TAGGED AS FCC
FCC says Kepler can access U.S. market
telecom | 11/16/2018 4:16 pm EST
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a request by Canadian satellite operator Kepler Communications Inc. to offer service in the U.S.
Kepler, which aims to eventually provide internet connectivity in space and in the meantime plans to use its...
LEO projects promise rural, remote broadband in just a few years
telecom | 07/27/2018 3:16 pm EDT
Three years after a number of big companies first announced they would launch global low-earth-orbit (LEO) systems that would provide internet connectivity to remote areas around the world, that space is getting crowded — including with some Canadian competition.
If...
FCC’s Pai slams U.S. nationalized 5G proposal
telecom | 01/29/2018 3:34 pm EST
Following reports that the United States government was considering building its own 5G network, Ajit...
Canadian gov’t reiterates net neutrality support as FCC kills 2015 rules
telecom | 12/14/2017 5:00 pm EST
The United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2...
Scheer mum on net neutrality as CPC MPs take opposing sides
Media | 12/13/2017 4:39 pm EST
Opposition leader Andrew Scheer isn’t going public with his position on...
FCC sets Dec. 14 date for net neutrality roll back
telecom | 11/21/2017 4:49 pm EST
In a release on Tuesday, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai announced his plan to end net neutrality rules established during Barack Obama’s presidency. Pai’s goals, outlined in a statement, include...
FCC loosens local media ownership rules
Media | 11/17/2017 4:40 pm EST
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to eliminate the boundaries that traditionally limited ownership of a combination of local media properties, including television, radio and newspaper, by a single entity.
“For too long, the Commission has failed to...
Pai confirmed for second FCC term
telecom | 10/03/2017 12:27 pm EDT
The United States Senate confirmed Monday current Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit...
FCC recommends SS7 best practices for service providers
telecom | 08/28/2017 2:38 pm EDT
The United States’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is...
FCC’s net neutrality changes could affect Canada, some experts say
telecom | 07/12/2017 4:37 pm EDT
On Wednesday, major internet and tech companies teamed up to rally against...
‘Battle for the Net’ coming Wednesday
Media | 07/10/2017 2:23 pm EDT
Major internet-based companies and organizations are preparing to participate in a Wednesday campaign...
FCC consulting on proposal to reverse net neutrality rules
telecom | 05/19/2017 5:14 pm EDT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on its...
U.S. court declines to rehear net neutrality appeal
telecom | 05/01/2017 8:11 pm EDT
A U.S. appeal court said Monday it won’t reconsider an appeal of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules. In July 2016, CTIA-The Wireless Association asked the court to...
FCC head outlines plans for Open Internet rejig
telecom | 04/26/2017 7:58 pm EDT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will introduce a proposal next month for a new plan to replace the existing Open Internet order, also referred to as Title II, Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday. Speaking at an...
ISED releases timeline, allotments for 600 MHz transition
Media | 04/18/2017 8:16 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has released a schedule and details how it plans to shift the use of 600 MHz spectrum from over-the-air (OTA) television to wireless. ISED...
U.S. House votes to repeal ISP privacy measures
telecom | 03/29/2017 8:45 pm EDT
The United States House of Representatives has voted to repeal the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s privacy measures for Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The legislation was approved by the Senate last week, and must still receive presidential approval — which is expected to be granted — to go into effect, the Washington Post reported Tuesday. The rules, among other measures, require ISPs to obtain opt-in consent from customers to share data such as precise geo-location, web browsing history and app usage history. Once the...
U.S. Senate votes to repeal ISP privacy rules
telecom | 03/23/2017 7:19 pm EDT
The United States Senate voted Thursday to repeal broadband privacy rules the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put in place last year, Reuters reported Thursday. The rules, which among other...
Pai nominated for second term
Media | 03/08/2017 6:16 pm EST
United States president Donald Trump has nominated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai for another five-year term at the helm of the regulator. Pai was first appointed as commissioner in 2012 and...
Proposal would give Bell ‘significant and asymmetric powers’: small ISPs
telecom | 03/06/2017 8:59 pm EST
The CRTC should deny a proposal by BCE Inc. for a new regime governing traffic pumping that would allow telecoms to unilaterally put in place penalties that “inflict substantial...
FCC stays data security provisions in ISP privacy rules
telecom | 03/02/2017 5:33 pm EST
The United States’ telecom regulator is holding off on elements of privacy rules for Internet service providers (ISPs) adopted last year. In a Wednesday order, the Federal...
