Voices

DOT to Consider Ban on In-Flight Calls

The Department of Transportation said Thursday it will look at banning in-flight phone calls, a surprise announcement issued just hours before the Federal Communications Commission planned to discuss lifting its own ban on such calls.

Here’s What the Big Carriers and the Feds Agreed To on Cellphone Unlocking

Federal Communications chairman Tom Wheeler had indicated that if the carriers had not reached an understanding by year’s end that the feds were prepared to take regulatory action.

Voices

FCC Will Delay Spectrum Auction Until 2015

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday it has delayed until 2015 the timeline for a planned reverse auction of TV airwaves, a decision that reflects the commission’s intent on getting the complex proceeding right.

Voices

FCC Unlikely to Bless a Comcast-TWC Deal, Says Regulator

Any effort by Comcast Corp. to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc. would face significant hurdles in Washington, according to a Federal Communications Commission official, casting doubt on a cable-industry consolidation scenario that has grabbed Wall Street’s attention.

Dish’s Charlie Ergen Looks Assured of More Spectrum as No Other Big Names Enter Auction

The absence of a big-name bidder to rival Ergen seemed a likely outcome after Sprint announced last month that it wouldn’t bid on the so-called H Block of spectrum.

Voices

U.S. to Consider Cellphone Use on Planes

The Federal Communications Commission will propose allowing passengers to use their cellphones on airplanes, people familiar with the matter said.

Voices

FCC to Begin Acting on Phone-Network Upgrade

The nation’s phone system is changing quickly and it is time for the regulators to catch up, new Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Tuesday.

AllThingsD Week in Review: Snapchat’s Many Suitors, and Finding the Fastest 4G LTE Signal

The Top 10 stories that powered AllThingsD this week, in one convenient post.

FCC Chairman Wants Carriers to Start Unlocking Phones Pronto

Act by the holidays or face FCC action, Tom Wheeler says in a letter to the cellphone trade group CTIA.

New FCC Boss Tom Wheeler Says He Represents the People, Not the Tech Industry (Interview)

The new FCC head addresses worries that his days as a cable- and wireless-industry lobbyist would make him more interested in industry concerns than in fighting for consumers’ rights.