FCC

AT&T to Google: Your trumpet stinks

I'm glad the net neutrality dispute that broke out this week between AT&T (T) and Google (GOOG) has nothing to do with Apple (AAPL).

The two companies' arguments are so cynically self-serving and the common carrier issues they have locked horns over so thorny and impenetrable that I don't know where to start. (If you want to pursue it, the New York Times' Saul Hansell does a good job laying the MORE

Google spills the beans on Apple

"Contrary to published reports," Apple (AAPL) told the FCC back in August in response to a government inquiry about why it rejected Google's (GOOG) famous voice management app. "Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application, and continues to study it." (link)

What Google had to say about that was unknown because unlike Apple, which made public its response, Google asked that key portions of its letter to the FCC be MORE

40 staffers. 2 reviews. 8,500 iPhone apps per week

It took the heavy hand of the Federal Communications Commission to pry it loose, but we finally have a clearer picture of how Apple's (AAPL) App Store approval process works.

The details are contained in Apple's response to the FCC's July 31 letter of inquiry into why Google's (GOOG) Google Voice app has not been approved. AT&T's response fills 16 pages with legalese and footnotes, but the bottom line is short MORE

AT&T: We didn't ask Apple to block Google Voice

AT&T stayed mum for weeks to protect its relationship with Apple, but thanks to prodding from the Federal Communications Commission the company is talking now. The upshot: AT&T didn't demand that Apple (AAPL) block Google Voice from the iTunes App Store, thus keeping it off of the iPhone. In fact, AT&T says it didn't even talk to Apple about it before the iPhone maker handed down the decision.

This is the MORE

Dancing on AT&T's grave in the Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board and I disagree about almost everything, including the legacy of the late Robert Novak.

The op-ed page, however, is a different matter. And on Tuesday the Journal ran a guest commentary by Andy Kessler that says what many of us have been thinking about AT&T's (T) role in Apple's (AAPL) rejection of Google's (GOOG) Google Voice app -- the universal telephone number and voice mail MORE

The FCC is asking Apple and AT&T all the right questions

[NEWS FLASH: Google CEO Eric Schmidt has resigned from Apple's board. See here.]

Sometimes you've just got to love the government.

Case in point: the inquiry that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission launched Friday into why exactly Apple (AAPL) decided to reject Google's (GOOG) powerful Google Voice call-management system for the iPhone, and what role AT&T (T) played in the decision.

Hundreds of reporters -- from the tiniest blogs to the most powerful MORE

Group asks FCC to probe iPhone Skype restrictions

It didn't take long for Skype's free application for Apple's (AAPL) iPhone to climb to the top of the App Store bestseller list -- nor for net neutrality advocates to cry foul over the restrictions placed on its use.

In the first two days after its release, the iPhone Skype app has been downloaded more than a million times -- about six downloads per second, according to Skype's official blog.

The application MORE

Million of households unprepared for digital TV

By Michal Lev-Ram

Couch potatoes, listen up: If you're still using an analog TV, you might find static instead of "American Idol" on your screen come Feb. 18, 2009. That's when the Federal Communications Commission plans to end a half-century of analog broadcasting.

This is the final step in switching to digital television broadcasting, which takes up less bandwidth and allows for high-definition pictures. With the government's auction of the old analog MORE

Verizon the big winner in spectrum auction

By Michal Lev-Ram

The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday that Verizon Wireless was the biggest winner in the recently-closed government auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum.

FCC records show that Verizon bid an estimated $9.5 billion for the airwaves, which will become available next year and are well-suited for broadband services.

The company won the majority of large licenses in the coveted C block of the spectrum, in addition to a significant number of MORE

Wireless spectrum auction comes to a close

By Michal Lev-Ram

After nearly eight weeks and 261 rounds of bidding, the government's spectrum auction finally ended Tuesday.

In January,  the Federal Communications Commission began auctioning off the coveted 700MHz spectrum, which is particularly suited for broadband services and is the last major chunk of nationwide spectrum.  The FCC had hoped to raise at least $10 billion from the auction, but as the last bid came in late Tuesday the total MORE