“Broadband” on The Daily Caller

Apple’s recent release of the iPad 3 continues a trend toward more powerful and useful wireless devices that consume a lot more bandwidth.  The number of mobile-connected tablets tripled last year to 34 million, according to Cisco.  The average tablet generated 3.4 times more mobile data traffic than the average smartphone, which generated 35 times more traffic than a typical basic-feature cell phone. (more)

U.S. mobile networks are bogging down as customer demand for high-end data services mushrooms, according to a semi-annual report from J.D. Power and Associates. (more)

You may not have seen the show “Diary of a Single Mom” co-starring Billy Dee Williams, but your tax dollars helped pay for it. (more)

The Federal Communications Commission says that its plan to bring broadband Internet to the countryside will produce 500,000 jobs over the next six years. (more)

Commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a new data roaming rule Thursday for wireless broadband carriers designed to drive competition in a market that is currently dominated by AT&T and Verizon Wireless. (more)

As Democrats and Republicans look for spending cuts in their latest discussions to fund the federal government for the rest of the year, the Rural Utilities Service’s (RUS) Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program should be at the top of the list. (more)

First, there’s the fairy tale version of government stimulus spending. (more)

What a difference a year makes. In January 2010, we worried about the possibility of a double-dip recession. Today, the state of American business and our economy have improved. This is due to both the impressive resilience of our economy and the enactment of the tax relief package late last month. For these reasons, the U.S. Chamber projects that the economy will grow by 3.2% overall next year, picking up steam as the year progresses. (more)

To boost confidence among entrepreneurs and investors, America’s political leaders need to send positive, pro-business signals. Members of Congress and President Obama have talked a good game of supporting small business, but the policies of the past two years have been downright hostile. Indeed, it’s time for a major shift in direction. (more)

Tick-tock goes the Federal Communication Commission’s merger clock counting the days the agency has spent reviewing the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger. The FCC says it tries to act on merger applications within 180 days. The clock is now at “Day 215″ — more than a month of working days past its self-professed goal. (more)

1.) Feds may have to bail out Detroit for a second time — If the federal government decides, in its finite wisdom, that poorly run states and municipalities do not deserve to sink or swim based on the electoral acumen of their residents (or lack thereof), and chooses instead to “bail out” bankrupt members of the American federation, there will be some irony in the decision. In Detroit, two of the city’s public pensions are under investigation for “risky investing” that cost the two funds $480 million in three years. According to the Detroit Free Press, “many of the investments involved secretive middlemen, who pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars, or were vetted by controversial investment adviser Adrian Anderson and his firm, North Point Advisors.” Anderson is currently under investigation by the SEC, but has not been charged. In the meantime, “the pensions are paying the legal bills of Anderson and a second adviser who scrutinized failed real estate deals.” Have you heard the one about the burglar who fell through the woman’s skylight and then demanded that she pay for his medical bills? This is sort of like that. (more)

1.) Unethical Google alumnus leaves White House one day after FCC passes net neutrality — Andrew McLaughlin should have left the White House in March, when he was found to be using his personal gmail account while at work, or even in May, when internal memos revealed McLaughlin was coordinating PR with Google’s U.S. public policy director. Instead, the nation’s deputy CTO waited until the FCC passed its net neutrality bill to bid adieu to government life. According to WaPo, “McLaughlin, who previously worked as a Google executive, oversaw many of the White House’s Internet policy initiatives including Internet access regulations, the expansion of broadband connections and global cybersecurity.” Not mentioned in WaPo’s writeup is Google’s ardent support for net neutrality regulations. McLaughlin will dive back into the startup world, creating products for state and local governments. He “also said he will return to teaching law, which he did at Harvard University’s Berkman Center seven years ago.” Interesting factoid: The Berkman center is the far-left think thank that the FCC commissioned to produce objective reports on the apparent need for net neutrality regulations. (more)

The voters have spoken. The failed job-killing policies of Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama have been soundly rejected. We have a clear mandate to cut the size of government, reduce spending and reverse costly job-killing regulations. The new Republican majority will be different — we will listen. (more)

The election is over. And while the pundits are arguing over whether the American people are more concerned with job creation, the deficit, or some other issue, they pretty much agree on one point: nothing much is going to get done in Washington. (more)

Thanks to a study just released, some sources are theorizing that Netflix, the streaming video service, could have the potential to dominate the internet and gobble up American broadband. (more)

The European Union is well known for the overwhelming number of ridiculous regulations that it produces. The EU has banned horse drawn carts on rural roads; set standards on the shape and curvature of bananas; crushed productivity with minimum holidays and maximum work hours; pointlessly set three separate regulations on the loudness of lawn mowers; and subjected hot air balloon enthusiasts to the same regulations and paperwork as commercial airlines. The list goes on. (more)

Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton says he “was Tea Party when Tea Party wasn’t cool.” (more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has just finished collecting yet another round of comments in the “net neutrality” debate over proposed regulation of Internet traffic management (you may find CEI’s latest filing by Ryan Radia here). It is important to appreciate the profound significance of the fact that the FCC is unwilling to even affirm that it will leave future managed, specialized Internet services alone. And wireless services? The FCC is chomping at the bit to regulate those. (more)

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Liz Szalay said she was shocked when she saw her 14-year-old son’s phone bill. Because he didn’t have a $30 data plan as part of his Verizon Wireless contract, he’d run up charges of $2,000 over two months for downloading songs. (more)

WASHINGTON — On the Internet, data moves at the speed of light. The Federal Communications Commission, not so fast. (more)