BROWSING: Policy

Telecom workforce bill re-introduced in the Senate

A bipartisan group of Senators has renewed an effort to pass a bill focused on coordinating federal efforts on telecom workforce development, including apprenticeships and emphasis on the needs of rural areas. A similar bill was introduced around this time last year, but the...

Verizon CEO: COVID has prompted five- to seven-year advance in digitalization

World Economic Forum launches EDISON Alliance focused on digital inclusion, digital divide Expanding access to reliable broadband--bridging the digital divide as its commonly referred to--isn't a new concept; in fact, it's been at least a talking point if not a focus of numerous public and...

‘We must speed up’ – France plays catch-up with Germany on 5G-geared Industry 4.0

The French government has announced funding for new national industrial 5G projects, as parts of its France Relance (France Relaunch) package. It has also raised alarm bells that the country is falling behind rival economies, notably Germany, on the rollout of 5G to stimulate...

Xiaomi fights its blacklisted status imposed by the Trump administration

Xiaomi says the administration's claims of Chinese military ties are 'factually incorrect' In his final days as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump added nine Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Xiaomi, to a list of firms suspected to be owned or controlled...

Telecom players urge Biden, Congress to boost workforce development

With the Biden administration having given cues that it is interested in pursuing a major infrastructure and clean energy investment this year, a group of telecom associations joined together to urge the president and Congress to make support for broadband workforce development part of...

World Economic Forum: Tech takes from The Davos Agenda

In lieu of its Annual Meeting--set for May in Singapore due to the COVID-19 pandemic--typically held this time of year in Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum this week convened business executives, government officials and other elites virtually for The Davos Agenda conference. Here...

Rosenworcel appoints staff, hints at FCC priorities

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has wasted no time in appointing staff, and gave a first address to the agency which broadly outlined some of the potential areas of focus for the regulatory agency under Democratic leadership. "As difficult as it is,...

5G and Wi-Fi 6 ‘blueprint’ sets out ‘limitless potential’ in Industry 4.0, smart cities

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released a “blueprint” for the combination of 5G and Wi-Fi 6 in the broad IoT sector, notably for smart industry, smart cities, smart buildings, and the smart home, as well as sundry edge-based network deployments. It said, done...

China fast-tracks Industry 4.0 with 30 5G factories, new ‘international’ IoT platforms

The parallel narratives around cellular 5G and Industry 4.0 are about to collide. China has said it will build 30 brand new ‘smart factories’ by 2023, all of them threaded with 5G. If ever there was a signpost for this (telco-styled version of a)...

Rosenworcel nominated as acting chairwoman of the FCC

Jessica Rosenworcel has been nominated to take over leadership of the Federal Communications Commission as acting chairwoman, becoming the second woman in the agency's history to hold the acting chair position. Rosenworcel, the senior of the two Democrats serving on the FCC, has been considered...

FCC: Don’t use radios to commit crimes

Here's a timely reminder from your friendly neighborhood FCC: Don't use ham or CB radios to communicate while you're planning or committing a crime. Crimes like, say, violent insurrection. The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau issued the unusual warning on Sunday, 11 days after a...

Small Cell Forum on 2021: Diversification from network densification – three ways

The most important watchword in 2021 will be diversification. This will be key to growth for the mobile industry in the 5G era, on multiple levels. In the past, cellular networks and services have been supplied, deployed and monetized by a relatively small number...

Trump administration bans Xiaomi, other Chinese companies

Xiaomi recently took Apple’s place as the world's third largest smartphone maker With mere days left in office, President Donald Trump and his administration have added nine Chinese companies, including smartphone maker Xiaomi, to a list of firms suspected to be owned or controlled by China's...

Federated Wireless on 2021: CBRS-based 5G takes hold – as Wi-Fi 6 is ‘dead on arrival’

The race to make 5G a viable platform for Industry 4.0 has shifted up a gear with the availability of shared CBRS spectrum for private wireless networks, and private 5G will continue to gain momentum in 2021 as enterprises focus on streamlining and automating...

Ports, warehouses, construction sites – UK lines up £28m for nine new 5G testbeds

The UK government has announced a further £28.3 million in joint public-private funding to support nine new 5G testbeds, as part of its £200 million campaign to leverage 5G to energise the UK industrial sector, and as it seeks to open up UK telecoms...

FCC rejects calls to delay indoor location accuracy improvements

Carriers won't get more time to meet vertical location, or z-axis, accuracy requirements for cellular devices that are set to take effect in April. The Federal Communications has rejected a request from CTIA to delay the implementation of new requirements on improved accuracy for reporting...

Investments in shared and unlicensed LTE/5G spectrum to hit $4bn by 2024

Investments in shared and unlicensed LTE and 5G spectrum will reach $4bn by 2024, according to Dubai-based market intelligence outfit SNS Telecom & IT. The forecast comes on the back of broadening spectrum liberalisation in global markets in 2020, led by the CBRS scheme...

FCC moves forward on $3.2 billion emergency broadband program

Program will reimburse companies for discounts to low-income customers for broadband services and devices Congress created a $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program aimed at helping more low-income customers get access to broadband during the coronavirus pandemic, and the Federal Communications Commission now has to...

Senet on 2021: A mandate for SLA-backed carrier-grade IoT networks

As IoT deployments continue to scale and solution requirements become more predictable, the market will recognize the clear distinction between carrier-grade low-power wide-area (LPWA) networks and those that fail to meet carrier-grade specifications. This distinction will draw clear lines between commercial and consumer grade...

Telensa on 2021: Standards, platforms, surveillance, privacy – and 12 IoT forecasts

Jon Lewis, director of strategy at UK-based smart street lighting company Telensa highlights a dozen tech trends to watch for in the year ahead. Here goes... 1 | The ‘smart city’ becomes a reality  The idea of a smart city has been in the ‘trough of...

What won’t happen in 2021: industrial 5G-proper (3GPP pushes Release 17 to 2022)

The hype around industrial 5G – the only 5G hype worth getting hyped about – has been knocked off course, after the 3GPP standards group said Release 17 of the 5G New Radio (NR) standard will not be completed until 2020, a year behind...

Improved rural broadband correlates with improved farm productivity: FCC report

Better rural broadband availability has "significant positive impacts on crop yields and other farm production metrics," the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Economics and Analytics found in a new working paper. The report, by economist Katherine LoPiccalo (who previously worked at the FCC but...

Europe agrees “most ambitious” €95.5bn Horizon mega-fund for digital change

The European Council and the European Parliament, representing the governments and citizens of European Union member states, have approved the European Commission’s new €95.5 billion Horizon Europe fund for the period to 2027; they are now to sign the deal off to set in...

Ericsson ignites legal battle with Samsung over royalty payments

Ericsson’s shares fell 8.2% after trading began in Stockholm Ericsson announced that it’s taking Samsung to court in the U.S., alleging that the South Korean company failed to deliver on contractual commitments concerning royalty payments and patent licenses. In a statement, Ericsson said that case involves...