Kenneth Corbin

What’s next for eBay? The company that blazed a trail for ecommerce businesses expects substantial growth opportunities in new platforms. CEO John Donahoe predicts the continued convergence of traditional brick-and-mortar retail and online transactions. Donahoe said on Thursday, at eBay’s (NASDAQ: EBAY) annual presentation for analysts and investors, “New rules of retail are being written […]

President Obama is set to deliver a speech later today outlining the White House plan to bring wireless broadband to 98 percent of the country within five years, offering details on the National Wireless Initiative he first announced in last month’s State of the Union address. Ahead of the president’s remarks, senior White House officials […]

With so much of the talk coming out of the White House lately focusing on jobs, innovation and a 21st century economy, it stands to reason that the head of the Federal Communications Commission would have something to say about his agency’s role in the new push. And with all the work Julius Genachowski and […]

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday said the administration is receptive to relaxing the tax rates on American businesses looking to bring foreign earnings back to the United States, but made it clear that the White House won’t support any fast-track of the measure, a signature priority of many large firms that say a currency […]

For years, FCC officials, lawmakers and assorted observers of telecom policy have argued the need to reform the Universal Service Fund, a federally administered telecom subsidy whose annual cost has swollen to more than $8 billion. But efforts at reform have stalled, repeatedly. Today, the FCC is trying again, unanimously voting to approve a notice […]

In one of its biggest moves yet to reinvent itself as a leading provider of Web content, AOL has entered into an agreement to acquire the news and comment site the Huffington Post for $315 million. The purchase, announced on Monday, extends AOL’s efforts to build out its content portfolio as it looks to burnish […]

If it feels like you’re shopping more for goods online these days then you’re right in sync with the latest figures from research firm comScore. The fourth quarter of 2010 was a banner quarter for online retailers as comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) reported Internet merchants raked in $43.4 billion in sales, up 11 percent from the […]

When President Obama delivered his State of the Union address last week, many in the tech sector took note of the heavy emphasis he placed on issues at the heart of many companies’ policy agenda, including research and development and science and math education. In the time since, the administration has dispatched senior officials and […]

Patrick Leahy is nothing if not determined. Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is once again leading the charge on reforming the nation’s patent system, an effort he undertook in the three preceding Congresses. Will this time be any different? The Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed the Patent Reform Act of 2011 by […]

The federal appeals court that Verizon had asked to hear its challenge against the Federal Communications Commission’s new open Internet rules has denied the telecom giant’s request to pick the panel of judges that would hear the case. Verizon had been hoping to secure the same panel of judges who ruled against the FCC in […]

Members of the software and entertainment industries frequently decry the widespread flow of pirated goods on the Internet, making their case for stricter enforcement mechanisms and penalties to anyone who will listen. But how big is the problem? A new study (PDF) conducted by Envisional and, importantly, commissioned by NBC Universal, has estimated that nearly […]

It appears that Egypt’s nearly week-long Internet blockade has come to an end, with network-monitoring experts reporting that the country’s major providers restored service Wednesday morning. One monitoring firm has also reported that Facebook and Twitter, favorite targets of governments that seek to quash opposition from organizing, were online and available to Egyptian Internet users. […]