Now Hear This
An open and frank discussion of media and telecommunications issues - from the consumer point of view.

Now Hear This Newsletter, May 8, 2008 Posted by Bob at 05/07/08 03:12 PM

There are times when killing the messenger -- or rather the messaging consultant -- might be the best thing for everyone involved. Case in point: the peculiar decision by the federal bureaucrats in charge of educating the public on the looming transition to digital television to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to hire the ethically-challenged Ketchum Communications Inc. as their communications and "messaging" guru. Ketchum, you may recall, was at the center of two of worst government public relations debacles in recent memory.

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Now Hear This Newsletter, April 24, 2008 Posted by Bob at 04/24/08 01:12 PM

The Commerce Department finally contemplates some long overdue changes to qualify nursing home residents and post office box users for its digital television converter box coupon program, but the agency continues to ignore expiration date mess.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, April 10, 2008 Posted by Bob at 04/10/08 01:26 PM

Earlier this week the two top government officials in charge of the upcoming transition to digital television trundled up to Capitol Hill to report on how it’s going. Several lawmakers told the pair they are extremely worried millions of consumers who depend on free, over-the-air television will be left in the dark when full power broadcasters are required to switch to all digital signals in February 2009. “I've just got my fingers crossed,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye. We have our fingers crossed too, but we would feel a lot better if the lawmakers and government bureaucrats in charge of this landmark transition – arguably the biggest change in broadcasting since the advent of color television – were doing a whole lot more than they have so far to make sure this massive conversion comes off as problem free as possible.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, March 27, 2008 Posted by Bob at 03/26/08 01:40 PM

The Justice Department’s has given its blessing to a merger between the country’s only two satellite radio companies, XM and Sirius, arguing the resulting monopoly won’t harm consumers. Among the many things that make absolutely no sense: It appears the competition cops at the Justice Department didn't actually bother to talk to any satellite radio consumers. We take apart DOJ's nonsensical justifications for approving the anti-consumer deal and hope the Federal Communications Commission does better as it now takes up the case.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, March 13, 2008 Posted by Bob at 03/13/08 12:39 PM

Should telecom titans such as AT&T and Verizon be given retroactive legal immunity for allowing the government to run wiretaps on their customers without a warrant? We say absolutely not. Compromise legislation moving through the House addresses national security concerns, but also would maintain consumer privacy and civil liberties. What a concept.

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Consumer Reports Offers Tips for Curbing Cell Phone Spam Posted by Bob at 03/12/08 02:42 PM

The good people at our sister organization Consumer Reports have put together some helpful hints for dealing with the problem of cell phone spam.

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Guest Blog: Government-Subsidized TV Converter Boxes Will Actually Block Signals From Thousands of Broadcasters Posted by Bob at 03/06/08 11:44 AM

Many consumers might not be able to receive the over-the-air broadcasting they now receive after conversion to digital signals -- even with a government-subsidized converter box. More than 2,900 Class A and low-power TV stations are likely to continue to broadcast in analog, and those signals will be blocked by most of the available converter boxes.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, February 28, 2008 Posted by Bob at 02/28/08 01:30 PM

Last month millions of savvy consumers signed up to receive $40 government coupons to help pay for analog-to-digital television conversion boxes, devices that will be needed to keep many old TV sets working when the nation’s full-power broadcasters go all digital in February 2009. Now it appears all those on-the-ball consumers will actually be penalized for their on-the-ballness. Plus, Comcast pays people to pack a public hearing on net neutrality.

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FCC and Congress Need to Slap Down Comcast and Adopt Open Internet Access Rules Posted by Bob at 02/20/08 10:23 AM

It’s our network and we can do anything we want. That’s the scary new mantra of cable giant Comcast when it comes to the issue of open Internet practices, also known as network neutrality. For the sake of every consumer who uses the Internet, the FCC needs to slap down Comcast hard and make it clear that it takes the principles of network neutrality seriously.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, February 14, 2008 Posted by Bob at 02/12/08 01:59 PM

A new bill has been introduced in Congress that could go a long way toward keeping the Internet open and unfettered by corporate gatekeepers. The Internet Freedom Preservation Act would effectively enshrine the principle of “Network Neutrality” into law, making it a part of the landmark Communications Act of 1934. We think that's a great idea.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, January 31, 2008 Posted by Bob at 01/31/08 11:52 AM

Consumers are getting an awful lot of faulty information about the looming transition to digital broadcasting next February, according to just released survey by Consumers Union, the publisher of this blog. All told, the survey found that 74 percent of the respondents who said they were aware of the upcoming transition to all digital broadcasting have serious misconceptions about its actual impact on them and what steps they need to take to keep their TVs working after the switchover.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, January 17, 2008 Posted by Bob at 01/16/08 01:38 PM

There have been some encouraging signs in recent days that the Federal Communications Commission might be starting to take its consumer protection duties a bit more seriously. Also in this edition: Government Cracks Down on Media in Kenya; Cell Phones in Remote Places; Courts Stop Comcast from Moving Community Access Channels to Digital in Michigan; Trying to Fight High Cable Rates in a Small Town.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, January 4, 2008 Posted by Bob at 01/02/08 02:55 PM

For the second time in recent months, AT&T appears to be playing a shell game with consumers trying to sign up for cut-rate Internet service the company agreed offer to gain government approval of its takeover of its telecom cousin BellSouth.

