TiVo shares gained 25 per cent as the US Patent and Trademark Office upheld TiVo’s time-warp patent covering the company’s DVR technology. As reported, EchoStar had requested that the patent be re-examined in an effort to have an earlier patent infringement judgement against the company overturned. TiVo officials said the company is extremely pleased the […]

Coming off a setback on its attempt to trigger tighter regulation, the head of the Federal Communications Commission has moved quickly to propose the FCC adopt a rule that would prevent Comcast, the nation's biggest cable company, from becoming larger. Officials said that Kevin Martin notified other commissioners this week of the agenda for the […]

Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has backed down, for now, from his effort to expand regulatory control over the cable industry after failing to secure backing from fellow regulators. The FCC had planned to vote on a report that found companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable had reached a […]

The French government plans to cut off Internet access for constant offenders of download piracy. The penalty is part of a range of measures to deal with the unauthorised copying of music and video online proposed by the French Ministry of Culture including watermarking content, tracking surfers' activities, and creating a registry of those accused […]

The Federal Communications Commission has granted ViaSat blanket authority for domestic operation of up to 1,000 earth stations aboard commercial aircraft. The agency said the earth stations will provide Aeronautical Mobile Satellite Service using standard Ku-band frequency ranges to link with leased transponders on the AMC-6 satellite. According to FCC documents, the ViaSat aircraft earth […]

The head of the Federal Communications Commission is reportedly struggling to find enough support from agency commissioners to regulate cable television companies more tightly. The five-member commission is set to vote today on a report, proposed by Kevin Martin that would give the commission expanded powers over the cable industry after making a formal finding […]

UK Media regulator Ofcom has revealed proposals for a significant upgrade of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) that will offer more channels and new services. The proposed upgrade will create capacity allowing high definition television channels on DTT – on which Freeview operates – as early as 2009. It says the proposals would deliver significant benefits […]

A distributor of online video content has filed a complaint with the US Federal Communications Commission, asking the agency to stop broadband providers from blocking or slowing P2P traffic. The petition filed by Vuze, which uses the BitTorrent to distribute Web content, asks the FCC to set rules for network management by ISPs. Vuze’s filing […]

Google’s proposed £3.1 billion (E4.49bn) purchase of DoubleClick will face an in-depth second-phase review, after the European Commission expressed concerns about competition issues. The European Commission’s Competition Unit will conduct the investigation under the EU Merger Regulation, after its initial market review indicated competition concerns in the online advertising and intermediation markets. The Commission now […]

The European Union is set to launch new reform proposals for the telecoms sector in a bid to increase competition and create a single market. Draft proposals are expected to include plans to create a regional watchdog and give Brussels greater power to change the decisions of national regulators. The plans, set to be announced […]