Incessantly annoying and fraudulent robocalls. Corrupt wireless company employees taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to unlock and hijack mobile phone service. Wireless providers selling real-time customer location data, despite repeated promises to the contrary. A noticeable uptick in SIM-swapping attacks that lead to multi-million dollar cyberheists. If…
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Law360: TV Networks’ Suit Tees Up Battle Over Nonprofit Streaming
The top four broadcast networks recently placed streaming startup Locast in their crosshairs, teeing up what's likely to be a lengthy battle over whether the service can carry local stations without paying them retransmission consent fees. Although Locast follows the footsteps of other shuttered streaming services that ran into trouble…
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CNET: What Dish swooping in to save T-Mobile-Sprint means for you
The fate of T-Mobile and Sprint's $26.5 billion merger may hinge on whether a federal judge sees satellite TV provider Dish Network as a viable fourth competitor in the US wireless market. But there isn't an easy answer -- especially when you balance its history of ignoring its obligations to build a…
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Statement of Gigi Sohn on Broadcast Networks’ Lawsuit Against Locast
Today, the four major broadcast networks sued Locast, a not-for-profit service that streams free over-the-air broadcast TV signals to viewers at no charge, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The following statement should be attributed to Gigi Sohn: Despite the fact that the law is…
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The American Prospect: AT&T Hires Verizon (Excuse Me?)
Friday's Justice Department announcement approving the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile further consolidates an already concentrated wireless telephone industry, reducing the four major players to three. The deal calls for the divestment of nine million customers to Dish, which would gain access to the merged company's cellular network for seven…
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NPR: New Maine Law Aims to Restore Internet Privacy Protection Rolled Back By Trump Administration
Lawmakers in Maine have passed a bill to restore internet privacy protections — protections that were rolled back by the Trump Administration and Congress. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are investigating big tech companies in part to learn what they do with users' data. California is…
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Vice Motherboard: Experts Say the DOJ Justification for T-Mobile/Sprint Approval Is a Joke
The Department of Justice has approved T-Mobile’s controversial $26 billion merger with Sprint. And while the agency proposed a number of remedies it says will mitigate the competition and job-eroding impact of the deal, experts say the fixes will do nothing of the sort. From the beginning, the biggest issue with T-Mobile’s planned…
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NBC News: DOJ approves $26.5B merger between Sprint and T-Mobile
The Department of Justice gave its blessing Friday to T-Mobile’s $26.5 billion acquisition of its closest rival, Sprint, after confirming it has reached an agreement with five states that had previously raised objections to the deal. While the merger between the number-three and -four players in the wireless market effectively…
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Wired: The $26.5B T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Moves a Big Step Forward
The Justice Department Friday cleared T-Mobile’s long-delayed $26.5 billion merger with Sprint, a deal that critics say will reduce competition for wireless service and lead to higher prices. To win approval, the companies agreed to sell assets to Dish intended to help the company, which now provides satellite TV service, launch a new…
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Axios: DOJ approves T-Mobile-Sprint deal with conditions
The Department of Justice has approved T-Mobile's deal to acquire Sprint, requiring the companies to divest some assets that Dish Networks can use to build a new fourth national U.S. wireless network. Why it matters: T-Mobile and Sprint have argued that a combination of their resources will help them compete with…