Lawmakers have introduced at least three different bills that would reshape the consumer video market, including online video, similar to efforts used to boost the satellite industry in the 1990s. None of the bills is expected to pass right away, and companies looking to expand in online video remain uncertain how far Congress will open the door for them.
Why Comcast and other cable ISPs aren’t selling you gigabit Internet
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Gigabit-class broadband is capturing the imagination of Internet users throughout the country. Cable companies haven't been ignoring this consumer demand… but they haven't done anything to satisfy it, either.
When Ads Look Like Content
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
The Federal Trade Commission on Dec 4 will host an informal workshop for advertisers, publishers and legal experts titled "Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content?" to discuss whether media outlets are adequately identifying sponsored stories on their websites as promotional pitches, and to consider if consumers might be misled.
New FCC chairman Tom Wheeler starts term on pro-consumer note
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
There are few jobs in the US government with more power to help or harm the country's tech landscape than the chairmanship of the Federal Communications Commission, the agency that ultimately decides how telecoms and cable companies go about their business. And Tom Wheeler starts his five-year stint at the helm of the FCC under a fair amount of scrutiny: a former lobbyist for both the cable and wireless industries, it's easy to extrapolate that the President Obama-nominated venture capitalist might not have the best interest of consumers in mind. But are the fears unfounded?
A new way to skin the net neutrality cat
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
The main trouble with the Federal Communications Commission’s network neutrality rules is that the rules, as written, don’t really address the problem they’re trying to remedy. They attempt to regulate what is essentially anti-competitive behavior by Internet service providers, or the potential for anti-competitive behavior, by treating it as a matter of communications law, instead of antitrust law.
Wireless competition is good for consumers — even if it costs taxpayers extra
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
The Federal Communications Commission, under the leadership of freshly-confirmed chairman Tom Wheeler, is hard at work on rules that will govern an upcoming spectrum auction. AT&T and Verizon, the nation's largest wireless carriers, want the FCC to hold an unrestricted auction that could allow them to maintain or even widen their lead in premium low-frequency spectrum. Their smaller competitors, especially T-Mobile, are urging the FCC to adopt rules to guarantee that the largest carriers do not wind up with a disproportionate share of that spectrum.
Something’s happening to local news
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
So far this year, 223 local TV stations have changed hands. This is the biggest wave of media consolidation ever -- and it's all happening in small and mid-level markets, involving companies most people have never heard of.
Radio broadcasters face challenge from tech heavyweights
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
Radio remains the world’s most popular form of media in terms of audience, with listener figures at their highest levels in decades. But broadcasters face some of their fiercest competition for years as the world’s biggest technology companies – including Apple and Google – take aim at their business.
What Ted Cruz Doesn’t Want You to Know
Filed Under: Benton Headlines
By now it seems pretty clear that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has a plan to occupy the White House. But he doesn't want people to know too much about it. And he definitely doesn't want you to know about the special interests that have already begun to bankroll his political ambitions. That's why the Texas senator's latest crusade targets the Federal Communications Commission -- and its efforts to better identify the funders of political ads.