News

Widespread support for strong Net neutrality rules continues. But Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has made a point of trumpeting anti-Net Neutrality sentiment.

The deal between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Tribune Media would give the conservative-leaning company control of local news coverage in 70 percent of American households.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Free Press released a comprehensive report examining internet-industry developments in the two years since the Federal Communications Commission’s February 2015 Open Internet Order.

In the two-year period following the new net neutrality rules, overall investment among those companies was up 5 percent, according to Free Press.

Though the Commission’s lone Democrat is unlikely to change the minds of her anti-regulation colleagues, she’s not ready to admit defeat just yet.

“In just a matter of days, the FCC’s majority will tee up an item aimed at dismantling the open-internet protections that so many Americans fought for and won back in 2015,” the Democratic Commission said in a speech delivered at a broadband forum in Los Angeles.

WASHINGTON — Bloomberg reported early Friday morning that Sprint and T-Mobile have begun preliminary talks to work toward a merger. The deal, if approved, would join the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless companies, which together would serve 132 million subscribers.

Oliver skewered FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to roll back Net Neutrality rules during Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight.

Relaxed media consolidation rules have allowed Sinclair Broadcasting to bid for Tribune Media, creating a local news behemoth with a conservative bent.

LOS ANGELES — On Wednesday night, in a packed room at the Los Angeles Community Action Network in the city’s Skid Row neighborhood, Voices for Internet Freedom hosted a public forum with FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn to hear from community members about the need for affordable internet access and other communication services.