By Joan Engebretson, Connected Planet
A coalition promoting the need for special access reform led by competitive local exchange carrier association Comptel is getting some serious attention from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court this week issued an order asking for additional materials from the coalition, from the FCC and [...]

Katie Bachman, Adweek
Now that the Obama Administration has successfully shut down the AT&T-T-Mobile merger, it is setting its sights on Verizon Wireless’ recent spectrum and joint venture deals with cable companies. According to a Bloomberg report, the Department of Justice is reportedly looking at whether the joint venture arrangement Verizon [...]

Brendan Sasso, The Hill
AT&T abandoned its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile on Monday, acknowledging that it couldn’t overcome opposition from the Obama administration.
Both the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had moved to block the deal, arguing the merger of the second and fourth largest wireless carriers would [...]

Jon Healy, LA Times
Finally getting the hint from the feds, AT&T announcedMonday that it was dropping its $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile. That leaves AT&T stuck with the status quo, which in some major cities means a frustrating amount of congestion and dropped calls. Meanwhile, rival Verizon Wireless has been [...]

By Andrew Kreig

The major competitive struggle affecting consumers this decade is for supremacy in the Internet search industry, according to an expert speaking at a unique conference on the topic in Washington, DC. “Google has more advertising revenue than all the U.S. newspapers combined,” said Gerard Waldon, a partner at Covington [...]

Brendan Sasso, Hillicon Valley
Consumer advocacy groups Public Knowledge and Media Access Project on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to deny AT&T’s request to withdraw its application to buy T-Mobile, accusing the company of engaging in “litigation gamesmanship.”
The telecom giant announced last week that it would drop its FCC [...]

FCC move suggests chairman feels deal could represent too much concentration to be in public interest
By John Eggerton, Broadcasting & Cable
The FCC has proposed designating the AT&T–T-Mobile merger proposal for an administrative hearing to collect info and input on whether the deal should be approved, and FCC staffers gave strong indications they [...]

By Josh Smith and Juliana Gruenwald, National Journal
Federal Communications Commission head Julius Genachowski will seek an administrative hearing on AT&T Inc.’s proposed $39 billion deal to acquire T-Mobile USA, two people close to the review process confirmed on Tuesday.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that the FCC would examine the merger, [...]

John Eggerton, Multichannel News
Media Access Project and Public Knowledge have joined the Sports Fan Coalition in petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to lift its sports blackout rule.
“We promote access to the media and the rule stifles access,” said MAP’s Andrew Schwartzman.
The rule prevents cable or satellite providers from carrying an NFL game [...]

Appeals to TV station’s public interest obligation
Katy Bachman, AdWeek
Opening up a new front in the fight to stop AT&T’s $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, public interest law firm Media Access Project is going after AT&T’s TV ad promoting the merger.
In a letter to WUSA, Gannett’s CBS affiliate, one of the Washington, D.C., stations airing the [...]