regulation Archive

  • FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages

    FCC task force seeks to squash ‘bill shock,’ give you the 411 on impending overages

    Posted on May 11, 2010 | No Comments
    Call us crazy, but it seems as if the FCC has been earning its keep of late, and the toiling continues today with an effort meant to address "bill shock." For those unaware, bill shock is a phenomena on par with bitter beer face in terms of significance, and it typically occurs when you accidentally roam internationally, text well beyond your monthly limit or burn through your minutes within the first week of your billing period. 'Course, some would argue that you -- as a functioning human being -- should keep tabs on how often you use your own mobile, but we wouldn't kvetch with a heads-up here and there so long as these alerts are cheap and easy to implement. As of today, the Consumer Task Force is listening for solutions, and while some carriers already ping you when you leave the country and are about to incur severe roaming charges, that practice is far from uniform. Too bad such a service would essentially nix your ability to play the ignorance card when you get back from that jaunt to Mexico, eh?

    Continue reading FCC task force seeks to squash 'bill shock,' give you the 411 on impending overages

    FCC task force seeks to squash 'bill shock,' give you the 411 on impending overages originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 May 2010 13:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • California Energy Commission delays TV regulation meeting to ‘consider’ submitted opinions

    California Energy Commission delays TV regulation meeting to ‘consider’ submitted opinions

    Posted on November 5, 2009 | No Comments
    More developments in the absolutely gripping California Energy Commission vs The World drama. The CEC has delayed a meeting wherein it was to discuss the possible implementation of a ban of sorts on the sale of energy-hogging televisions. The Consumer Electronics Agency (it organizes CES every year) has been fighting against the measure, arguing that any such regulation would necessarily raise TV prices, stifle innovation, etc.

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  • How should Net Neutrality affect the mobile Internet?

    How should Net Neutrality affect the mobile Internet?

    Posted on September 22, 2009 | No Comments
    The Big Deal yesterday was the FCC's announcement of two additional proposals to its enforcement of Net Neutrality: non-discrimination (ISPs can't play favorites when it comes to network traffic), and transparent management (ISPs should be upfront with their network management practices, like blocking BitTorrent during peak hours). That's all well and good—I don't think you'll find anyone across the Crunch Network who doesn't support Net Neutrality—but this is thought to apply to “traditional” ISPs: Comcast, Time Warner, etc. The question becomes, then,how should Net Neutrality affect the wireless Internet? Should AT&T be subjected to the same regulations that Time Warner is vis-à-vis the iPhone? What about Sprint and the Palm Pre (and Pixi!)?

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