Jon Brodkin

AT&T will soon offer a new streaming video service thanks to its acquisition of Time Warner, and it will be buying more companies in order to beef up its advertising platform, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said. The streaming service will be free for AT&T mobile customers who subscribe to unlimited data plans and $15 a month for everyone else. AT&T will announce more acquisitions soon to improve its advertising system.

The New York State Public Service Commission ordered Charter Communications to pay a $2 million fine and complete network construction that was required as a condition of Charter's purchase of Time Warner Cable. If Charter doesn't meet its merger-related obligations, the company will "face the risk of having the merger revoked," the commission said. The commission said that state law gives it the authority to rescind merger approvals and threatened to start a proceeding to rescind or change the merger approval order if Charter refuses to comply.

Comcast has disabled a throttling system that it deployed in 2008 in order to slow down heavy Internet users. Comcast's network is now strong enough that a congestion management system isn't needed, the company says. The system has been "essentially inactive for more than a year," and is now disabled entirely.

The repeal of federal network neutrality rules became official June 11, giving broadband providers the right to block or throttle Internet traffic or to prioritize traffic in exchange for payment. But at least for now, some major ISPs are saying they won't do any of those things. The Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T websites all say they aren't doing any blocking, throttling, or paid prioritization.

Comcast has agreed to pay $155 million in back taxes to Oregon in order to settle a nine-year property tax dispute. Comcast will also drop its attempt to secure a tax break that OR created as part of a failed attempt to bring Google Fiber to the state. Gov Kate Brown (D-OR) announced the settlement with Comcast, noting that the legal battle "likely would have continued for many more years because several distinct and complex legal questions were in dispute." OR accepted the $155 million payment despite previously arguing that Comcast owed $200 million.

Randall Stephenson, AT&T's CEO, predicted that T-Mobile USA and Sprint will have a difficult time getting their merger approved because the deal would eliminate a major competitor. "I think [T-Mobile and Sprint] have a tough hill to climb, I mean, it's a classic horizontal merger where you're taking a competitor out of the marketplace," Stephenson said.

AT&T has given up its years-long quest to cripple the Federal Trade Commission's authority to regulate broadband providers. Just weeks ago, AT&T said it intended to appeal its loss in the case to the US Supreme Court before a deadline of May 29. But May 31, AT&T informed court officials that it has decided not to file a petition to the Supreme Court and did not ask for a deadline extension.

Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure tweeted that Sprint will build "one of the best networks in the world" even if it isn't allowed to merge with rival T-Mobile USA. "Merger or no merger, Sprint presses ahead with KC network buildout. Kansas City will have one of the best networks in the world," Claure tweeted. So why does Sprint need to merge with T-Mobile?

Pirate TV boxes that falsely display the Federal Communications Commission logo should be removed from Amazon and eBay, said FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly.  Commissioner O'Rielly wrote a letter to the Amazon and eBay CEOs asking them to crack down on set-top boxes that violate FCC rules. Amazon quickly responded, saying that it already takes steps to prevent sale of these products but that it is willing to step up enforcement if any such devices are still for sale on Amazon.

T-Mobile USA should stop claiming that it has "America's Best Unlimited Network," the advertising industry's self-regulator said. AT&T challenged T-Mobile's ads to the National Advertising Division (NAD), which ruled that T-Mobile hasn't substantiated its claim that it has the best wireless network. T-Mobile defended itself by arguing that speed outweighs all other factors—apparently including overall coverage and reliability.