Washington - As momentum builds toward the completion of their multi-billion dollar merger, shares of DC-based XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and New York-based Sirius (NASD: SIRI) tumbled on Thursday following an analyst report that questioned the very future of satellite radio. Goldman Sachs analyst Mark Wienkes cited a dramatic slowdown in subscriber growth, with younger consumers buying alternatives such as MP3 players and iPhones.

Washington - Shares of XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) rose 6% by midday Monday after FCC chairman Kevin Martin said that he will recommend the approval of the company's merger with New York-based Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI). The move could clear the way for the companies to complete the multi-billion-dollar deal, which has been in regulatory limbo for more than a year.

Los Angeles - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has initiated a proceeding at the behest of Hollywood movie studios, to examine their request that they be able to remotely block consumers from recording high-definition, new release films on their digital video recorders, Ars Technica reported.

Philadelphia - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), the nation's largest cable TV company and a provider of broadband service to 14 million subscribers, has begun testing what it says is a "protocol agnostic" tool to manage its subscribers' bandwidth usage during peak traffic periods. The company recently came under fire after it was discovered to have been throttling the BitTorrent traffic of some of its users, which led to fallout including an FCC investigation and several public hearings.

Washington - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could require the winner of a planned wireless spectrum auction to offer free wireless Internet service across a large portion of the country, the Associated Press reported. The network would be required to reach 95% of the U.S. population within a decade.

New York - Along with known file-sharing traffic throttler Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), fellow broadband provider Cox Communications is also interfering with the usage of BitTorrent and similar peer-to-peer applications by its subscribers, the Associated Press reported, citing research conducted by German's Max Planck Institute for Software Systems. The study monitored over 8,000 Internet users worldwide, and found conclusive evidence of blocked file-sharing connections only by Comcast, Cox and Singapore's StarHub.

Philadelphia - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), the nation's largest cable TV operator and provider of high-speed Internet to 14.1 million subscribers, is considering placing a 250GB monthly cap on the amount of bandwidth that subscribers may use for downloading content, a source from the company tells BroadbandReports.com. For those who exceed the limit, Comcast would reportedly charge $15 for each 10GB they use over their allotment; 250GB is roughly equivalent to 6,000 songs, or 250 movies.

Washington - Still awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI) have agreed to extend their merger deadline, which otherwise would have expired on May 15.

Washington - With their merger possibly on the brink of completion, XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI) both announced on Tuesday that they would both postpone their annual meetings. The two companies continue to await a decision on the deal by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Washington - Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), a high-ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, on Friday wrote to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the agency to block the $5 billion merger of satellite radio firms XM (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius (NASD: SIRI), Reuters reported.

Philadelphia - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA), the nation's largest cable TV company and a provider of high-speed Internet to 13.2 million subscribers, on Tuesday announced that it will lead an industry-wide effort to create a "P2P Bill of Rights and Responsibilities," which would "clarify what choices and controls consumers should have when using P2P applications as well as what processes and practices ISPs should use to manage P2P applications running on their networks." The company said it partnered with Pando Networks, a provider of peer-to-peer based content delivery network services, on the initiative, and will work with the company to help migrate to a protocol-agnostic network management technique by the end of the year.

Washington - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has levied a total of $6 million in fines against many of the top electronics retailers in the U.S., for violating rules on labeling analog televisions they sell to inform consumers the devices will not be able to receive digital signals after the switch to digital broadcasting next February. The FCC levied fines against retailers including Sears ($1.1 million), Wal-Mart ($992,000), Circuit City ($712,000), Target ($296,000) and Best Buy ($280,000).

Basking Ridge, N.J. - Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) announced on Friday that the spectrum it paid $9.36 billion for in the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) recent 700 MHz auction is "a critical piece of its overall broadband strategy to take advantage of the enormous opportunity for growth in data services in the future."

Washington - The U.S. Justice Department on Monday approved Sirius Satellite Radio's (NASD: SIRI) $5 billion purchase of rival XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR), a deal announced more than a year ago that has been held up by regulators who said today that the combined company is not likely to harm competition or consumers. The proposed transaction still needs approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); shareholders of both companies approved the deal in November.

Washington - Google (NASD: GOOG) on Monday sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging the agency to allow unused portions of the TV spectrum -- or "white space" -- to be used to provide wireless Internet access nationwide. "The unique qualities of the TV white space -- unused spectrum, large amounts of bandwidth, and excellent propagation characteristics -- offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans," Richard Whitt, Google's Washington telecom and media counsel, writes in the letter.

Washington - Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T), the nation's two largest wireless carriers, were the big winners in an auction for wireless spectrum that closed last week, according to information released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Washington - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has raised a record $19.6 billion in its wireless spectrum auction, which closed on Tuesday, though winners of the prized airwaves aren't expected to be revealed for at least three weeks, the Associated Press reported.

Washington - The head of Sirius Satellite Radio (NASD: SIRI) said on Wednesday that he is hopeful the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will rule on his company's proposed $4.2 billion merger with XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) by the end of this month, Reuters reported.

Washington - Still awaiting approvals from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission, D.C.-based XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and New York-based rival Sirius (NASD: SIRI) said on Friday that they have extended their merger deadline until May 1. Both companies have expressed optimism about receiving the necessary regulatory approvals, although some analysts have expressed concerned about the delays in recent weeks.

New York - The New York attorney general's office has subpoenaed broadband provider Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) for information on its practice of interfering with the file-sharing traffic of some subscribers, according to published reports. Comcast, which has admitted to the practice but says it is necessary to ensure all Internet traffic flows smoothly, told the Associated Press that it is cooperating with the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.