used by TV channels, that will become available next year. Some suspect Google's top management was always bluffing with its spectrum bid. If so, we're guessing they never let the team working on the project in on the secret. More »
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Comment by WagCurious: It's incredibly distracting for an organization to submit a "fake" bid for a serious piece of wireless property. The impact... more » | Other threads
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wireless auction
FCC chair: $19.6 billion spectrum auction totally competitive
"I don't think people anticipated an incumbent would purchase the spectrum with an open-access provision." — FCC chairman Kevin Martin, on why he's not disappointed that Verizon and AT&T got more of the nation's airwaves in an auction meant to spur new wireless competition. [Creative Capital] (Photo by AP/Jeff Roberson) -
confirmed
FCC schedules "do-over" Comcast hearing at Stanford
The FCC has announced that it will hold a second hearing on "net neutrality" — the debate over whether broadband providers can favor some kinds of Internet traffic — at Stanford University on April 17 (PDF). We wrote back in February that FCC chairman Kevin Martin was considering a "do-over"; the FCC's first hearing at Harvard was deemed botched after Comcast was caught packing the room with seatwarmers hired off the street. Now, Comcast has to deal with a hostile crowd and Professor Lawrence Lessig, a strong proponent of net neutrality. Lessig v. Comcast at Stanford? Sign me up! More »
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Comment by Fidel on the Roof: I am so happy that this is going to be done again. more » | Other threads
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wireless spectrum
Who are the big wireless spectrum auction winners?
The FCC's auction of the 700MHz spectrum, soon to be abandoned by analog television broadcasters, is over. Bids totaled $19.6 billion for licenses across the country. But it may be weeks until the winners are announced publicly. Among the big bidders, AT&T and Verizon are the most likely, and the most boring. Google tried to shape the debate over access to the spectrum with a promised bid, and have been acquiring infrastructure over the years. And there's a chance an unknown or three might make a splash. Valleywag is, of course, all ears at tips@valleywag.com. More »
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By Jackson WestComment by igneous: Whats the story with that antenna in SF? It looks really old, I can imagine that they would have... more » | Other threads
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comcast
FCC chair "ready to act" against Comcast — so what is he waiting for?
Federal Communications Commission chair Kevin Martin reiterated the FCC's position on Comcast's file-sharing misdeeds. Giving a speech at Stanford Law School, Martin said the commission is "ready, willing and able" to take action against the company. But this is the exact same wording he used at the first net neutrality hearing at Harvard several weeks ago. The FCC remains "ready" — but it isn't doing anything. Mr. Martin, sir, as my grandmother would say: "Shit or get off the pot." -
followup
FCC chief says no new hearing "planned" after Comcast debacle
Freakishly boyish FCC chairman Kevin Martin isn't exactly denying our earlier report that his commission was considering a "do-over" hearing on net neutrality. The first hearing, held at Harvard, dealt with regulations on what Internet service providers can do to privilege some kinds of Net traffic over others. It was marred by a seat-packing scandal: Comcast paid people to hold spots in line for Comcast employees who never showed up. A FCC representative gave News.com this unhelpful quote on the subject of a new hearing, which we've heard could be held at Stanford: More » -
exclusive
FCC contemplating do-over Comcast hearing at Stanford
The FCC is considering holding a fresh hearing on net neutrality, with Comcast and Verizon again in attendance — and this time it may be at Stanford. The do-over comes after a mini-scandal erupted over the first hearing, held at Harvard; Comcast flacks confessed they'd paid people off the street to act as seatwarmers. Let this be a lesson to you all: If you're going to meddle in politics, do it skillfully enough not to get caught. More »
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Comment by Dweezil: @wordsmithy: I believe the accurate tag would either be Harvard: The Oxford of America, or Harvard: The less wordy University of... more » | Other threads
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great moments in pr
Comcast caught packing FCC hearing at Harvard
Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer Khoury admitted that the cable giant paid some people to arrive early for an FCC hearing on network neutrality. The purpose? Supposedly to hold places for Comcast employees who wanted to attend the hearing. Some of those lineholders didn't just wait in line — they attended the meeting, taking spots which would otherwise have gone to members of the public. Some even fell asleep. Comcast says it didn't intend to block anyone from the hearing, but it doesn't really matter. What Comcast did wasn't illegal, just bad PR, done on the cheap. Next time, ply the seatwarmers with extra-shot Starbucks so they don't get caught napping. That seems easier. (Photo by AP/Stephan Savoia) -
politics
FCC chair to Comcast: Stop lying about file sharing
At a Congressional hearing, Comcast executives said the company needs to filter some traffic to keep the flow of data constant on its networks — like blocking BitTorrent file-sharing, as it was caught doing last fall. Federal Communications Commission head Kevin Martin is having none of it. "I think it's important to understand that the commission is ready, willing and able to step in if necessary to correct any (unreasonable) practices that are ongoing today," he said today. Martin wants Internet service providers to be more "transparent." Network operators have the right to manage data traffic, but that "does not mean they can arbitrarily block access to particular applications or services," he added. Translation? If you're going to block file sharing, stop lying about it.
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Comment by jamar0303: @jamar0303: That or Japan could point their newly-launched internet satellite in the general direction of North America... more » | Other threads
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google
The C Block, a chunk of wireless spectrum currently being auctioned by the FCC, just hit its reserve price of $4.6 billion. We've known this would happen for months now. Google promised it would at least bid $4.6 billion if the FCC promised the auction winner would have to open the spectrum to any legal device or software — rules that favored Google, not the established carriers. This milestone signals that Google has gotten its way — so far. [NYT]
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Comment by sample032: @WagCurious: A lot of those bidders probably got acquired or closed their doors in the last 15 years. more » | Other threads
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broadband
AT&T begins offering DSL without the landline
Are you among the almost 14 percent of households to have abandoned landlines in favor of cell phones, but still want to get DSL broadband Internet? If so, AT&T has finally begun offering so-called "naked" DSL. Naked DSL was framed as a concession to consumer groups and the FCC when AT&T acquired BellSouth. But it's actually just good business. More »
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By Tim FaulknerComment by WagCurious: Lets imagine that Google does win some 700 MHz bandwidth at auction (its insane for a search company to even... more » | Other threads
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politics
Consumer groups want Comcast fined for thwarting the Bible
A number of consumer groups are petitioning the FCC to fine Comcast $195,000 for every customer affected by their BitTorrent-throttling practices. The FCC has said in the past that service providers can't "block" customers from using certain applications or websites, but it hasn't enforced that policy. Comcast has stated that they aren't "blocking" data transmissions, but are delaying them. Angry users aren't seeing much of a difference. We still think that government regulation is not the answer. You don't like what Comcast is doing? Let your wallet do the talking — change providers or lay your own fiber, bub. Or, considering that Comcast was caught blocking a digital version of the Bible, perhaps divine intervention is what called for. Down with the infidels! (Photo by AP/Douglas C. Pizac)
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Comment by ramdac: Blocking the Bible?! Terrorists! They don't believe in free speech or freedom of religion. Down with the Infidels. They're either... more » | Other threads
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politics
The good news: The FCC has decided to leave some, but not all, of the wireless spectrum it's auctioning off open to multiple providers. The bad news: This means Chris Sacca can still pretend to have a job for a while longer. [Reuters]
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