John Dunbar

Congress has passed legislation that will require the government to keep closer tabs on who has access to the Internet and who does not. Supporters hope the Broadband Data Improvement Act will help policymakers better identify areas of the country that are falling behind when it comes to high-speed Internet access.

The Federal Communications Commission approved a new framework for the creation of a nationwide emergency communications network Thursday amid concerns that the ongoing economic crisis may make it difficult to attract investors.

A government plan to build a nationwide emergency communications network using private money and public airwaves flopped earlier this year when investors stayed away in droves. On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission was trying again, this time in the midst of a full-blown economic crisis.

Even if all goes smoothly, next February's digital television shift is likely to generate hundreds of thousands of complaints from television viewers around the country. A smaller digital footprint may affect as many as 15 percent of television markets in the US.

Problems with old-fashioned television antennas were the most common issue among residents of Wilmington, a city that volunteered to switch to digital broadcasting more than five months before the rest of the country.

Comcast is appealing a Federal Communications Commission ruling that the company is improperly blocking customers' Web traffic, triggering a legal battle that could determine the extent of the government's authority to regulate the Internet.

Bad Comcast. Bad, bad, Comcast. A majority of the five Commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission have cast votes in favor of punishing Comcast for blocking subscribers' Internet traffic. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company and one of the largest broadband service providers, was accused of violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet.

A recommendation to punish Comcast for blocking subscribers' Internet traffic should serve as a warning to other service providers, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said Friday. He hopes his action will make network operators sensitive about putting "arbitrary limits on the way consumers can access information on the Internet." Chairman Martin wants Comcast to stop using its current practice, to tell commissioners where it has used it in the past, and to disclose to the agency and consumers what limitations will be placed on customers under its new traffic management plan, which it hopes to have in place by the end of the year.

On Thursday, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he will recommend that Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, be punished for violating agency Network Neutrality principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet.

When the Federal Communications Commission votes on something at a public meeting, the document they are voting on isn't necessarily for public consumption, the agency said Wednesday. Commissioners unanimously rejected an appeal by The Associated Press for a copy of a document that was approved by a 4-1 vote at a July 31 public meeting.