Legislation

Congress voted to keep a portion of unused TV airwaves for unlicensed, which could help providers connect rural areas with high-speed broadband -- but the bill also has a downside. A Chicago city alderman proposed an ordinance that would forbid the Chicago Police Department from shutting down mobile towers, blocking mobile and Web access or jamming signals. Meanwhile, the FCC has halted LightSquared’s wireless plans and a senator from Iowa is holding up two nominees for FCC commissioner.

As extremists in Congress take steps to kill funding for public broadcasting, a new report suggests our nation’s public media need more money to serve the public, not less. And the federal government is sending mixed messages about the importance of Internet Freedom.

A new bill has been introduced in Congress that would require all public information from most federal agencies to be made available online. And mainstream media's reporters could learn something from aggressive celebrity paparazzi.