January 30 - 10:05am EST   Just days after Congress rejected a bill that would delay the switch to digital over-the-air TV from analog, the US Senate on Thursday has passed a slightly revised bill to delay the transition. Like the original bill, the new one aims to move the switchover date into June, as there is concern from President Obama and his supporters that some 20 million poor, elderly citizens as well as those in rural households are not technically ready for the changeover. [full story]

January 28 - 2:15pm EST   The US House of Representatives at mid-day has voted against a bill that would delay the switch from analog to digital for over-the-air TV until June 12th. The bill had cleared the Senate on Monday but lost 258-168 after some congressional Democrats joined Republicans in resisting the delay. Without an emergency bill, the new vote keeps the originally scheduled February 17th date. [full story]

January 13 - 11:40am EST   The replacement for current FCC chairman Kevin Martin may be one of the most public advocates of net neutrality, according to separate tips sent to the Wall Street Journal as well as the Washington Post. Those near President-elect Obama's transition team and lawmakers in the US capital reportedly say Obama has chosen venture capitalist, former FCC worker and presidential campaign adviser Julius Genachowski to serve as chairman for the government regulator. [full story]

October 27 - 11:15am EDT   Cox Communications on Monday said it would launch its own cellular service in 2009 that would make it one of the first new national providers in the US in years. The format of the expansion hasn't been made public but will see Cox offer both voice and data service on its network that includes tight integration between phones and the company's cable service. [full story]

August 22 - 12:15pm EDT   Google and Verizon are forgoing earlier differences and are closing in on a deal that could significantly alter mobile searching, a report from the Wall Street Journal today would suggest. Anonymous sources tell the business paper that Google would become the standard search provider on all of Verizon's handhelds and should ultimately have a search bar on the home screen of all Internet-capable devices. [full story]

May 9 - 7:00pm EDT   [full story]

May 8 - 10:10am EDT   Verizon on Thursday responded to Google's filing, allegedly spinning the situation that Google – not Verizon – is trying to "change the rules" of the now-closed auction. The response comes to a filing with the FCC, where Google claims Verizon is not going to live up to the terms of a truly open network. It fears that, if left unchecked, open devices such as Google's Android platform would be deadlocked with Verizon, despite the open nature of the portion of the 700MHz spectrum Verizon won. [full story]

May 5 - 3:50pm EDT   Google has filed an FCC petition asking that the FCC drop Verizon's $4.7 billion winning bid in the recent 700MHz wireless auction. Filed late last week, the motion accuses Verizon of planning to use its Any App, Any Device plan to shelter customers buying its own devices from having to follow FCC open access guidelines set out before the auction, which would require that any 700MHz service on the relevant spectrum support any legal device or software regardless of which company has sold either component. Verizon's plan forces users of truly open devices to follow a different set of rules while those who buy from Verizon itself are trapped, Google claims. [full story]

April 15 - 4:45pm EDT   Google deliberately manipulated the outcome of the FCC's recent 700MHz auction, three US Representatives have alleged. Republicans Cliff Stearns and John Shimkus, along with Democrat Eliot Engel, said at a hearing today that Google unfairly managed to obtain an open wireless network without having to win it, by promising to bid at least $4.6 billion on the 22MHz block if the winner was forced to allow open (third-party) access. Evidence of this is claimed to be bolstered by a recent Google blog post, in which officials admit that open access was a key priority during bidding. [full story]

April 4 - 2:45pm EDT   Britain's telecoms regulator Ofcom on Friday confirmed that it would hold a new auction for wireless space in the country. Partly echoing the just-completed FCC auction in the US, the UK agency will allow portions of spectrum in the 2GHz and 2.6GHz spaces to be used for different wireless services. This is likely to involve fourth-generation data services such as "evolutions of 3G technology" or WiMAX, Ofcom says. [full story]

April 3 - 10:35pm EDT   Verizon will use its recent 700MHz wins to setup a nationwide 4G cellular network, the company declared tonight. A lift of the FCC's ban on discussing the 700MHz auction results reveals that the telecoms firm will introduce a Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network on its share of the frequency, providing much faster Internet access than the carrier's existing 3G, EVDO Revision A-based network. [full story]

April 3 - 10:25pm EDT   AT&T today held a conference call regarding its acquisitions in the 700MHz spectrum, and confirmed that it will use the Long Term Evolution system for its upcoming 4G telecommunications infrastructure. Representatives during the call told MacNN its B-block acquisitions of the 700MHz spectrum would allow it to cover 87 percent of the US populace with its 4G architecture, and would give it finer control over its network and applications. Since it is a closed system, it allows AT&T to enable or restrict certain devices. [full story]

March 24 - 4:15pm EDT   The FCC has agreed to look into accusations of extortion following its 700MHz wireless auction, reports say. While major blocks of the sought-after spectrum were quickly snapped up by companies such as AT&T and Verizon, the D block was largely abandoned, receiving a single $472 million bid by Qualcomm -- well short of the FCC's asking reserve price, $1.3 billion. The investigation will be headed by the FCC's inspector general, Kent Nilsson. [full story]

March 21 - 11:05am EDT   AT&T's gains for wireless space in the FCC 700MHz auction will cost it enough to require a major downpayment, according to a filing by the cellular carrier. The company explains that its new space will demand a $1.3 billion down payment within the next ten days and that it will need to take on a debt load of $5.3 billion to pay for the remaining amount. The figures make up a significant portion of the overall auction, which resulted in a reportedly record-setting $18.9 billion in net bids spread across a mix of large telecoms companies as well as regional businesses. [full story]

March 20 - 3:20pm EDT   Verizon was the winner of the nationwide license for the crucial 700MHz wireless auction as well as most regional licenses, the FCC has revealed. An initial list of winners shows the telecoms giant to have successfully won both the national license as well as 11 out of 12 of the local licenses available for the "C" block that is likely to be used for wireless data. The licenses supply the company with coverage across all of the US and would allow it to launch any future service with few gaps in its network. Only AT&T Mobility has managed to win a major regional "C" block bid for coverage in the Mississippi Valley, according to government documents. [full story]