News

Public interest groups are prepared to file a complaint at the Federal Communications Commission if AT&T fails to make FaceTime available to all customers in a timely manner.

On Friday, Free Press released Missing Out: Political Ads, Spanish-Language TV and the Latino Vote, a report analyzing political ad spending in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida and New Mexico.

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission approved a proposal that will enable AT&T to deploy mobile broadband services on its WCS band spectrum. Usage of this spectrum had been tied up in interference disputes because of its proximity to satellite radio spectrum. AT&T and XM-Sirius settled those disputes in June, and AT&T has reached agreements with several other WCS licensees to purchase much of the remaining spectrum in the band.

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai called the agency’s ability to oversee Internet access services under common carriage rules a “hopelessly outdated” approach. The remarks continued the debate about the FCC’s authority to require Internet service providers to abide by the non-discrimination and interconnection policies that currently govern telephone and enterprise telecommunications networks.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Japanese wireless provider SoftBank announced that it would acquire a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey announced his support for the five principles in the Declaration of Internet Freedom, joining congressional colleagues Sen. Ron Wyden, Reps. Anna Eshoo, Darrell Issa and Jared Polis and more than 2,000 organizations and 75,000 individuals from more than 130 countries.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission allowed key parts of its “program access” rules to expire, in a decision that could make it harder for rivals to traditional cable companies to compete.

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS announced an agreement to combine T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Free Press is reviewing the details of the deal.

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Free Press released Money, News and Deception in Denver, a report focusing on the five third-party groups buying the most political ad time in Denver, host city to the Oct. 3 presidential debate.

WASHINGTON – On Friday, the Federal Communications Commission issued two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking that will determine the agency’s path forward on promoting mobile broadband innovation and competition.