Blog

From video-streaming sites to online education platforms to cloud computing services, innovative new Internet applications are using more and more data. But a trend is stifling the promise of these new technologies: the rise of increasingly restrictive data caps. Internet service providers use these caps to limit how much data people use each month: Exceed the cap and you have to pay more.

The opposition to the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to gut media ownership rules continues to grow on Capitol Hill. In fact, it’s not just growing — it’s burgeoning.

In just the last few weeks, 49 House members and 13 senators have told the FCC to ditch a proposal that would benefit media titans like Rupert Murdoch — and hurt just about everyone else.

We're all frustrated at rate hikes from phone and cable companies. Every year, it's either an outright increase or some new fee that has the same effect. Now imagine being told that over the next five years, Comcast was going to raise the price of your Internet connection by over 800 percent.

On Thursday night at the Washington Hilton, communications lawyers, media industry lobbyists, tech policy wonks and a few beat reporters will gather for the FCC Chairman's Dinner — an annual night of backslapping and inside jokes where the head of the Federal Communications Commission gives a "funny" speech zinging his colleagues and critics.