Wireless Code review poses regulatory risk: Desjardins
telecom | 02/13/2017 8:41 pm EST
The CRTC’s review of the Wireless Code “generates regulatory risk across the industry,” with the biggest potential threat being mandating the separation of device costs from monthly service fees on customers’ bills, Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi said in a research note Monday. The regulator wrapped up the four-day public hearing portion of the review last week, which covered topics like fees carriers charge to unlock phones and divorcing handset and service pricing. “In our view, bill segmentation...
Bell asks CRTC for ‘holistic’ rules on traffic pumping
telecom | 02/01/2017 9:14 pm EST
BCE Inc. wants the CRTC to implement new rules governing traffic pumping, which would put the onus on any telecom accused of artificially inflating traffic to prove they’re not engaged in...
Ajit Pai nominated as new FCC chairman
Media | 01/23/2017 10:33 pm EST
Ajit Pai has been picked by the new U.S. president to lead the United States' telecom regulator, Pai announced on Twitter Monday. In a statement, Pai said he looks “forward to working with the new Administration,...
600 MHz auction enters final stage in U.S.
Media | 01/20/2017 8:04 pm EST
The American telecom regulator said it is entering the final stage of its incentive auction for repurposing 600 MHz spectrum for wireless use. In a statement Wednesday, outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC)...
Zero-rated programs from vertically integrated providers may cause harm: FCC report
Media | 01/12/2017 10:00 pm EST
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it had concerns with the differential pricing practices used by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. as it...
Cogeco shifting data centre strategy due to Amazon, Microsoft: Audet
Media | 01/12/2017 9:56 pm EST
MONTREAL — Moves by Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. into the Canadian data centre business won’t compete directly with Cogeco Inc., which is changing its data...
CRTC consulting on nuisance calls decision
telecom | 01/09/2017 9:35 pm EST
The CRTC issued a call for comments Monday on its two-month-old decision to force telecoms to implement measures to reduce caller ID spoofing and offer services to manage nuisance calls. In November, the...
FCC asked to pull back ISP privacy rules
telecom | 01/06/2017 5:17 pm EST
A group representing American telecom companies has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider the broadband privacy rules the United States regulator imposed last year. When passed, the FCC said...
Tom Wheeler leaving FCC in January
Media | 12/15/2016 5:53 pm EST
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler is leaving his post as head of the United States regulator on Jan. 20, 2017. Wheeler said in a written statement Thursday that serving as chairman...
‘Similar hurdles’ as U.S. possible in 600 MHz auction: Desjardins
Media | 12/12/2016 8:54 pm EST
The 600 MHz spectrum auction in the United States has again been delayed after bidders failed to meet minimum prices for spectrum, and Canada could see similar problems in its own upcoming auction, Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi said in a note Friday. “The [Federal Communications Commission] will thus have to go back to TV channels for a fourth time in order to set new prices for spectrum,” Yaghi wrote. “Our view is that there could be similar hurdles in...
FCC dep’t engaging in ‘wild goose chase’ over zero-rating: commissioner
Media | 12/05/2016 10:08 pm EST
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is engaging in a “wild goose chase” by investigating a pair of companies’ zero-rating offers, according to one commissioner....
Eisenach named to Trump “landing team”
Media | 11/21/2016 10:55 pm EST
Jeffrey Eisenach has been named to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s “landing team,” with responsibility for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a Monday press release. Mark Jamison,...
CRTC, FCC sign new anti-nuisance call agreement
telecom | 11/18/2016 5:24 pm EST
The CRTC announced Thursday a new memorandum of understanding with its counterpart in the United States to help combat unwanted calls. In a press release, the CRTC said the new formal agreement with the Federal...
FCC approves ISP privacy rules
telecom | 10/27/2016 5:38 pm EDT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a proposed set of new rules Internet service providers (ISPs) must follow when handling customer information. In a Thursday press release, the United States...
T-Mobile dinged $48M for ‘unlimited’ data claims
telecom | 10/19/2016 5:02 pm EDT
T-Mobile US Inc. has been ordered to pay a $48-million settlement following an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into its advertised “unlimited” data plans. In press release Wednesday, the FCC’s enforcement bureau said T-Mobile’s policy allowed “it to slow down data speeds when T-Mobile or [flanker brand] MetroPCS customers on so-called ‘unlimited’ pans exceed a monthly data threshold.” According to the FCC, the company’s policy “rendered data services ‘unusable’ for many hours each...
Trump consulting with Eisenach on telecom policy: reports
telecom | 10/11/2016 9:28 pm EDT
United States presidential candidate Donald Trump is looking to consultant Jeffrey Eisenach for advice on telecom policy, according to media reports. Politico reported last week, citing...
