The Federal Communications Commission wants to liberate you from your cable company’s set-top box. You probably didn’t even realize you needed to be freed from this tyranny. But that’s the message from FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who’s on a mission to make sure consumers have choices when it comes to their set-top box. FCC Chairman …

T-Mobile is gobbling up low-frequency radio airwaves so that video of “The Walking Dead” playing on your phone doesn’t stall when you walk into your basement. T-Mobile on Wednesday said it had acquired more of the spectrum in the low-frequency 700 MHz band as it seeks to catch up to rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T in coverage. The company plans …

I’d guess that few people associate the Super Bowl with a great time to go shopping. But if you’re in the market for a big-screen, high-def TV, you might want to top off the big game with a visit to the mall. Everyone already knows about Black Friday deals. But TVs in particular often hit the lowest prices of the …

For millions of football fans around the world, the Super Bowl is the big game. For the four national wireless carriers, it is the big test. Fans of the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos don’t just care about their team’s first touchdown on Sunday. They also value the selfies they send to social media while in the stadium. So for …

Comcast wants to sell Internet service that’s so fast you could download the high-definition version of “The Terminator” in roughly half a minute. Or you could simultaneously stream all five “Terminator” movies — yeah, there are five — without a stutter. Comcast’s new service will send high volumes of data at speeds of 1 gigabit per second. Andrew Brookes/Corbis The …

Google is lending a hand in communities where its ultra-fast Fiber broadband service is available. A resident of a housing project in Kansas City and her son are among the first to receive gigabit Internet from Google Fiber at no cost. The Mountain View, California, company said in a blog post Wednesday that it will give public housing residents free …

As wireless operators abandon device subsidies, more consumers are realizing the true cost of upgrading to a new phone. And it ain’t cheap. Refurbished and used devices can be a great way to get the phone you want at a price that won’t break the bank. This is especially true of Apple’s iPhone. But when is the best time to …

Did T-Mobile’s no-holds barred advertising campaign cross the line of ethical business practices? Three labor unions think so and are using their consumer advocacy group to accuse the carrier of deceptive advertising as well as placing customers on services they never asked for, such as device insurance plans. On Wednesday the group, called Change to Win Retail Initiatives, filed a …

AT&T is banking that its video, and not its traditional wireless service, will get you to take a second look at the nation’s second-largest phone company. CNET/Marguerite Reardon Let’s face it, growth in the wireless market, AT&T’s bread and butter, isn’t what it used to be. That’s especially true for the Dallas-based telecom giant, which for the past year has …

You’re already connected to your phone 24/7, so is it that much of a stretch that tomorrow’s phone will be embedded in your body? We’ve already got technology built into our watches, shirts and shoes. While having a phone implanted into your head, hand or arm may sound like science fiction, it’s really just the next logical step. At least, …