There are a dozen reasons the U.S. will not follow the Europeans’ lead in moving towards “hybrid” TV. Most important among them is that the cable operators here are too powerful and too well entrenched. Their vision of “over the top” video and the interactive advertising model they have planned is very different [...]

By Todd Shields, Bloomberg
Internet service providers led by AT&T Inc.,Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. couldn’t block or slow lawful Web traffic under rules proposed by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Web companies would be required to publicly disclose how they manage their networks to show they aren’t helping favored providers deliver content sooner, [...]

Chairman to propose new internet access principles
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
Saying the FCC must be a “smart cop on the beat preserving a free and open Internet,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Monday proposed adding two new internet access principles to the existing four, and will begin the process of codifying all of them [...]

Media reform groups want an end to the FCC’s indecency crusade, making the airwaves safe for fleeting expletives once more. But the case might also gut the FCC’s regulatory authority, something that the groups certainly don’t want.
By Matthew Lasar, Ars Technica
A couple of media reform groups have sent the Second Circuit Court of Appeals a [...]

One unfortunate element of Verizon’s de-emphasis on traditional phone lines is the abandonment of rural service areas. Its sale of rural phone lines in New England, West Virginia and elsewhere means that those areas will now be served by undercapitalized owners with no interest in developing broadband. The bottom line is that Verizon’s [...]

When there is effective competition in a market, prices should go down, not up. By constantly increasing rates even as telcos and satellite try to compete, our friends at Comcast keep proving that there is not enough competition. This time, the rate increase is disguised as a pass-along charge for the extra cost [...]

On September 16, 2009 MAP filed a brief challenging the constitutionality of the FCC’s policies restricting even incidental broadcast of “indecent” words or images. Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the FCC’s practices are permissible under the Communications Act and other laws, it specifically directed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the [...]

Daily RoadMAP is primarily designed to focus on policy issues, but today’s item is really about principle. Yesterday (Wednesday), more than public interest and civil rights groups, including MAP, joined in a letter calling on members and the FCC to stand firm against the vicious and unfair right wing attacks on Mark Lloyd. [...]

Media Access Project warns networks of government reclaiming station licenses
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
A coalition of writers, producers, musicians and other creative types told a federal appeals court Wednesday that the FCC’s pursuit of fleeting profanities is a violation of the First and Fifth Amendments and should be invalidated.
It also looked to throw [...]

Just another government press release? Well, yes, but it is also another reminder that this Administration’s commitment to bringing advanced technology to government is real and proactive. The mere fact that there even is a Chief Information Officer for the federal government is remarkable, especially compared to the studied indifference of the preceding [...]