Policy

Cranky broadcasters could get their licenses yanked

May 15, 2013 2:08 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

TV broadcasters who pull their signals off the air might risk forfeiting their spectrum licenses, Sen. Mark Warner this week warned. Fox CEO Chase Carey last month vowed to pull Fox off the air and distribute exclusively through pay TV services if Aereo were allowed to proceed with its current business model.

Another Senator weighs in on cable prices

May 15, 2013 1:57 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Sen. Rockefeller has asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the impact of TV station shared services agreements (SSAs) on consumers. The request is a response to complaints that local broadcasters collude in order to keep retrans fees artificially high.

McCain bill takes aim at cable practices

May 10, 2013 1:02 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Senator John McCain has introduced a bill that aims to fix a grab-bag of problems in the TV industry. His bill proposes to bar programmers from offering channels only in bundles; it aims to make retransmission consent arguments easier to adjudicate; and restricts sports blackouts, among other measures.

Capital Currents: That notorious copyright decision

May 7, 2013 8:10 pm | by Jeffrey Krauss, President of Telecommunications and Technology Policy | Articles | Comments

You’ve certainly read about that notorious decision by the Librarian of Congress that made it illegal for a cell phone owner to “unlock” a cell phone so that it can be used with a different carrier. But that same decision, which came out last October, contains other elements, including some that apply more directly to our business.

Wheeler on tap to head FCC

May 1, 2013 1:58 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A White House official says President Barack Obama plans to name a former cable and wireless industry lobbyist to head the Federal Communications Commission. Tom Wheeler is former head of both the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association and the National Cable Television Association.

TWC program promotes science ed through sports

April 22, 2013 1:38 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

Time Warner Cable announced its STEM in Sports campaign to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The campaign will offer parents, coaches and other adults the opportunity to get kids interested in STEM by highlighting the roles these subjects play in sports. NFL player Victor Cruz will appear in a PSA for the program.

NAMIC, WICT team up on diversity survey

April 16, 2013 12:26 pm | by Mike Robuck | News | Comments

Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) and the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) announced plans to conduct another joint workplace diversity survey for the next editions of the WICT PAR Initiative and the NAMIC AIM (Advancement Investment Measurement). The Walter Kaitz Foundation will fund the survey through a grant.

United Fiber goes with Entone for hybrid TV

April 11, 2013 1:43 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

The subsidiary of the United Electric Cooperative is using Entone’s FusionTV to deliver both linear and over-the-top content on the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network it is building in rural Missouri, using money from the Broadband Stimulus.

SCTE outlines CALM Act best practices

April 4, 2013 2:15 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

The CALM Act requires that the audio level of commercial messages be at the same average loudness as the associated programming content. SCTE 197 provides guidelines for cable operators for recording measured loudness and loudness metadata value.

Appeals court: Aereo is legal

April 2, 2013 1:06 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

Aereo, which offers inexpensive live broadcast television feeds to computers, tablets and smartphones, doesn't violate U.S. copyright law, a divided federal appeals court said Monday. The decision was based in part on Cablevision's landmark court case that established the legality of the networked PVR system.

Court turns away class action against Comcast

March 27, 2013 12:28 pm | by Associated Press | News | Comments

The Supreme Court is turning away a class action lawsuit against cable provider Comcast Corp. The high court on Wednesday overturned a lower court decision to certify as a class customers who say the company's monopoly in parts of the Philadelphia area allowed it to raise prices unfairly.

Charter refuses ads for TV antenna maker

March 22, 2013 1:22 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

A TV antenna maker wanted to use the competition's own medium — cable TV — for its anti-cable message. Now, officials at Antennas Direct say Charter Communications' refusal to air the ads is evidence of the cable industry's growing concern over antennas.

Genachowski resigns as FCC chairman

March 22, 2013 1:17 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments

The outgoing chairman’s tenure coincided with continued adoption of broadband and ever higher Internet connection speeds, especially on the wireless side. He approved Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal, while blocking AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile.

FCC Commissioner McDowell resigns

March 21, 2013 12:32 pm | by Andrew Berg, Wireless Week | News | Comments

McDowell was first appointed to a seat on the Commission by President George W. Bush. When he was reappointed to the Commission in 2009, Commissioner McDowell became the first Republican to be appointed to an independent agency by President Barack Obama.

San Jose fires up free Wi-Fi network

March 15, 2013 2:23 pm | by Brian Santo | News | Comments

The city that considers itself the capital of Silicon Valley is offering free connectivity via a network built by SmartWAVE Technologies using 802.11n Wi-Fi products from Ruckus Wireless. San Jose also has one of the best acronyms ever for its metro area network exchange (see story).