FCC spectrum auction bidding ends at $19.6 billion

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said Friday that bidding in the wireless spectrum auction has ended at $19.6 billion, significantly less than many analysts had initially forecast. The so-called broadcast incentive spectrum auction is one of the commission’s most complex and ambitious to date and should be complete by April.

FCC ends wireless auction with $19.6B in bids

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that the bidding phase of the agency’s first-ever auction of wireless spectrum had closed, with bids totaling $19.6 billion. “The participation of these broadcasters and wireless carriers will enable the Commission to release 84 megahertz of spectrum into the broadband marketplace,” he added.

New FCC chair closely guards his strategy to restructure net neutrality

WASHINGTON: The new chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission under President Donald Trump is keeping under wraps his strategy to revise or reverse the Obama administration’s “net neutrality” rules, but emphasized he is committed to ensuring an open internet. Ajit Pai, 44, a Republican lawyer who has served as a FCC commissioner since 2012, strongly opposed former Democratic President Barack Obama administration’s 2015 net neutrality rules that reclassified broadband providers and treated them like a public utility.

FCC faces doubleheader of Hill hearings

The Federal Communications Commission is facing a long day on March 8, with back-to-back hearings in the House and Senate. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai will face panels chaired by lawmakers more amiable to his policies than they were to his Obama-appointed predecessor, Tom Wheeler.

U.S. FCC spectrum auction bidding ends at $19.6 billion

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said Friday that bidding in the wireless spectrum auction has ended at $19.6 billion, significantly less than many analysts had initially forecast. The so-called broadcast incentive spectrum auction is one of the commission’s most complex and ambitious to date and should be complete by April.

Scripps shares results of its participation in FCC broadcast spectrum auction

This week, the FCC lifted a quiet period it had imposed on station groups regarding the auction, allowing broadcasters to publicly share their auction results. “We pursued several channel-share arrangements with ourselves and other broadcast partners that would have allowed us to continue to operate our stations and serve our local communities while supporting the government in its attempt to recapture some broadcaster spectrum,” said , senior vice president, broadcast, for Scripps.

Samsung Galaxy TabPro S2 specifications, features leaked ahead of MWC 2017

As Samsung prepares for the upcoming MWC 2017 event in Barcelona, there have been a slew of rumors about the products that will be launched. Speaking about the expected devices, Samsung has been long rumored to launch the Galaxy TabPro S2 at MWC 2017 event on February 26. Successor to the Windows-10 powered Galaxy TabPro S which was launched at CES 2016, the Galaxy TabPro S2 has recently passed through the Federal Communications Commission in the US.

Trump’s choice: The importance of being Ajit Pai

The new chief of America’s Federal Communications Commission is not a fan of net neutrality. So what’s his vision of communications and digital policy in these times? We find out… IMAGE: Ajit Pai at a Federal Communications Commission Net Neutrality hearing in Washington in February 2015.

Hastings, Grand Island, Kearney Area News

As per Federal Communications Commission Regulations following is certified: Platte River Radio Inc. does not discriminate in the sale of commercial time, and will not accept advertising which, in its sole opinion, is purchased with intent to discriminate unlawfully on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity. The advertiser hereby certifies that its purchase of commercial time is not made for an unlawful discriminatory purpose, including specifically that it is not based upon a decision to place advertising on a station on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity.

Trump’s new FCC boss has already set the stage for a less open…

Last week, the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau closed multiple inquiries led by former Chairman Tom Wheeler into the data-cap exemption – colloquially known as “zero-rating” – policies of various internet service providers, including AT&T , Verizon , T-Mobile , and Comcast . Previously, Wheeler, who stepped down once Trump took office, oversaw a monthslong back-and-forth between the FCC and those ISPs.

Are You Receiving More Robocalls? You’re Not Alone

But even signing on to do-not-call lists don’t stop them from happening or from people falling victim to phone scams. One company that tracks these calls estimates there are more than 900 robocalls made every second in the U.S. Critics claim phone companies are not doing enough to crack down on what is becoming an epidemic.

New FCC Chairman Rolls Back Net Neutrality Rules

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission is a holdover from the Obama administration, but he has plans to unravel policies set forth by his former boss. Ajit Pai, previously a commissioner for the FCC, is honing in on net neutrality.

What the Net Neutrality Rollback Means for Netflix Users

Under President Donald Trump’s newly-minted chairman, the Federal Communications Commission is quickly working to eliminate regulations created to ensure internet service providers grant equal access to all web content – the rules commonly known as “net neutrality.” The shift is part of an unspooling of FCC policies from the Obama administration.

ALA denounces recent FCC Lifeline revocations, report retractions

On February 3, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission revoked all of the designations of Lifeline Broadband Providers and ordered the retraction of multiple reports, including the ” E-rate Modernization Progress Report ” and ” Improving the Nation’s Digital Infrastructure .” ALA is dismayed by these actions to reduce digital opportunity and revise the public record.

