The old guard, NCTA and the MPAA, is being represented by Michael Power -- yes, the previous Chairman of the FCC -- and Michael O'Leary, respectively.
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But with more than 300 million GPS receivers out there designed to listen to not only GPS frequencies but neighboring bands, there are facts on the ground that will likely prevent LightSquared from making full use of its FCC-licensed spectrum.
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Peace out, BREW. Only FCC-approved devices will be taken in for testing, and there's a fee for certification, but in return manufacturers are promised a four-week turnaround (eight weeks for the "best practices" cert), with mandatory re-testing every 36 months.
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You can report overly loud commercials to the FCC by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC.
FORBES: Congress Does Something Right: The End To Loud Commercials Is Coming
But the FCC appealed--and in March, the Supreme Court heard arguments from both sides.
The carriers will continue this way until there is legislation or FCC rule-making to stop it.
But while there may be a need for remedial FCC action--in the relatively rare case when there may be a proven market failure--any such action should be targeted narrowly to redress demonstrable consumer harms.
Specifically, the FCC 3-2 partisan vote was followed by a partisan House vote (234 Rs against, 2 Rs for, 6 Ds against and 177 Ds for), and a partisan Senate vote (52 Ds for vs. 46 Rs against).
If so--and if Congress determines some form of Internet regulation is needed--the FCC should amend the Communications Act to adopt the competition-based approach recommended here.
With that little Department of Justice business out of their way, Sirius and XM have unsurprisingly been quick to start chatting up the all-important FCC, and a recent filing from the agency has now revealed that lawyers from the two companies have met with none other than FCC Chairman Kevin Martin himself, along with other higher-ups.
ENGADGET: Sirius, XM reps chat up FCC, post-merger pricing detailed
Ghai adds that he is encouraged by the recent release of additional 5 GHz radio spectrum by the FCC for Wi-Fi networks.
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Martin spent his pre-FCC career as a communications attorney in Washington.
Don't look at the latest FCC filings then -- Federal regulators appear to have snagged some exclusive hands-on time with Razer's upcoming Project Fiona, and its trademark handlebars are nowhere in sight.
ENGADGET: Razer's gaming tablet drops by the FCC, leaves handles at home
And when it comes to local news, Martin - Chairman Martin of FCC believes that combining the news-gathering potential of a TV station and a newspaper newsroom can only help both organs at a moment when both have to compete with the dreaded Internet.
One of the key parts, as Qualcomm sees it, is small cell base stations in homes, offices and retail spaces working in tandem with the large cell towers that currently adorn so many roofs and mountain tops -- the same thing ex-FCC head honcho Julian Genachowski talked about last year.
These moves seem to be motivated by its failed bid to acquire T- Mobile last year, an attempt that would have given the carrier enough spectrum and scale to build a robust LTE network and fend off competition from Verizon and Sprint, but was thwarted by the FCC on anti-competitive concerns.
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Cisco and Motorola, along with other companies that make cable set-top boxes, are worried the FCC will include new video-streaming standards in the broadband plan, says Arbogast.
Side-by-side with the review, the FCC is proposing an incentive-based reverse auction strategy to have TV broadcasters voluntarily give up their spectrum for cellular and data use.
On the Nokia side, the XpressMusic 5610 slider (which we've seen in T-Mobile trim courtesy of the FCC) will be joining the just-announced 5310, though the carrier has yet to determine a launch window for this one.
ENGADGET: Details emerge on T-Mobile's upcoming Samsung and Nokia releases
Martin's endorsement brings the deal closer to a highly anticipated vote by the five-person FCC panel.
But when a net neutrality regime gums things up, it'll be tough to extricate a self-serving FCC.
The FCC's 25-page report, dated April 13, provides additional evidence that the plan to gather the data was intentional.
FCC's open-market test as a result of concessions made when it bought Nynex.
There are a number of reasonable criticisms to be made about the way the Clinton-era FCC carried out those policies.
Yet FCC insists on top-down rulemaking with respect to most technological advances.
Yet the FCC still regulates over-the-air broadcasters as if TV were a delicate flower, one requiring constant fussing by an overanxious gardener.
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Which means our FCC's laws--which treat spectrum as a sort of real estate, complete with CCRs and fences--get doubly moronic every year and a half.
On Friday, the FCC released a 71-page glossy report entitled, "Moving Forward: Driving Investment and Innovation While Protecting Consumers, " which documented Mr. Martin's four years as chairman.
They also said the FCC rules on self-certification, and the absence of a national database of participants, made it hard to keep ineligible people from signing up.
When dealing with the new, detail-oriented FCC, data is power.
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