Rural Cellular Association has petitioned the FCC to investigate the legality of carriers striking exclusive deals for handsets that prevent any other carrier from offering a given phone over a certain period.  

The big five providers in the US have increasingly turned to exclusives in recent months and have always claimed they need this marketing tactic to grow subscriber base.

The down side for many living in rural is they have subpar catalog of phones to pick from.  For example you can not get iPhone in most of Vermont, since AT&T does not operate in most of the state.

Here is a link to the FCC Petition (PDF)

Technorati Tags: FCC, Rural Cellular Association, Cell Phone, iPhone

I want to extend a heartfelt and personal Happy New Year to each and every one of you. May 2008 bring you only health, happiness and the realization of your dreams!

My he burn in that special circle of hell for the SS.

Public Disclosure Commission (Watch dogs over campaign funding) will be having a panel discussion of issues related to Internet campaign activity. Topics such as E-mail activity, bloggers’ activity, workplace computer use, websites, and online ads will be discussed.

The Panel is
- Steve Hoersting, Vice President of the Center for Competitive Politics
- David Postman, Chief Political Reporter for the Seattle Times newspaper
- Stefan Sharkansky, founder of SoundPolitics
- Bob Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies
- Jay Arnold, Principal, WINtegrated Solutions. Former Microsoft Manager

Meeting Time and Place

August 15, 2007
9:00 a.m.

John A. Cherberg Bldg, Conference Rooms B & C
304 15th Avenue SW
Olympia, Washington

TV and Podcast

I do not have the air date(s) for TVW at this time, but does not look like it will be carried live per their online daily television program schedule.

Technorati Tags: PDC, Public Disclosure Commission, Steve Hoersting, David Postman, Stefan Sharkansky, Bob Stern, Jay Arnold, Internet Campaign Activity, Politics

Why do I think John Edwards will be needing to get a matching video soon. It is a new arms race out there. Video from barelypolitical.com

Technorati Tags: Obama, Edwards, Barelypolitical.com