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Looking Forward, Now That the FCC has Relaxed its Media Ownership Rules Posted by Bob at 12/19/07 03:33 PM

Consumers Union Vice President for Federal and International Affairs Gene Kimmelman says the public may have lost this important battle, but the war is far from over.

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NYTimes is Dead on With "Flawed Media Plan" Editorial Posted by Bob at 12/17/07 10:37 AM

With the Republican majority at the Federal Communications Commission poised to gut the agency's 32-year-old rule preventing a single company from owning both the newspaper and a broadcaster in the same market tomorrow, the New York Times is out with a strong editorial this morning laying out the case against the change.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, December 13, 2007 Posted by Bob at 12/12/07 12:03 PM

Despite pleas and threats from Congress and overwhelming opposition from the public, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says he won't hold off on a vote to gut the agency's rules preventing a company from owning a newspaper and television station in the same market set for December 18th.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, November 29, 2007 Posted by Bob at 11/28/07 02:27 PM

U.S. consumers could ultimately see some benefits from Verizon Wireless's much-ballyhooed "Any Apps, Any Device" plan, but it will all depend on the details -- nearly all of which have yet to be laid out by the company. Consumers should hold Verizon's feet to the fire to make sure Verizon delivers on its lofty promise, and should pressure the rest of the country's wireless carriers to follow suit, or enact even better plans.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, November 15, 2007 Posted by Bob at 11/15/07 11:34 AM

New research shows cross-ownership of newspapers and broadcasters crowds out local news, strengthening the case against Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's move to relax his agency's 32-year-old ban on such deals.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, November 1, 2007 Posted by Bob at 10/31/07 03:37 PM

The public is deeply and fiercely opposed to a controversial proposal by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin that could relax longstanding media ownership restrictions before the end of the year, according to a new survey released this week. Unfortunately, Martin and his allies on the commission appear to have stopped listening to the public on this critical issue.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, October 18, 2007 Posted by Bob at 10/17/07 03:16 PM

In a surprise announcement, AT&T said this week it will begin prorating the early termination penalties it slaps on customers who try to leave the company before their service contract is finished. Verizon, the country's other dominant cell phone company, began prorating its early termination penalties earlier this year. Unfortunately, early termination penalties are just one of the anti-consumer practices employed by the U.S. cell phone industry to keep customers from shopping around for a better deal, but a bill now moving through Congress could provide some much needed help for cell phone consumers.

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, October 4, 2007 Posted by Bob at 09/29/07 11:32 AM

Last week an embarrassed Verizon Corp. dropped plans to block text messages from an abortion rights group after the New York Times wrote about it in a front-page article. Through its actions, Verizon made an unassailable case for net neutrality -- the idea that Internet providers should be prohibited from blocking, speeding up or slowing down content based on its source, ownership or destination.

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Live From the FCC Media Ownership Hearing in Chicago Posted by Bob at 09/21/07 02:25 PM

(This is guest blog from Joel Kelsey, a grassroots organizer for Consumers Union, the sponsor of this blog. He is attending a Federal Communications Commission public hearing on media ownership in Chicago and sent us this live blog from the event. He can be reached at kelsjo@consumer.org.)

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Now Hear This Electronic Newsletter, September 20, 2007 Posted by Bob at 09/20/07 10:44 AM

XM and Sirius say support from Radio Shack and Circuit City for their controversial merger proposal is somehow proof positive that consumers will benefit from a deal that would combine two competitors to form a monopoly. We've got a better idea: Ask some consumers.

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Consumers Stand to Lose the Most in Verizon Lawsuit Over Airwave Auction Rules Posted by Bob at 09/14/07 10:51 AM

Verizon Wireless has filed a lawsuit to block some innovative airwave auction conditions recently adopted by the Federal Communications Commission aimed at spurring new competition and innovation in wireless devices and services. Consumers stand to be the biggest loser if the lawsuit succeeds.

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Justice Department Should Explain Stand Against Net Neutrality Posted by Bob at 09/13/07 11:24 AM

The good folks over at Free Press want to know why the Justice Department has recently gone to extraordinary lengths to bash net neutrality and has filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out. We think that's a great idea.

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