BROWSING: Policy

As the U.S. federal government pours billions of dollars into broadband deployment and adoption, it is also trying to get a better handle on coordination and tracking of those efforts across disparate agencies with different funding mechanisms and program requirements. A new report from...

The future of spectrum is at a crossroads PITTSBURGH, Penn.—Good wireless spectrum is hard to find, and it's getting harder and more complex. There are pressures all the way from the local level to the international one, for leadership in defining new bands that will...

CCA's Donovan: 'It's a pretty wild time in wireless' The Competitive Carriers Association meets this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for its Mobile Carriers Show, amid a policy environment in a fair amount of turmoil, particularly from the spectrum point of view. "We have a full...

In January 2022, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, claiming the deal would lead to “reduced innovation and less choice” in the cloud gaming market. Announced in January...

The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously approved new rules in place that govern how space-based systems coordinate and share spectrum, in an attempt to balance early-mover system protections while enabling newer players to have spectrum access. The changes mark the first work coming out of...

First funding opportunity focuses on testing The Biden administration is officially kicking off the first funding opportunity for the $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which is part of the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year and focuses on federal government's efforts...

NTIA request for comment focuses on guardrails for AI The Biden administration is seeking public comment on developing "AI audits" for artificial intelligence, amid increasing concern about the role of artificial intelligence as more sophisticated AI engines are becoming publicly available. The "AI accountability" request...

FCC's International Bureau will split into a Space Bureau and Office of International Affairs The Federal Communications Commission will officially launch its Space Bureau tomorrow, reflecting the agency's reorganization to deal with increased interest in satellite-based communications. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposed the reorganization late last year...

The battle for market share for satellite connectivity, delivered by non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), is well underway, with satellite companies, telcos and handset vendors all vying for a position in this rapidly growing market. We’ve already seen pioneering moves from a number of high-profile names,...

The Universal Service Fund has survived a challenge to its constitutionality, with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruling that the Federal Communications Commission has the authority to operate the USF and that its current framework for management of the...

One of the constant wireless industry topics of conversation is spectrum: Who is buying what, who is using what, the technical pros and cons of different bands—and how to get more of it in commercial use. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has put...

Carriers are required to block SMS that are "highly likely to be illegal" The Federal Communications Commission has now officially passed rules to require telecommunications operators to block suspicious text messages, calling scam and spam SMS "an increasingly pervasive consumer threat." The FCC said...

Joseph Wassel is a longtime DoD executive technologist with a focus on communications A Department of Defense senior executive who founded and chaired DoD's global working group on public safety communications has been named as the new executive director/CEO of the FirstNet Authority. Joseph Wassel...

'The FCC deadlock ... will remain so for a long time,' Sohn said in withdrawal letter President Joe Biden's nominee to fill the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, has withdrawn from consideration for the seat as a result of the bitter...

The ban could include components already built into networks, said German media According to a German interior ministry paper obtained by Reuters, the country is considering a ban on certain 5G components made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. German media further stated that this...

The White House is pondering more extensive U.S. limitations on the sale of chips and chip-making equipment to Chinese companies, and those could have substantial impacts on Nvidia's ability to sell to Huawei and a lesser impact on Qualcomm, according to press reports on...

Rampant malicious activity in cyberspace hurts individuals, companies, and government agencies, while threatening US national security. The expected release of a new National Cybersecurity Strategy by the Biden Administration is an occasion for us to learn lessons from past efforts to reduce cyber risk,...

New GSMA report looks at how many people have access to mobile broadband but do not use it BARCELONA—You've heard of the digital divide, but how about the "usage gap"? In a new report from GSMA Intelligence, the usage gap in mobile internet refers to...

Scammy texts are on the rise, and the FCC wants operators to block the ones most likely to be fraudulent The Federal Communications Commission is considering new rules that would obligate service providers to block texts that are likely to be scams or spam. FCC...

Extending broadband access has to be the baseline effort to close the digital divide in whatever form it takes, so that the most basic question of, “Is broadband internet service available?” can be answered with a “yes.”  The funding that is pouring into broadband by...

Connecting all Americans needs different solutions in urban vs. rural settings There is a persistent and well-known gap between rural and urban populations in terms of their internet usage. But when you look at sheer numbers, the number of unconnected urban/metro-area users is far larger...

Show me the money: The biggest broadband investment cycle ever Broadband funding is, by and large, one of the few issues with reliable, bipartisan support. It has become an increasingly high priority, as evidenced by the more than $100 billion in federal, state and local...

The most obvious definition of the "digital divide" is a binary one: Either you have internet access, or you don't. But that simplistic approach doesn't capture the nuances of why an individual or household doesn't have internet access, and whether availability is their only...

The past three years have placed unprecedented demands on fixed and mobile broadband networks and underscored broadband as a necessity: A "seismic shift in broadband from being access to entertainment to becoming mission critical for work-from-home, online education, remote healthcare, economic development, and overall...