The man who ended net neutrality will exit the Federal Communications Commission along with the Trump administration in January. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai was in office for less than four years, but brought significant change.
No change was as dramatic as ending the rules that prevented broadband service providers from slowing down the internet traffic of rival companies.
The FCC on Thursday approved an expansion of Wi-Fi to the 6GHz band. This adds almost five times the bandwidth to the short-range wireless networking standard. It should bring Wi-Fi connections that are up to 2.5 times faster, with less interference from nearby computers.
Thursday’s FCC vote on this expansion was unanimous, and the change has strong industry support.
Apple got approval to release a pair of “totally wireless high-performance earphones” from the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday. But the company didn’t release this product, so exactly what they’ll offer is a mystery.
That said, information buried in the FCC filing shows these will be very similar to last year’s Powerbeats Pro. They might be the successor.
The FCC will vote April 23 on a proposal to expand Wi-Fi to the 6GHz band. If approved, the move would add almost five times the bandwidth to the short-range wireless networking standard used by MacBooks, iPads, and virtually every other mobile device. That could bring faster Wi-Fi connections, with less interference from nearby computers.
The FCC on Tuesday gave wireless carriers until next summer to implement a system designed to prevent caller ID spoofing. The goal is blocking phone scammers from using fake caller ID information to convince call recipients that they are talking to someone trustworthy or from their local area.
America’s largest cellphone carriers are about to get hit with hundreds of millions of dollars in fines from the Federal Communications Commission according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Officials at the FCC found the companies broke the law by selling customers’ location data to third parties and are prepared to make AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint pay big time. The companies have reportedly been notified that fines could be on the way.
The Federal Communications Commission signed off on Apple’s next pair of headphones Thursday, without revealing many details. Still, the government agency indicated these will be part of the Powerbeats line, not the “AirPods Pro Lite” model that appears in recent rumors.
U.S. District Judge William Alsup allowed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple over allegedly exposing iPhone owners to high levels of radiofrequency radiation to move forward Thursday. However, the judge also blasted the Federal Communications Commission for its “dumb” testing standards.
Not every model of the uber-powerful new Mac Pro will sit under someone’s desk. The appearance of the “cheese grater” Mac attracted so much attention that people might want to see what the version designed for rack-mounting looks like.
The FCC just signed off on Apple’s next professional-grade desktop. The 2019 Mac Pro was announced this summer, and this approval clears the way for a release.
