Julius Genachowski, Chairman Of The FCC, Is Stepping Down

Julius Genachowski, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, is stepping down from the position that he has held since June 2009.  He said that he would be leaving the FCC in the “coming weeks” and a successor has not been named as of yet.  This news is not surprising since four-year terms are typical for a chairman and there was speculation that he would be amongst several officials that would be replaced when President Obama won a second term.

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The FCC Approves Of The T-Mobile and MetroPCS Merger

The Federal Communications Commission has approved of the $1.5 billion merger between MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA.  The combined company would be the fourth largest wireless carrier in the United States.  FCC chairman Julius Genachowski issued this statement:

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Google Glass Explorer Edition Passes Through The FCC

The Google Glass Explorer Edition hardware is expected to arrive this year and it will have a Broadcom 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi radio and Bluetooth 4.0 + LE module built-in.  There is also a reference to an “integral vibrating element that provides audio to the user via contact with the user’s head.”  It is likely that this is related to a bone conduction patent that Google filed earlier this month.  The FCC filing also reveals that the conduction technology is used to view video with audio.  [Source: FCC via Engadget]

FCC Approves AT&T’s Plan To Use WCS Spectrum For LTE Deployment

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved AT&T to use WCS spectrum to help with their deployment of LTE services.  The FCC started circulating an order this week that lets AT&T use a 20MHz chunk of spectrum in the 2.3GHz WCS to use for LTE.  AT&T and Sirius XM filed a proposal with the FCC that suggests a chance to the rules around WCS spectrum.  This would limit interference for XM radio as well.  AT&T recently acquired NextWave for WCS spectrum.  ”Today’s action is part of Chairman Julius Genachowski’s continued efforts to remove regulatory barriers that limit the flexible use of spectrum, which is one way he has led the Commission towards helping address the continued ‘spectrum crunch,” said the FCC.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski Endorses Uber Car Service

Uber is an on-demand car service that has raised over $40 million in funding in 2011 (2/11 and (12/11).  Uber has seen some resistant in cities like Boston, but the company recently received an endorsement from Federal Communication Commission Julius Genachowski:

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AT&T Says They Can Block FaceTime Since It Is A Pre-Installed App

Yesterday Washington D.C. interest group Public Knowledge claimed that AT&T’s decision to limit FaceTime may violate FCC rules.  Now AT&T has written a response to Public Knowledge saying that they are not bound to the FCC Net Neutrality laws on FaceTime since it is a pre-installed app and can be disabled at the carrier’s liking.  If FaceTime was a downloadable app, then AT&T would be forced by FCC Net Neutrality laws to allow the app to work properly.  Check out the excerpt from AT&T’s response below:

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Dish Network Planning To Offer Broadband This Fall

Dish Network will be launching broadband options in late September or October according to Bloomberg.  Dish Network will be using a satellite maintained by EchoStar, a sister company.  Dish Network’s broadband connection will offer rural areas without reliable access to cable broadband with download speeds of 15Mbps.  Dish’s new broadband service will cover the entire U.S.  The broadband service would eventually be capable of serving around 2 million customers using a higher frequency.  Dish is in the process of negotiating with the FCC about the new service.