Back in May we told you about Tom Allibone, a longtime telecommunications consultant who had appointed himself an “FCC Deputy,” looking out for his fellow consumers in the runup to the national transition to digital broadcasting next February. Luckily for consumers, Deputy Tom has stayed on the job since then and he is out with a new report this week that should send chills down the spine of anyone who depends on over-the-air free television – and hopefully the government officials in charge of the transition.

The U.S. Senate’s top antitrust watchdog is asking the nation’s leading wireless companies why they have recently doubled their charges for text messages. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, has sent a letter to the presidents and chief executive officers of the four largest U.S. wireless telephone companies asking them to justify sharply rising rates for customers to send and receive text messages. Kohl’s letter requested an explanation from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, which collectively serve more than 90 percent of the nation's cellular phone users.