Clearwire’s nascent 4G network offers the best, and perhaps last, chance for those of us seeking robust competition in the broadband space.  This Businessweek (oops, Bloomberg Businessweek) story alludes to the interesting tale of how the long-wasted Instructional Fixed Television Service spectrum has been cornered by cellular pioneer Craig McCaw.  McCaw has thrown several Hail Mary passes in [...]

RoadMAP learned a lot from this useful, if not very well organized, primer on emerging cable technologies.
Everything You Wanted To Know About Cable Technology
* But Were Afraid To Ask
It happens to all of us. You’re in a meeting.
Engineers are present. You veer off mentally – just for a second! – and by the time you’re [...]

A coalition of public interest organizations sent letters to the chairmen of the House and Senate Commerce Committees and Subcommittees today, applauding their efforts to begin a process to consider reforming the Communications Act.
The groups also expressed support for FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s proposal to reaffirm the FCC’s authority to oversee Internet access.
Read the letter [...]

RoadMAP regulars know that RoadMAP thinks that Alan Mutter is a shrewd and knowledgeable analyst of the newspaper industry.  This week, he has ventured into the broadcasting business with a two-part entry containing foreboding warnings about the future of local television unless the industry wakes up quickly.
How Local TV Could Go the Way of Newspapers [...]

Notice of inquiry officially begins Congressionally-mandated review of five rules limiting local ownership, cross-ownership
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
The FCC officially launched its congressionally-mandated review of its media ownership rules. That came in a May 25 notice of inquiry teeing up questions, the answers to which will help the commission set new policy or adjust [...]

Last week’s FCC wireless report is a very important document.  Here is a very good overview.
AT&T, Verizon Dominate Wireless… Is it Time to Regulate?
The government’s latest annual report on the state of mobile wireless competition is out, and its conclusions are not what the wireless sector wanted to hear. Over the last half-decade, concentration [...]

Today, RoadMAP is breaking the rules.  There is so much Facebook news that it is impossible to select just one article.  For the moment, Facebook is topic number one on the Internet, in tech/geek journals and, especially in the “mainstream media.”
First, and perhaps most notably, comes the Time Magazine cover story titled “How Facebook is [...]

The Federal Communications Commission and an appeals court should find cross-ownership rules inadequate. Both the court and the FCC should find ways to tighten the rules to make media consolidation difficult, writes Seattle Times columnist Ryan Blethen.
By Ryan Blethen, Seattle News
The media cross-ownership debate should be settled by now. Unfortunately, it is acting up again like [...]

Slate offers us a fascinating glimpse into the frontier of “artificial creativity.”
I’ll Be Bach – A computer program is writing great, original works of classical music. Will human composers soon be obsolete?
Composer David Cope has a knack for describing music in the least romantic terms possible. Whenever Mozart heard something, Cope says, “He was able to [...]

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, Senior Vice President and Policy Director of Media Access Project, spoke on a May 20 panel discussion entitled “Can the Government Save the Press?” hosted by the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
Watch the video of the panel discussion at http://www.pff.org/events/Can_Government_Help_Save_the_Press/index.html.