News

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to testify today before the Senate Commerce Committee on the Commission’s National Broadband Plan. Free Press is calling on the agency to reclassify broadband as a telecommunications service to give the National Broadband Plan firm legal footing.

WASHINGTON — Today, the FCC announced its timetable for implementation of the National Broadband Plan. Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver made the following statement:

WASHINGTON — Public interest groups are asking the FCC to hold public field hearings on Comcast’s proposed takeover of NBC Universal.

WASHINGTON — S. Derek Turner, research director for Free Press, made the following statement in response to the DC Circuit’s opinion in Comcast v. FCC:

WASHINGTON —Windstream Communications, a mid-size DSL Internet service provider, is believed to be hijacking user search queries made through the Firefox browser’s search task bar, according to news reports and user comments.

WASHINGTON — According to news reports, owners of TV stations that carry ABC, CBS and Fox programming called on the FCC and Justice Department to set conditions on the Comcast-NBC merger to protect them from the anti-competative threats posed by the joining of the nation’s largest cable company and NBC, their network competitor.

WASHINGTON —Today, Free Press and the New America Foundation released an early analysis of the National Broadband Plan that argues that while the Plan takes several critical first steps toward solving the nation’s broadband deficiencies, the FCC must act decisively and quickly in several key areas in order to reach its goals.

WASHINGTON — Two leading public interest groups today renewed their call for the Federal Communications Commission to safeguard text messaging after they revealed that Sprint will shut down a fundraising campaign aimed at helping earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Today, House Commerce Committee Chair Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) called on the FCC to take any necessary action to move forward with the national broadband plan after pending litigation has drawn into question the agency’s authority to implement key elements of the plan such as reform of the Universal Service Fund and numerous consumer protections.

WASHINGTON — In response to a speech by Verizon executive Tom Tauke, Free Press Executive Director Josh Silver made the following statement: