If you were a bit cynical about the US Senate's vote to save net neutrality today, we can't really blame you. With senators and representatives all too willing to vote along party lines, the odds are certainly stacked against this effort by Democrats in Congress to block the FCC's "Restoring Internet Freedom Order." It appears, however, that your cynicism was misplaced, at least in this instance.
Sorry to ruin your Thursday, but the FCC has announced when its new rules concerning internet service providers will go into effect. The FCC's laughably-named "Restoring Internet Freedom Order" will take effect in June, removing regulations that prevented internet service providers from blocking or throttling internet traffic and implementing paid prioritization. The repeal vote took place in Demember 2017, despite repeated polls that show the US public greatly favors net neutrality protections and regulations.
Documents newly surfaced at the FCC indicate Sonos is preparing to launch a new smart speaker product for the home theater market. The smart speaker has the model number S14 and features an HDMI port, at least based on the FCC filing, instead of the optical output found on the maker's other home theater products.
It's been just over a year since the Switch launched, and like any other piece of hardware, it has had its share of problems. Shortly after launch, early adopters were reporting a variety of issues with their consoles, but one of the most prevalent centered around the left Joy-Con. Some users were experiencing connectivity issues with their Joy-Cons, and though Nintendo has been repairing those that are sent in on a warranty claim, it might be looking to fix the issue for good now.
Just because you hear the other line ringing doesn't necessarily mean the other line is actually ringing. Especially if the caller is on T-Mobile. It seems that the Un-carrier has been "faking it" when it comes to connecting calls in rural areas, using fake ring tones and connections to make it seem like they were connecting and just failing. That lie is now going to cost T-Mobile $40 million in fines and a whole lot more in criticisms.
The gold iPhone X may not have made it to Apple Stores, but it did get to the FCC, according to a newly-revealed filing that shows the unreleased smartphone. A third color option of the iPhone X was among the early rumors around the smartphone, but failed to materialize at its 2017 launch event.
Sightings of a Google-branded 4K Android TV dongle have reignited speculation that the company will take on the Apple TV and Fire TV again. The horseshoe-shaped gadget was spotted passing through the FCC, complete with a voice-enabled remote control bearing a dedicated Google Assistant button.
Back in November of 2017 we took a look at a bit of legislation from the FCC that'd all but destroy the program called Lifeline. Lifeline was created all the way back during the Reagan administration to help the poor afford telephone service. The FCC during the W Bush administration updated Lifeline to include wireless internet, then the FCC during Obama's presidency updated Lifeline to include broadband. Now the Trump FCC wants to gut Lifeline like a fish.
The FCC has granted SpaceX's application to use satellites for providing Internet service to regions around the world. According to the FCC, this is the first approval for a "US-licensed satellite constellation" that will use low-Earth orbit satellites to offer "broadband services." The system may contain more than 4,000 satellites, and was confirmed by SpaceX back in May 2017.
Huawei's US struggles could grow even further, with reports that the FCC is considering new rules that would actively dissuade carriers from using the Chinese company's products. The claims follow leaks earlier this week, which suggested retail behemoth Best Buy - one of a handful of stores offering Huawei's smartphones, in addition to other products - was planning to cease sales of the brand in the coming weeks.
A startup currently operating in stealth mode called Swarm Technologies has been accused of launching four small satellites without permission, it has been revealed. The revelation was stitched together based on FCC documents, which were recently published on the Commission's website. In them, one document mentions an "apparent unauthorized launch" of four small satellites.
The FCC has issued a letter warning the US public about "neighbor spoofing" -- that is, scammers who are calling people using numbers that appear to be local. This has become a big problem, according to the FCC, which says it lobbed more than $200 million in fines last year against telemarketers found to use the neighbor spoofing tactic.