LightSquared Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Ahuja has resigned, the company announced Tuesday. The news comes two weeks after the Federal Communications Commission rejected plans by the wireless broadband firm to build a 4G network on spectrum adjacent to Global Positioning System signals. Tests by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and others warned of the harm LightSquared’s proposed network would pose to GPS services critical for first responders, the airline industry and others. “During my tenure at LightSquared, we all worked tirelessly to create the nation’s first open wireless broadband network and provide consumers with a new wireless broadband…
Browsing: FCC
A new online tool developed by the Federal Communications Commission allows small businesses to create a cybersecurity plan for free. The FCC Small Biz Cyber Planner is a three-step process and takes minutes to create. After providing your company’s name and location, you can compile guidance on several topics — including mobile devices, network security and email — to include in your custom plan. Once you select the topics to include, the site generates a custom report with a cybersecurity glossary and links to reference publications. For example, under guidance about network security, the plan advises companies to require security and…
If you don’t yet have your digital converter box, your TV won’t go black on Feb. 17. The House voted 264-158 Wednesday to delay the switch from analog to digital television transmission until June 12. The Senate has already passed the bill, and President Barack Obama is expected to sign it shortly. The bill was delayed to provide time for more seniors and low-income people to acquire coupons to buy digital converter boxes, necessary for analog televisions to pick up signals with without cable. The Federal Communications Commissions has pushed hard to let people know of the impending transition, including…
That’s the title of Porker of the Month, awarded by Citizens Against Government Waste to the government official they deemed has most egregiously wasted taxpayer money in the past month. October’s Porker of the Month is Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who spent $355,000 to sponsor a NASCAR driver to promote the upcoming digital television transition. In a press release, the organization said the spending is especially wasteful considering the FCC has flooded television channels with paid advertisements for months in advance of the February 2009 switch. “This doesn’t seem like the most efficient use of resources,†said FCC…
As far as federal advertising goes, you have to admit the Federal Communications Commission’s announcement that it is sponsoring a race car to advertise the mandatory conversion to digital television is pretty creative. FCC spent $350,000 on the sponsorship that will debut on car No. 38, which will be driven by David Gilliland at the Oct. 19 NASCAR race at the Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. The transition message will also appear on car No. 38 during races on Nov. 9 and Nov. 16. Given the current economic crisis, which many say  hurts NASCAR’s bottom line, some cynics might view this as a new kind of government bailout. But…