FCC proposes privacy rules for ISPs
telecom | 10/07/2016 7:21 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has outlined a set of potential new rules governing how Internet service providers (ISPs) deal with the privacy of consumer information. According to information about the proposed...
Wireline data caps have no legitimate purpose, Netflix tells FCC
Media | 09/12/2016 7:00 pm EDT
Netflix Inc. argued that data caps are an “unnecessary constraint on advanced telecommunications capability” in a filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)....
Trump lacks broadband, telecom policy: report
telecom | 09/07/2016 4:46 pm EDT
Much of the divide between the two leading candidates for the U.S. presidency is that one has articulated policies on technology and innovation while the other has not, according to a new report by Information Technology and...
Telecom groups launch new opposition to FCC net neutrality rules
telecom | 07/29/2016 4:01 pm EDT
An American association representing wireless service providers is asking for the United States federal court to rehear and re-evaluate June’s decision upholding the Federal Communication...
First round of 600 MHz auction wraps up in U.S.
telecom | 06/30/2016 7:22 pm EDT
The first round of an auction in the United States to convert spectrum in the 600 MHz band from TV to wireless use has wrapped up, setting a price of $86.4 billion for 126 MHz of the frequency, the Federal Communications...
Shoan out as CRTC commissioner, appealing dismissal
telecom | 06/24/2016 8:08 pm EDT
In a “highly unusual” move, Raj Shoan, the CRTC commissioner representing Ontario, was removed from his post by the federal government on Friday, capping off a 14-month period of legal strife between Shoan and the...
U.S. court upholds FCC net neutrality rules
telecom | 06/14/2016 4:28 pm EDT
A U.S. appeals court has denied an industry appeal of the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality rules. The court issued a decision Tuesday in favour of a framework the FCC imposed last year,...
FCC’s Pai gives advice to CRTC on low-income Internet subsidies
telecom | 06/07/2016 12:05 am EDT
TORONTO — Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Ajit Pai said that if the CRTC establishes an income subsidy program for broadband, it should ensure the program has transparency, accountability and enforcement mechanisms. Speaking at the Canadian Telecom Summit conference Monday, Pai said the FCC’s Lifeline program, which provides subsidies for low-income individuals, has been subject “to a tremendous amount of waste, fraud and abuse.”...
Charter-Time Warner merger moves ahead, with conditions
telecom | 04/26/2016 6:43 pm EDT
The U.S. Department of Justice has given its approval for a pair of Charter Communications Inc. acquisitions, which, according to a Monday press release, would create the second-largest cable company...
Obama backs FCC set-top box proposal
telecom | 04/15/2016 8:19 pm EDT
U.S. President Barack Obama is weighing in on his country’s debate over increasing competition to benefit consumers. On Friday, Obama announced “that his administration is calling on the FCC to open up set-top-cable...
FCC launches broadband labels
telecom | 04/04/2016 8:37 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has launched a labeling program for broadband services, similar to nutrition labels found on food products. “The consumer broadband labels will provide consumers with more...
FCC to subsidize broadband for low-income customers
telecom | 04/01/2016 8:37 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will provide subsidies of $9.95 towards Internet service for low-income individuals. The FCC said in a press release Thursday it has modernized its Lifeline program, which previously...
FCC commish blames net-neutrality policy for spending dip
Media | 09/11/2015 6:38 pm EDT
Ajit Pai, a commissioner with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has blamed his own organization's new net-neutrality rules for a decline in capital spending among Internet service providers this year. Text of remarks Pai made Wednesday at an event in Washington, D.C., posted on the FCC's website, cited research by economist Hal Singer showing capital spending by major wireline broadband-service providers in the United States was down 12 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same time in 2014. He said this kind of decline was "quite...
CenturyLink funded to expand rural Internet in U.S.
telecom | 08/28/2015 6:22 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday it will provide funding of about $506 million US a year to CenturyLink Inc. to deliver broadband Internet service to rural parts of the United States. The...
As OTA leaves 600 MHz, stations set for ‘difficult transition’: expert
Media | 08/18/2015 8:34 pm EDT
Industry Canada will repurpose the 600 MHz spectrum band for mobile use and collaborate with the United States on the move, which means at least some over-the-air (OTA) television stations will have...
FCC expands unlicensed use of spectrum
telecom | 08/06/2015 7:27 pm EDT
The FCC announced Thursday it is adopting new rules to accommodate unlicensed use of devices in the 600 MHz spectrum bandwidth and TV broadcast bands, while protecting interruptions or interference it may cause with licensed TV...
