Lightening-fast innovations are taking place throughout technology, except for one area: the television. That was a concern voiced by officials at the FCC, who identified a lack of competition and innovation in the television set-top-box market as a key hurdle to the adoption of broadband Internet.

In a recent FCC meeting, the national broadband plan task force cited a number of challenges hamstringing widespread broadband adoption, including limits on the Universal Service Fund and a growing demand for spectrum. The task force faces a Feb. 17 deadline for submitting a broadband plan to Congress.

Several factors, including a lack of a broadband subsidy program at the FCC, have contributed to gaps in broadband adoption, a new report from an FCC task force said.

A pair of Senators is asking the FCC to review the impact of multiple station ownership and management in a single market when it reviews its ownership rules, apparently prompted in part by the attention being paid to Raycom's shared services agreement in Honolulu.

With about 65 percent of the population now subscribing to broadband, ISPs are duking it out for new customers. The companies are offering cut-throat prices and new promotions to win over new subscribers. But for millions of Americans living in regions where carriers don't find it profitable to offer service, only one choice of Internet provider exists today.

What worries cable and online video companies most about the expected merger between Comcast and NBC Universal? They say the combined entertainment giant would have too much control over a wide body of content. And it could make it difficult for competitors to offer NBC broadcast and cable shows and Universal movies in the same way Comcast subscribers would receive it.

After Charter won approval of its bankruptcy plan, the company said it will raise prices and consider consumption-based billing. Charter hasn't been profitable since the company went public in 1999 and constantly ranks at the bottom of most customer satisfaction surveys.

AOL said it plans to cut one-third of its work force, or about 2,500 jobs, in an effort to trim $300 million in annual costs as part of its planned spin-off from Time Warner. The struggling Web pioneer said it had asked for volunteers, but will perform involuntary layoffs if enough workers do not step up.

In a widely watched ruling that other states and the federal government are expected to follow, California passed first-in-the-nation energy efficiency standards for new television sets.

FCC Media Bureau chief Bill Lake says the FCC should consider spurring more competition and variety in the set-top box market as one way of helping spur broadband adoption. That came in a presentation at the FCC's open meeting on the status of the national broadband plan and the gaps to rollout and adoption that need to be bridged.