The Comcast Corporation plans to slow service to its heaviest Internet users during certain periods after regulators ordered the company to devise a new method for managing its Web traffic.

The F.C.C. upheld the complaint against Comcast, which it said had illegally inhibited users of its high-speed Internet service from using popular file-sharing software.

Comcast was ordered to change how it manages its broadband network after the F.C.C. said some of its tactics unreasonably restricted users who share movies and other material.

Mr. Whitehead laid the groundwork for Open Skies, the policy that led to the creation of the domestic satellite system that brought cable television into millions of American homes.

The buyout of XM Satellite Radio Holdings by Sirius Satellite Radio will translate into a group of 18 million subscribers at a cost of about $3.5 billion.

Product placements woven into the plots of popular shows are a growing concern to the Federal Communications Commission and consumer groups.

Kevin J. Martin’s recommendation is a strong statement in favor of network neutrality, the idea that Internet access providers should not be allowed to favor some uses of their networks over others.

The move stems from a complaint that Comcast had blocked Internet traffic among users of a certain type of software that allowed them to exchange large amounts of data.

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to set rules meant to make it easier for new cable television competitors to gain local franchises.

The F.C.C. has voted to stop Verizon from trying to talk its customers out of switching to another telephone provider while they wait for their phone numbers to be transferred.