Posts Tagged FCC
FCC to Review Wireless Industry Practices
The Federal Communications Commission will undertake a comprehensive review of the wireless industry and its practices, the agency has announced. Commissioners plan to begin discussions at next Thursday’s regular meeting.
Seperate inquiries will be launched into innovation and competition in the industry, and the FCC also plans to take a look at wireless billing to see if changes need to be made to regulations governing how charges are presented so that consumers easily understand charges on their bills.
Chairman Julius Genachowski has already said recently that the FCC would look at handset exclusivity arrangements such as the one with AT&T and Apple for the iPhone. Critics claim they are anti-competitive and limit consumer choice, especially in rural areas.
Experts say that the FCC will likely put Verizon and AT&T in its crosshairs, since the two control about 60% of the market in the US. They would look for evidence of anti-competitive behavior by either operator. Add in Sprint and T-Mobile, and four carriers make up 90% of the cell phones here.
What exactly can be done is unclear. The FCC in the past has allowed either provider to grow as big as it has, never batting an eye when approving mergers which allowed either company to become progressively larger. If we have anyone to blame for this situation, it’s likely ourselves.
FCC Using Blogging, Twitter to Promote Broadband Plan
The Federal Communications Commission launched a blog and twitter account on Tuesday, part of a larger effort to drum up public support and participation as it develops a National Broadband Plan. The broadband effort has been described by chairman Julius Genachowski as “one of the most important initiatives that the FCC has ever undertaken.”
While the plan is not due until February 17, 2010, the agency has started a blog called “Blogband,” which would aim to keep citizens up to date on the process. Comments received from citizens would be factored in to decisions on the overall path forward, Genachowski wrote on the blog.
In a subsequent post, the plan’s author Blair Levin said writing the plan will be no easy task.
“[The plan] will require sustained thinking, and our broadband team is leading an assault of sustained thinking by the entire FCC on the stubborn problem of bringing broadband to unserved and underserved areas, increasing the number of Americans using broadband, and maximizing how broadband can be used to help address significant national issues. Expect the unexpected. Nothing is pre-baked but the fortune cookies.”
Adding to the national conversation on broadband would be a Twitter feed, fccdotgov. While this appears to be a general feed — not only intended for publicizing its work on the Broadband Plan — it still is another way the agency is turning to technology to do its work.
It certainly will be interesting to watch over the next few months as the FCC tackles the problem of broadband access for all. This is not an easy task — the USA is one big country. But I will credit the government for at least trying to be more inclusive.
I’m also really curious if this new blogging FCC will expand to other areas, opening up the process further. Imagine if they had a blog on approving mergers like Sirius XM. I can only speculate what the comments to those posts would have been like!
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