UPDATED with WGAW statement, 10: 26: The $26 billion merger of Sprint and T-Mobile will get the blessing of the Federal Communications Commission in exchange for pledges by the company to build out a 5G network that will cover 99% of the U.S. by 2026, officials said Monday. The WGA West issued this statement Tuesday…

UPDATED with video: John Oliver is robocalling all FCC commissioners, including his nemesis, FCC chairman Ajit Pai, to protest Pai’s decision not to attack the menace that keeps growing. Thanks to new tactics, which Oliver detailed on Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, robocalling is only getting worse. Some pundits estimate…

UPDATED with FCC commissioner statement: Democrats on Capitol Hill, now that they control the House of Representatives, are resuming their efforts to restore net neutrality with the introduction of a new bill in both the House and Senate. Dubbed the Save the Internet Act, the legislation aims to return conditions to…

An Administrative Law Judge reviewing Sinclair Broadcast Group’s ultimately unsuccessful effort to acquire Tribune Media at the FCC’s behest has dismissed the case with prejudice, urging a more thorough investigation of the matter. Judge Jane Halprin issued an order today saying proceeding with hearings in the case…

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has canceled his trip to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year because of the partial government shutdown, according to reports. Pai had been scheduled speak at the confab Tuesday about the changing technological landscape. That event has been removed from the trade show’s…

The Federal Communications Commission is joining the list of those affected by the government shutdown, closing its doors today just after welcoming two new commissioners. The only part of the FCC’s daily function that will remain in operation is its response to reports of 911 service outages. Just before shutting its…

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai took a victory lap today as he celebrated the Congress’ failure to revive Obama-era net neutrality rules. Congressional Democrats spearheaded an effort to overturn the FCC’s Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which wiped earlier bans on blocking or slowing internet traffic or paying for faster…

California will postpone enforcement of its tough new net neutrality law until a federal court rules on the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking to prevent the legislation from taking effect. Attorney Gen. Xavier Becerra said he would temporarily delay implementation of the new law, which seeks to restore Obama-era…

UPDATED to include details of the Justice Department’s suit: California Gov. Jerry Brown today signed a measure that restores Obama-era open-Internet rules in the state, in a direct rebuke to  the Trump Administration’s rollback of these regulations. The Justice Department responded with a lawsuit seeking to prevent…

The Federal Communications Commission is trumpeting a federal appeals court ruling in Minnesota as offering a preview of the coming battle with states over net neutrality — and whether federal regulations pre-empt state laws. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals weighed in on a relatively obscure battle between…

The Senate Intelligence Committee has declined Google Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker’s offer to testify tomorrow in place of the company’s co-founder, Alphabet CEO Larry Page. The committee invited Page to join Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg to discuss how the social media platforms plan to…

FCC chairman Ajit Pai today defended the agency’s decision to crack down on a pirate radio station in Texas that broadcast conservative theorist Alex Jones’ show. The agency attracted criticism, and praise, for removing the right-wing commentator from the airwaves, Pai said in testimony this morning before the…