T-Mobile pays $17.5M US for 911 outages
telecom | 07/17/2015 6:25 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday that it has reached a settlement with T-Mobile U.S. Inc. that will see the carrier paying $17.5 million US for a pair of 911 outages last year. The FCC said in a press...
U.S. industry groups fight new net-neutrality regulations
telecom | 04/14/2015 7:24 pm EDT
CTIA-The Wireless Association is among a number of U.S. industry groups making court challenges to net-neutrality rules the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) put in place earlier this year....
CRTC to consider whether broadband should be basic service
telecom | 04/09/2015 9:22 pm EDT
The CRTC announced Thursday that it will re-examine the definition and role of so-called basic services, paving the way for potential changes to the offerings telecom companies are mandated to make...
FCC approves open-Internet regulations
telecom | 02/26/2015 10:02 pm EST
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a set of rules that, among other things, prevents Internet service providers from blocking or throttling traffic, or giving priority to content from an affiliate or...
FCC chairman proposes common-carrier net neutrality rules
telecom | 02/04/2015 5:03 pm EST
U.S. Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler said on Wednesday that he will propose new rules this week to enshrine net neutrality in law and ban paid prioritization and...
FCC raises broadband definition to 25 Mbps
telecom | 02/02/2015 7:31 pm EST
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raised the minimum speeds required to meet its definition of broadband internet on Friday to 25 Mbps from 4 Mbps, according to a posting on its website. The regulator called the old standard, set in 2010, “dated and inadequate” for assessing the broadband needs of the country in its latest report on the deployment of high-speed Internet connections. “Using this updated service benchmark, the 2015 report finds that 55 millions Americans — 17 percent of the population — lack access to advanced broadband,” the...
U.S. AWS-3 auction raises more than $41B US
Media | 01/30/2015 3:00 pm EST
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s AWS-3 auction ended Thursday, and the regulator announced Friday that it had accepted $41.3 billion US in net bids from 31 bidders for 1,611 spectrum licences. The FCC had...
FCC boss leaning toward Obama’s position on net neutrality: reports
Media | 01/08/2015 9:21 pm EST
U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler could be hinting toward a net-neutrality policy along the lines of what President Barack Obama has suggested, categorizing broadband...
FCC raises rural Internet speed requirements
telecom | 12/15/2014 5:28 pm EST
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) said Thursday that companies would need to provide rural Internet download speeds of at least 10 Mbps in order to qualify for support from its Connect America Fund. It said in a press...
FCC begins AWS-3 auction
telecom | 11/13/2014 3:27 pm EST
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s AWS-3 auction began on Thursday. The auction, which has a minimum price of a little more than $10 billion US and is scheduled for a single day, includes 1,614 licences in the 1695 to 1710 MHz, 1755 to 1780 MHz and 2155 to 2180 MHz bands. The 65 MHz...
FCC investigates spectrum capabilities for 5G
telecom | 10/17/2014 7:40 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Friday that is going to examine the potential use of spectrum in frequencies once thought unusable for mobile services in anticipation of 5G wireless services. The FCC said in a news release it is looking to "broaden the commission's understanding of the state of the art in technological development," and determine whether it is possible to use spectrum at 24 GHz (24,000 MHz) or above for "next-generation mobile wireless services." The commission said that there have been "significant developments in...
Marriott fined $600K for WiFi blocking
telecom | 10/03/2014 8:50 pm EDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday that it has fined hotel operator Marriott International Inc. $600,000 US for deliberately blocking people's access to personal WiFi hotspots at a convention area in...
FCC to examine U.S. Internet traffic management
Media | 06/13/2014 6:28 pm EDT
Tom Wheeler, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, said Friday that his organization is looking into whether Internet service providers are purposely diminishing, for their own benefit, the flow of content from...
FCC moves ahead with Internet ‘fast lanes’ proposal
telecom | 05/15/2014 7:46 pm EDT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved forward Thursday with plans to explicitly allow Internet service providers give select content providers so-called “fast lanes” to end...
Netflix to pay Comcast for faster streaming: report
Media | 02/24/2014 9:05 pm EST
Netflix Inc. will pay Comcast Corp. for access to its network in order to be able to provide its streaming video customers with faster speeds and improved reliability, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting anonymous sources. Based...
U.S. net neutrality rules struck down
telecom | 01/14/2014 6:37 pm EST
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Tuesday struck down Federal Communications Commission rules that require Internet service providers to treat similar traffic equally in its transmission. The decision also...