airwaves

Media Minutes: February 10, 2012

Candace Clement — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:12:12 -0500

Political wrangling is holding Super Wi-Fi spectrum hostage. The House has tacked on amendments to its payroll tax bill that spell big trouble for the FCC and spectrum use. And a new bill in the Illinois legislature would allow people to record on-duty police in public without permission.

A Clash over the Airwaves

Stevie Converse — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:04:27 -0400

Full article: New York Times
Edward Wyatt
The FCC has a solution to getting more spectrum for wireless services: reclaim airwaves from "inefficient" users -- specifically, television broadcasters -- and auction them off to the highest bidder, sharing some of the proceeds with television stations that volunteer to give up airwaves. Broadcasters, however, are furious with the plan, setting the stage for an old media vs. new media lobbying battle with cellphone companies and the FCC.

House, Senate Moving to Inventory Valuable TV, Radio Waves

Stevie Converse — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:23:49 -0400

Full article: Wall Street Journal
Fawn Johnson
A bill calling on the FCC and the Commerce Department to catalog how wireless airwaves are being used has cleared a key Senate panel. A similar bill has been introduced in the House. The measure is considered the first step in a comprehensive review of the nation's airwaves to make more efficient use of the valuable channels.

FCC Announces 2.5 GHz Broadband Radio Service Auction -- Who Will Fight over Rules?

Stevie Converse — Tue, 05 May 2009 11:17:05 -0400

Full article: Wet Machine
Harold Feld
The FCC's 2.5 GHz auction won't bring in the big amounts of money of the 700 MHz spectrum, but it will represent the first spectrum auction since the 700 MHz auction to put the question of whether or not to use "anonymous bidding" on public notice. With former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin gone, it's unclear whether anonymous bidding will survive.

DTV: Stations Try to Fill Digital Subchannels

Stevie Converse — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:44:42 -0500

Full article: TV Week
Daisy Whitney
The country's switchover from analog to digital broadcast signals brings with it a need for stations to program the digital subchannels created in the bandwidth space formerly occupied by their analog signals. Many stations have already opted for weather reports, movies and classic television shows to occupy the additional programming real estate.

FCC's Martin: Open Networks Becoming the Norm

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:24:21 -0500

Full article: InternetNews.com
Kenneth Corbin
Is openness here to say? FCC Chairman Kevin Martin thinks so. Speaking at the National Press Club, Martin weighed his oversight of major FCC efforts that, he said, guided the telecom industry toward greater network openness.

Parton Adds Voice to Argument over White Space

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:40:46 -0400

Full article: TV Week
Ira Teinowitz
Singer Dolly Parton has stepped into the battle at the FCC over whether the agency should act now to begin allowing the marketing of devices that use the white spaces between digital TV channels.

White Space Lobbying Fast and Furious as Bill Gates Joins in

Holiday Shapiro — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:35:24 -0400

Full article: Ars technica
Nate Anderson
In the last few weeks, white space backers have brought out the big guns to lobby the FCC. Senators, Google cofounders, and even Bill Gates are now directly involved in an effort to shape FCC opinion in the run-up to the crucial November 4 vote on unlicensed white space broadband.

FCC Sets Nov. 4 Vote on White Spaces

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:25:36 -0400

Full article: eWeek.com
Roy Mark
White space devices will not cause undue interference with digital broadcasts or wireless microphones, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said. Martin told reporters he plans for the FCC to vote on Nov. 4 on allowing unlicensed use of the spectrum.

FCC Chair Wants to Go Forward with Use of White Spaces

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:13:21 -0400

Full article: Washington Post
Kim Hart
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he wants to allow portable devices to use the airwaves between TV channels for wireless broadband service. The agency's engineering office is releasing a report that spells out the standards devices must meet in order to use the empty airwaves.