News

WASHINGTON — According to the Wall Street Journal, the Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T’s $1.9 billion acquisition of spectrum licenses from Qualcomm. The licenses are for use of the valuable airwaves in the 700 MHz band — prime spectrum for mobile broadband use, of which AT&T already holds a considerable amount.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would further weaken media ownership limits for local newspapers and broadcast stations. The agency’s proposal is strikingly similar to one adopted in 2007 under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Verizon Wireless filed a statement with the Federal Communications Commission regarding its agreement to purchase prime wireless broadband spectrum licenses from cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House.

WASHINGTON — On Monday, AT&T and T-Mobile reportedly abandoned their proposed $39-billion merger.

WASHINGTON — On Friday, Cox Communications announced that it will sell its spectrum to Verizon Wireless, in a deal similar to the one announced by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks earlier this month.

Like Verizon’s deal with the other companies, the agreement also means Cox will resell Verizon services to its customers as part of a cable-wireless bundle.

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee held a markup of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), which would give companies largely unchecked power to blacklist thousands of websites that they suspect of copyright infringement.

If enacted, SOPA could force popular websites where people share videos, images and other data to censor user content or risk being blocked themselves.

WASHINGTON – Responding to reports that the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission are taking a closer look into allegations that Carrier IQ software is tracking cellphone activity and sharing it without the users’ knowledge.

WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Free Press filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission, urging it to nvestigate Verizon Wireless for reportedly blocking the “Google Wallet” application on the Galaxy Nexus smartphone.

WASHINGTON – On Monday, AT&T and the Department of Justice jointly requested to stay further court proceedings on the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, which was granted by the court.

WASHINGTON – On Friday at a status hearing, the Department of Justice discussed the possibility of postponing its legal challenge against the AT&T/T-Mobile merger. The Department of Justice may seek to delay the trial until AT&T refiles its request for approval of the merger with the Federal Communications Commission.