Verizon will have to reach between its couch cushions for $17.7m to shoo away allegations it overcharged New York schools for phone lines and broadband. America's comms watchdog, the FCC, said the payment will settle out of court its complaint against the US telco giant. The row is centered on a technology consultant who took …

The head of America's telly watchdog, the FCC, said he cannot follow up on Donald Trump's threat to revoke the broadcast licenses of TV networks that run unflattering news coverage of the US president. Speaking at a public policy conference at George Mason University, Virginia, FCC chairman Ajit Pai said the authority of the …

Jessica Rosenworcel, a commissioner at America's broadcast watchdog the FCC, has criticized a proposed set of TV standards as a "household tax," due to its lack of backwards compatibility. Addressing a conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington DC this week (we have no idea why either), Rosenworcel complained [PDF] that the …

A US telco will cough up $3m after a web domain screwup caused it to drop potentially emergency and other essential video calls from deaf and hearing-impaired people. Sorenson Communications in Utah will pay America's comms watchdog, the FCC, a $252,000 fine as a result of the blunder. It will also reimburse $2.7m to the …

For a man who repeatedly criticized his predecessor at the Federal Communications Commission for dragging the US watchdog in a bi-partisan direction, in his eight months as FCC chairman Ajit Pai has done more than anyone to infect it with Washington politics. That unpleasant reality was drawn out in a Congressional hearing on …

Updated FCC boss Ajit Pai has publicly criticized Apple for not turning on the FM radio receivers in every iPhone – calling it a public safety issue. "In recent years, I have repeatedly called on the wireless industry to activate the FM chips that are already installed in almost all smartphones sold in the United States," the US comms …

The Democratic party has asked for an amazingly naive ambitious $40bn investment in broadband internet for broke low-income Americans out in the sticks. The completely useless minority party in US Congress on Thursday issued a waste of paper bold proposition [PDF] for the government to invest the 6,441 Abrams tanks $40bn of …

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel made her presence felt at her first meeting in a year at the US communications regulator on Wednesday – when she cited an infamous Supreme Court decision over pornography to slam a report claiming there was sufficient competition in the American mobile market. "For the first time since 2009 …

Mobile World Congress The head of America's telecom watchdog the FCC, Ajit Pai, didn't mention net neutrality by name once during his keynote at the Mobile World Congress in San Francisco. Which is pretty remarkable given that it is pretty much the only issue that people outside the telecom policy bubble care about. In fact, if you didn't know …

America's comms watchdog has extended a comment period on a proposal to downgrade the definition of broadband to a slower speed. The decision follows a caustic letter [PDF] from 12 Democratic Senators that accuses the FCC of "abandoning further efforts to connect Americans," and signaling "a strong departure from the …

The latest comment period on the effort to kill off America's net neutrality rules has closed – and the circus has officially reopened for business. A staggering 21.8 million missives have been sent to FCC on the subject – a number so large that it has pretty much allowed anyone and everyone to claim that their point of view …

A laughably insecure comment system has left US comms watchdog the FCC open to malware attack, and the agency doesn't seem to know what to do about it. The security hole was spotted by a 20-year-old US university student, who found that when someone applies to put a comment onto the FCC website, the system allows almost any …

A US Court of Appeals has upheld US broadband watchdog the FCC's decision to bar companies connected to satellite provider Dish Network from claiming discounts on their bids in a 2014 wireless spectrum auction. The DC Circuit's ruling Tuesday said the commission was right to withhold $3.3bn in small business credits claimed by …

A group of small ISPs is asking America's broadband watchdog to ban exclusivity deals that lock apartment buildings to a single broadband provider. Incompas, a Washington DC advocacy group for ISPs and telcos, told the FCC in a filing [PDF] that it should end the practice of landlords and building owners making deals with a …

The German federal court has finally revealed why it ordered a halt to the ratification of the Europe-wide Unitary Patent Court. The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) unexpectedly slammed the brakes on the UPC back in June, sparking speculation in the intellectual property world as to why – was it a procedural matter? Was it …

In just the latest example of how far America's telecoms regulator is in the pockets of the cable giants, its panel scrutinizing US broadband rollouts has been heavily stacked with industry executives. The Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) was announced by FCC chairman Ajit Pai in January, and formally launched [ …

Special report In the last week of January, America's internet is going to get a long-awaited boost. More Americans than ever are going to have access to fast internet as well as a greater choice of providers. What's all the more amazing is that this improvement will come without requiring any extra investment by broadband providers and …

A group of 11 Congressmen and women have torn into plans to get rid of America's net neutrality rules in a scathing letter [PDF] sent to US broadband watchdog the FCC. The lawmakers – all Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – make a range of aggressive claims, including that the entire proposal under …