08/26, 5:50pm
GAO calls for more data on US cell competition
The US General Accounting Office on Thursday sent out a report (PDF) warning about mixed results for competition in the cellular industry. It said competition had decayed significantly as moves to consolidate the industry in the hands of just a few carriers, such as Verizon's buyout of Alltel, was making it "more difficult" for smaller carriers to offer a real challenge. About two thirds of cellphone users are AT&T or Verizon customers where Sprint, T-Mobile and smaller networks make up the rest.
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04/23, 2:05pm
MPAA didn't provide government with data sources
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) may have presented inaccurate information to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the economic impact of unauthorized file sharing. At the same time, the MPAA refused to reveal how it came up with some of the numbers in its piracy statistics. One major statistic the MPAA was caught red-handed at involves the 2005 claim that 44 percent of unauthorized file sharing comes from universities.
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12/10, 4:35pm
GAO says not enough FCC wireless oversight
The US' Government Accountability Office (GAO) today told the FCC in a report that it needed to more actively monitor complaints from cellphone users. It complimented the FCC for promoting competition but chastised the same regulatory body for doing so at the expense of addressing actual customer complaints. Even as 84 percent of customers in a sample group were very or somewhat satisfied with their service, many have longstanding disagreements that either stem from service problems or more systemic flaws. Among the 1,100 respondents, it was common to encounter disagreements with billing practices like hidden fees or the issues associated with ending a contract.
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