communicate

The Department of Justice said today that Sprint and T-Mobile should be given a fair chance at acquiring wireless spectrum in the Federal Communication Commission's upcoming incentive spectrum auction.

The antitrust division of the Justice Department laid out its argument in a filing to the FCC.

"The Department concludes that rules that ensure the smaller nationwide networks, which currently lack substantial low-frequency spectrum, have an opportunity to acquire such spectrum could improve the competitive dynamic among nationwide carriers and benefit consumers," the Justice Department said.

The FCC is currently drafting rules for an upcoming auction that will … Read more

The Internal Revenue Service doesn't believe it needs a search warrant to read your e-mail.

Newly disclosed documents prepared by IRS lawyers say that Americans enjoy "generally no privacy" in their e-mail, Facebook chats, Twitter direct messages, and similar online communications -- meaning that they can be perused without obtaining a search warrant signed by a judge.

That places the IRS at odds with a growing sentiment among many judges and legislators who believe that Americans' e-mail messages should be protected from warrantless search and seizure. They say e-mail should be protected by the same Fourth Amendment … Read more

Perhaps your laptop, like mine, fights strange intrusions every day.

Some ads attempt to outwit pop-up blockers, as if it's a bizarre episode of "Survivor."

Yet it seems that some companies might be attempting even more irritating ways of not only attracting your attention, but detracting from the tone of Web site you're looking at.

Would you, for example, want to see a banner ad from H&R Block besmirching the pristine pages of Apple.com?

This is allegedly what happened to computer science Ph.D. student Zack Henkel. As Ars Technica reports, Zenkel was … Read more

For the first time since its descent onto the red planet, the Mars rover Curiosity is getting a little alone time.

The rover and NASA scientists are having a communication breakdown, of sorts. But, not to worry, no hurt feelings are involved. The issue is that the sun has got in the way.

Once every 26 months, as the Earth and Mars rotate around the sun, the two planets end up on opposite sides of the star in an event called the Mars solar conjunction. Because of the sun's massive size, any communication sent between the two planets can … Read more

The Federal Communications Commission officially opened an inquiry today into whether U.S. standards need to be updated to protect people from cell phone radiation.

Chairman Julius Genachowski circulated a notice of inquiry last June that looked at a series of questions surrounding whether the current standards need to be updated or whether the agency's testing practices should be altered. But it took nine months for the notice of inquiry to become an official part of the FCC docket.

Now that the notice of inquiry is officially registered, the FCC can begin its review and receive comments from the … Read more

While departing Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski has talked a lot about pushing for high-speed broadband to more Americans and has championed the cause for getting more wireless spectrum on the market, critics say his record on these issues is spotty at best.

Genachowski today announced he would be stepping down from his post as FCC chairman. He has been chairman of the agency for four years. In a speech to colleagues announcing his resignation, he pointed out the FCC's many accomplishments including the drafting of the National Broadband Plan and its focus on promoting both traditional and … Read more

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Friday that he is stepping down from his post as head of the agency.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday about the chairman's plans. Genachowski was nominated by President Obama to the chairmanship in March of 2009. In a speech to to his colleagues at the FCC, Genachowski pointed out accomplishments of the FCC over the past four years.

This included advancements in wireless, broadband and reforming outdated policies to reflect more modern needs.

"Over the past four years, we've focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to … Read more

The FBI and other police agencies would be required to obtain search warrants before reading Americans' e-mail or tracking their mobile devices under a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today.

It's not a new proposal: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat whose district includes the heart of Silicon Valley, announced almost exactly the same measure last fall. But because the clock ran out without Congress acting, she's trying a second time.

"Fourth Amendment protections don't stop at the Internet," Lofgren said in a statement today. "Americans expect Constitutional protections to extend … Read more

Tapping your phone on a console to pay for fries and a Coke is cool. Yet until the stars align, it's not how you'll be using NFC, the Near Field Communications standard that gets devices talking to one another quickly and in a very short range.

Instead of using NFC to replace your credit card, it will increasingly become your passcode, your key. Best of all, it can be used to program one tag with a certain set of instructions that can launch specific actions when read by another NFC-enabled device.

In other words, just one tap of … Read more