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  News Release Consumers Union – Nonprofit Publisher of Consumer Reports Friday, April 8, 2011 Media Contact: David Butler, dbutler@consumer.org, or Kara Kelber, kkelber@consumer.org, 202-462-6262 Consumers Union Statement on House Vote to Repeal FCC Net Neutrality Rules WASHINGTON, D.C — Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, today expressed disappointment following a House vote Continue Reading

Categories: Cable & Satellite, Internet
Tags: competition, Consumer, Internet, Network Neutrality

HearUsNow.org is heading up to Boston this weekend and will be live blogging from the 2011 National Conference for Media Reform. If you can’t be there, we hope you will follow the action on our blog. We will be focusing on a panel we are co-sponsoring on Saturday morning titled “Mobile Voices, Mobile Justice: A Continue Reading

Categories: Cable & Satellite, Internet, Phone, TV & Radio, Uncategorized
Tags: Broadband, competition, Consumer, Digital Divide, early termination fees, Federal Communications Commission, High Speed Internet, Internet, ISP, Network Neutrality, wireless

What is network neutrality and what does it mean to consumers?

Categories: Cable & Satellite, Internet, TV & Radio
Tags: Broadband, Comcast, competition, Consumer, Federal Communications Commission, Internet, ISP, Network Neutrality, Regulation, verizon, wireless

WASHINGTON, January 21, 2011 — Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America today filed a letter with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about evidence of recent moves by broadband Internet providers that the groups said “appear to be contrary to preserving an open Internet.” Last month, the FCC adopted “net neutrality” rules to limit Internet providers from favoring or discriminating against traffic that goes over their networks.

Categories: Internet
Tags: competition, Network Neutrality, truth in billing

Earlier this week the government approved the super-sized deal allowing Comcast, which is already both the country’s largest cable television company and Internet service provider, to purchase control of NBC Universal and its huge stable of media properties. At Consumers Union, publisher of this blog, we made it clear that our first choice was for the Federal Communications Commission or the Department of Justice to reject this deal. Once it was clear the deal was going to be approved, we said the approval needed to include strong and enforceable conditions to help ensure Comcast would be firmly discouraged from engaging in anti-competitive, anti-consumer behavior.

Categories: Cable & Satellite, TV & Radio
Tags: Children's Programming, Comcast, Federal Communications Commission, High Speed Internet, NBC, Network Neutrality, Online Video

WASHINGTON, D.C. December 21, 2010 — As the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today prepared to approve new rules for network neutrality, Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, called on federal regulators to apply the principles of the rules in their review of cable giant Comcast’s proposed buyout of the NBC Universal programming empire.

Categories: Cable & Satellite, Internet, Phone, TV & Radio
Tags: Comcast, competition, Federal Communications Commission, Internet, ISP, NBC, Network Neutrality

August 9th, 2010; WASHINGTON, D.C. — Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, and Consumer Federation of America today expressed serious concerns about a proposed arrangement by Verizon and Google to handle web traffic. Consumer groups have advocated for “net neutrality” rules to maintain an open Internet where consumers can choose web content and applications without restrictions imposed by their Internet service providers.

Categories: Internet
Tags: Broadband, Google, National Broadband Plan, Network Neutrality, Regulation, verizon

Internet consumers lost big – really big – in a decision issued by an appeals court in Washington this week. In essence, the court ruled that the FCC does not have the authority to preserve the freedom of consumers to choose what websites to visit, or programs to download, without interference from big Internet service providers such as Comcast and Verizon. Unless it is reversed, the ruling appears to allow broadband providers to engage in a whole host of highly egregious anti-consumer activities – up to and including the blocking of lawful content, applications, and devices. And, according to the court, the FCC may not have the legal authority to stop any of it.

Categories: Internet
Tags: Comcast, Federal Communications Commission, High Speed Internet, Internet, Network Neutrality

Lawmakers in Washington will hopefully be asking a lot of tough questions when executives from Comcast and NBC-Universal come before them today to discuss their proposed merger. Like most everyone without direct ties to Comcast, Consumers Union think the proposed marriage of the country’s largest cable company and the multi-tentacled NBC-Universal media empire is a truly lousy deal for consumers.

Categories: Cable & Satellite, TV & Radio
Tags: Cable Rates, Comcast, NBC, Network Neutrality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 3, 2010, Washington, DC— The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust and the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet will hold separate hearings on Thursday, February 4, about the proposed sale of NBC-Universal to Comcast, Corp. Here’s why Consumers Union thinks the proposed merger is a bad deal for consumers.

Categories: Cable & Satellite, Internet, Phone, TV & Radio
Tags: Broadband, Cable Rates, Comcast, competition, Consumer, Federal Communications Commission, High Speed Internet, NBC, Network Neutrality