Lobbying world

Capitol Counsel hired Stacie Aman as a principal within its healthcare team. Aman comes from Golden Living, a provider of home health, hospice, rehabilitative therapy and assisted-living care services, where she served as the company’s top lobbyist and public affairs strategist.

Overnight Tech: Dems vow to fight for net neutrality | FCC chief…

DEMS DRAW THE LINE ON NET NEUTRALITY: Democrats on Tuesday vowed to stand firm against any efforts by Republicans to roll back the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. “The big broadband barons and their Republican allies want to turn back the clock and make big cable and big cellphone companies the gatekeepers for internet access,” Sen. Ed Markey said at a press conference in the Capitol.

Dems come out swinging on net neutrality

Democrats on Tuesday vowed to stand firm against any efforts by Republicans to roll back the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. “The big broadband barons and their Republican allies want to turn back the clock and make big cable and big cellphone companies the gatekeepers for internet access,” Sen. Ed Markey Dems come out swinging on net neutrality Senators introduce resolution in support of Australia after Trump call Dem senator: Trump ‘trying to rig’ Supreme Court MORE Supporters of the internet rules, which require broadband providers to treat all traffic the same, are worried net neutrality could be on the chopping block under a GOP-controlled Congress and FCC.

Democratic senators push to save net neutrality rules under Trump

Democratic senators have promised to fight any move by President Donald Trump’s administration to gut the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. Any moves by Trump or the Republican-controlled FCC to roll back the 2015 regulations will meet stiff resistance from Democratic lawmakers and digital rights groups, the five senators said during a press conference Tuesday.

How Ajit Pai could impact your Netflix stream

Under President Donald Trump’s newly-minted chairman, the Federal Communications Commission is quickly working to eliminate regulations created to ensure internet service providers grant equal access to all web content – the rules commonly known as “net neutrality.” The shift is part of an unspooling of FCC policies from the Obama administration.

FCC Extends Comment Period on Repack Reports

The comment period has been extended for weighing in on the TV channel repack reporting requirements proposed Jan. 10 by the Federal Communications Commission. Comments are now due Feb. 17 with replies due Feb. 27. “The Media Bureau hereby extends the filing deadlines for public comment in the pending proceeding proposing to require certain broadcast television stations that are not eligible to receive reimbursement from the TV Broadcast Relocation Fund but must transition to new channels during the post-auction transition period to provide progress reports,” the commission said in a Feb. 6 Public Notice .

FCC Chairman Defends Decision to Bar 9 Companies From…

New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has wasted no time getting used to his role, dropping inquiries into free data perks offered by wireless providers. It’s a decision that has raised the ire of net neutrality advocates, stopping nine companies from participating in a federal program, Lifeline, that subsidizes internet service for low-income communities.

FCC Stops 9 Companies From Providing Poor Federally Subsidized Internet

United Press International is reporting that the Federal Communications Commission on Friday removed nine recently added companies from a federally subsidized program dubbed Lifeline, which was established to provide Internet service to the poor. In doing so, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reversed a decision by Tom Wheeler, his Democratic predecessor who resigned after Donald Trump was elected president.

FCC stops defending caps on prison phone call rates

The Federal Communications Commission’s new anti-regulation stance is now affecting prisons. BuzzFeed News reports that the FCC is no longer defending two key parts of its caps on prison phone call rates : limits on intrastate call rates and the methods used to determine those rates.

FCC made a case for limiting cost of prison phone calls, but not anymore

Federal regulators no longer are pressing to cut the costs of most prison phone calls, backing away from a years-long effort to limit charges imposed by a handful of private companies on inmates and their families. The shift by the Federal Communications Commission comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Monday considers whether commissioners went too far when they capped prices for inmate calls that had reached more than a $1 per minute.

The End Of The Level Playing Field

I am old enough to remember the gogo days of cable TV when entrepreneurs who wanted to launch a new cable channel would go, hat in hand and cap table in tow, to the big cable companies and beg to get distribution on their networks. When the Internet came along in the early 90s, we saw something completely different.

FCC is stopping 9 companies from providing subsidized Internet to the poor

FCC chief Ajit Pai, shown in 2013, said Friday that the approvals of nine companies to participate in the Lifeline program “did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners.” FCC chief Ajit Pai, shown in 2013, said Friday that the approvals of nine companies to participate in the Lifeline program “did not enjoy the support of the majority of commissioners.”

New FCC chair just blocked 9 companies from providing affordable Internet to the poor

Regulators are telling nine companies they won’t be allowed to participate in a federal program meant to help them provide affordable Internet access to low-income consumers – weeks after those companies had been given the green light. The move, announced Friday by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, reverses a decision by his Democratic predecessor, Tom Wheeler, and undercuts the companies’ ability to provide low-cost Internet access to poorer Americans.

The FCC stops investigating carrier’s ‘zero-rating’ plans

Now that there’s a new voice atop the FCC, priorities are changing. As part of a “Friday night news dump” — as it’s being called by fellow commissioner Mignon Clyburn — the regulator announced it’s done investigating carriers for “zero rating” programs that exclude some services from monthly data limits.