Tag Archives: Julius Genachowski

A Foolish Week of Telecom

By Dan Radovsky, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The announcement of the day comes from the Federal Communications Commission, whose chairman, Julius Genachowski, said he will be leaving his post in the coming weeks.

Genachowski told his staff:

“I’m proud of what we’ve done together to harness technology to advance the American dream for the 21stcentury. I know you’ll continue to fight hard to fulfill this agency’s vital mission, and I look forward to continuing to work together until my last day at the agency, and to count you as family and as an inspiration for long after that.”

The iPhone toss, more refreshing than a sauna
Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, appearing on Finnish TV, decided to help the program’s host make up his mind about a new phone.

The host pulled out his iPhone on air, which prompted a “how embarrassing” comment from Elop. The host told Elop he actually wanted to lose the iPhone and get a Nokia phone. Elop then said, “I can take care of that for you” and tossed the iPhone aside, which landed with an audible crash.

The TV presenter remained unfazed and Elop said, with a smile, he would replace what’s left of the iPhone with a Nokia. Here’s the video.

Wait, that’s not all
BlackBerry  CEO Thorsten Heins also had a go at Apple‘s iconic phone, just not physically.

Days before BlackBerry’s great hope for redemption, when the BB Z10 was about to go on sale in the U.S., Heins told the Australian Financial Times newspaper in an interview that “The user interface on the iPhone, with all due respect for what this invention was all about, is now 5 years old.”

But he did admit “I do not believe that Apple is worried much about BB10 stealing sales. …  [I]t will be extremely hard to get customers who have an iPhone to switch over to a BB10 device. It would have been much easier to convert customers to BB10 a couple of years ago when there was a larger BlackBerry install base at the high end.”

All over but the shouting
MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA got the last of the regulatory approvals for their merger out of the way this week when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. signed off on the deal, which was necessary because the German company Deutsche Telekom is the parent of T-Mobile. The FCC and the Department of Justice have already given the venture the OK .

However, on April 12 there will be a special shareholders meeting, at which the proposed deal will be put up to a vote, and there has been opposition to its going through.

P. Schoenfeld Asset Management and Paulson & Co., together holders of almost 12% of MetroPCS’ outstanding shares, have been vocal in their criticism of the merger. They have questioned the high debt the deal would put on MetroPCS’ shoulders as well as a high interest rate on that debt .

Where’s Roger?
Not waiting for …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Statement by the President on Julius Genachowski

By The White House

I want to thank Chairman Genachowski for his dedicated service on behalf of the American people. Over the last four years, Julius has brought to the Federal Communications Commission a clear focus on spurring innovation, helping our businesses compete in a global economy and helping our country attract the industries and jobs of tomorrow. Because of his leadership, we have expanded high-speed internet access, fueled growth in the mobile sector, and continued to protect the open internet as a platform for entrepreneurship and free speech. I am grateful for his service and friendship, and I wish Julius the best of luck.

…read more
Source: White House Press Office

Julius Genachowski, FCC Chairman, To Step Down

By The Huffington Post News Editors

NEW YORK — The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski, on Friday announced his resignation in the “coming weeks.”

The country’s top telecommunications regulator told a staff meeting of his decision Friday morning. His impending departure was reported Thursday by several news outlets.

Read More…

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

FCC Boss Calling It Quits

By Matt Cantor The head of the FCC will announce his exit today after four years, insiders tell Reuters . The expected move comes ahead of his term’s end in June. President Obama appointed ex-venture capitalist Julius Genachowski in 2009; his term saw the commission halt a proposed T-Mobile-AT&T merger, the Wall Street Journal …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home

U.S. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowksi to Leave Agency

By Eamon Murphy

U.S. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski to leave agency

Filed under: ,

Getty Images

The chairman of the FCC is leaving the agency, reports said Thursday evening.

Julius Genachowski, a Democrat appointed by President Barack Obama in 2009, plans to announce his resignation tomorrow, according to Bloomberg. His departure creates a second vacancy in the five-member Federal Communications Commission: on Wednesday, commissioner Robert McDowell, senior member of the FCC‘s Republican minority, said he would step down in the coming weeks after a seven-year tenure. Genachowski said then he had “no news” on his own intentions, although Reuters reported that he was “widely expected to leave in coming months as well.”

McDowell’s announcement perhaps freed up Genachowski to resign, since it meant the chairman could leave without creating a 2-2 split between the panel’s Democratic and Republican members. The Obama administration can now put forward two nominees at once, one from each party, paving the way for a smooth Senate confirmation.

As chairman, Genachowski focused on expanding access to mobile broadband, in contrast to his predecessors. Engadget notes that he expressed concern over the government‘s harsh stance on phone-locking. And his FCC “levied no fines for broadcast indecency,” Bloomberg reports, “after a flurry of penalties under Republican chairmen from 2003 to 2008.”

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

FCC Approves T-Mobile and MetroPCS Merger

By Kelly Clay, Contributor

It’s official: The FCC has finally approved the T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger. According to a statement released today, FCC chairman Julius Genachowski says allowing the T-Mobile and MetroPCS to merge will “benefit millions of American consumers and help the US maintain the global leadership in mobile it has regained in recent years.” …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Report: FCC trying to open wifi access band for connected cars to other devices

By Zach Bowman

GM Wireless Pedestrian Protection

Filed under: ,

The Federal Communications Commission has voted to reexamine a 1999 decision to set aside the 5.9 GHz wireless band specifically for connected car technologies. Regulators want to allow other wireless devices to use the band in order to ease congestion at high-use areas like airports and convention centers. But automakers claim opening up the band now could jeopardize years of work on car-to-car communication. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group comprised of some 13 companies, has said the infant technology could be in danger if the federal government opens up the 5.9 GHz band now.

Automakers have been working to develop a system to allow cars on any given road to “talk” to each other to avoid accidents and reduce congestion, and developers fear allowing other devices to make use of the designated band could result in interference. But the FCC says that concern is overblown. Julius Genachowski, FCC chairman, says nearly every Wi-Fi band currently in use is also used by other services. Automakers will simply have to overcome that challenge just like other tech manufacturers.

FCC trying to open wifi access band for connected cars to other devices originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog

Crashing the Broadband Party

By Bret Swanson, Contributor

Last month, Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, issued a challenge. By 2015, he urged, each state should boast at least one “Gigabit City,” where residents enjoy broadband links transmitting data at a gigabit per second — “100 times faster than today’s average connection” of 10 megabits per second. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

FCC Calls for High-Speed Gigabit Internet by 2015

As the international community continues to expand ultra-fast gigabit broadband internet, U.S. FCC chairman Julius Genachowski has issued a challenge to service providers to make the technology available in every state by 2015, Engadget reports.

Announced today in Washington D.C., the initiative seeks to incentivize providers to bring gigabit internet to at least one community in every state in less than 2 years with hopes of stimulating technological growth nationwide. Currently, 42 communities in 14 states offer ultra high-speed fiber connections, which offer connection rates of 1,000 Mbps or higher. Most connection speeds in populated areas currently top out at 15 Mbps.

Continue reading…

Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Tech