Federal Communications Commission

A group of U.S. House Democrats from California voiced "serious reservations" about the proposed combination of San Antonio-based SBC Communications Inc. and Chicago-based Ameritech Corp. "We have serious reservations about the potential impact this merger may have on our state," 19 House members wrote in identical letters to the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department, which must approve the proposed merger of the two regional telecommunications companies.

US West Communications Group can't sell Qwest Communications International Inc.'s long-distance services until the local phone company gets approval from federal regulators, a federal court ruled. The Denver-based Baby Bell and upstart long-distance carrier Qwest can continue to serve customers who have signed up under the joint marketing plan, the U.S. District Court in Seattle said. US West will seek an expedited decision from the Federal Communications Commission in response to the decision.

Laying the groundwork for the day when the current system is changed and callers pay for mobile phone calls, the cellular industry wants federal regulators to adopt national rules that would require callers to know they will be billed. The idea of having the caller pay when dialing a mobile phone has not caught on in the United States, although it is standard in Europe and Asia. In this country, the person receiving a mobile-phone call--not the caller--foots the bill.

The federal government will begin auctioning an estimated $4 billion in licenses today for a new wireless technology that can transmit voices, TV pictures and computer data. The sale by the Federal Communications Commission will cover the largest portion of the airwaves ever offered for sale. The technology promises to increase competition and bring to market new communications capabilities, first to business and eventually to consumers.

The federal government's chief telephone regulator on Thursday accused the nation's long-distance giants of overcharging customers just months after the government ordered a massive reduction in phone rates. In separate letters to the chief executives of AT&T Corp., MCI Communications Inc. and Sprint Corp., Federal Communications Commission Chairman Bill Kennard accused the carriers of failing to keep their promise to pass along $1.7 billion in rate reductions ordered by the FCC last May.

US West Inc. asked federal regulators to make it easier for the company to provide high-speed Internet and other data services to customers across its 14-state local phone territory. The company says it needs Federal Communications Commission authority to move Internet and other data traffic across state boundaries and across 27 smaller regulatory subdivisions, called LATAs, that exist within the local phone region.

It's the case of the missing V-chip. More than a year after the television industry began labeling shows according to their suitability for young audiences, the electronic blocking device that was supposed to link the ratings to TV sets is nowhere to be seen.

Amid growing concerns about privacy in the Information Age, federal regulators on Thursday ruled that an individual's telephone dialing habits cannot be used to market other phone services to him unless the customer gives his permission. The decision by the Federal Communications Commission, which takes effect in about two months, is a setback for incumbent local phone companies and a handful of fast-growing software concerns.

Telephone customers are not being adequately protected by the government from the illegal practice of "slamming"--the unauthorized switching of a person's long-distance company--a report to Congress concludes. The General Accounting Office, which is the investigative branch of Congress, found that neither federal anti-slamming regulations administered by the Federal Communications Commission nor state rules are effective. Sen.

The General Accounting Office, the investigative branch of Congress, concludes in a report on the illegal practice of "slamming"--the unauthorized switching of a person's long-distance telephone company--that neither federal anti-slamming regulations administered by the Federal Communications Commission nor state rules are effective. Sen.