RNC votes to exclude CNN, NBC from 2016 presidential primary debates

The Republican National Committee formally decided August 16 not to partner with CNN and NBC News for any presidential primary debates during the 2016 election cycle, a rebuke of the networks’ plans to air programs about Hillary Rodham Clinton.

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Will Baltimore Broadband Plans Start a Trend?

The news that the City of Baltimore is exploring ways of improving its broadband service options raises some interesting issues. The city reportedly is considering building its own broadband fiber network, on which it would lease capacity to Internet service providers.

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Calls for CBS-Time Warner Cable settlement grow

With the CBS blackout entering its third week, calls for federal regulators' intervention and a quick settlement between the network and Time Warner Cable are growing louder as the NFL season gets underway.

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FCC Opens Docket on Media General and New Young Broadcasting Merger

The Federal Communications Commission has opened a docket on Media General's bid to merge with New Young Broadcasting.

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Democrats demand Obama ‘end the bulk collection of phone records’

Sens. Mark Udall (D-CO) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) demanded that President Barack Obama “end the bulk collection” of the public’s phone records.

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Broadcast TV landscape is shifting under FCC

The string of broadcast television station ownership deals capped by the announcement of a sale by Allbritton Communications puts pressure on the Federal Communications Commission to keep its eye on the broadcast industry even as the agency is going through its own makeover. Taken together, the deals signal a reshaping of the broadcast business as it consolidates into larger station ownership groups that provide more leverage as they buy programming and sell it to pay-TV operators.

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Senate Commerce Approves Wheeler Nomination

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the nomination of Tom Wheeler to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, but not without some drama with one senator threatening to delay Wheeler's final confirmation.

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Australia election threatens shape of $34 billion broadband plan

The future of an ambitious project to connect almost all Australia's far-flung inhabitants to high-speed internet, the largest infrastructure enterprise in the country's history, is hanging on the outcome of an upcoming federal election.

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Chairman Walden Proposes Cap on Universal Service Fund; Consultation with State USF Experts on Expansion Proposals

House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn regarding the Universal Service Fund (USF) and proposals to expand the program.

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Big disconnect: Telcos abandon copper phone lines

Robert Post misses his phone line. Post, 85, has a pacemaker that needs to be checked once a month by phone. But the copper wiring that once connected his home to the rest of the world is gone, and the phone company refuses to restore it.

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