Policy

As Congress works to hash out a federal budget, the Federal Communications Commission is warning that the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides monthly subsidies to help American families pay for broadband services, will have to end unless it receives an …

The Biden administration announced an agreement with semiconductor producer Microchip Technologies to expand its domestic production capacity of legacy chips, supported with $162 million in financial incentives funded through the CHIPS and Science Act. This is the second agreement announced …

GSMA hails “groundbreaking spectrum decisions” from WRC-23 The World Radiocommunications Conference of 2023 (WRC-23) has wrapped up its weekslong meeting in Dubai, emerging with a global consensus on harmonization of spectrum bands for mobile services as well as regulations for …

Bill is headed to President Joe Biden’s desk Congress has passed a bill that would enable T-Mobile US and other winners in the most recent auction of 2.5 GHz licenses to take ownership of spectrum licenses that were acquired during …

National spectrum strategy identifies five bands totaling nearly 2,800 megahertz, with emphasis on the midband The Biden administration has proposed a long-awaited spectrum pipeline of five candidate bands for near-term study and development, totaling 2,786 megahertz with an emphasis on …

Artificial intelligence is being explored to improve customer service with smarter chatbots, dispatch network technicians more efficiently and automate simple, highly manual network operations tasks. It’s also being co-opted by bad actors to fuel smarter robocall and text scams, according …

How fast should internet access be, to be considered “broadband”? The Federal Communications Commission wants to increase the minimum required speed for broadband, which it currently considers to be at least 25 Mbps upstream and 3 Mbps downstream, to 100/20 …

T-Mobile’s legal team reportedly called the class action suit ‘unprecedented and speculative’ T-Mobile US has been hit with an antitrust lawsuit related to its 2020 acquisition of Sprint after a U.S. judge ruled in favor of a class action filed …

Another $3.1 billion would fully fund eligible carrier requests The Biden administration has asked Congress for an additional $3.1 billion to fully fund small-and-medium-sized network operators’ efforts to remove and replace network gear and services from banned Chinese vendors. The …

Federal E-Rate funds can be used to outfit school busses with Wi-Fi access points, the Federal Communications Commission has declared. The declaratory ruling was supported by the Commission’s three Democrats, and opposed by its two Republicans. Commissioners Brendan Carr and …

The economics of access and adoption, plus the need for Wi-Fi equipment upgrades, are barriers to achieving universal gigabit service The European Union has laid out ambitious connectivity goals for member states, including universal access to 100 Mbps service by …

Chips, Open RAN, 6G … governments around the world are pouring investment into tech, hoping to gain a strategic and economic advantage. The US government wants to offer relatively modest funding and maintain a market-driven approach—but it knows it can’t …

AT&T and the Rural Wireless Association are taking issue with SpaceX’s plans to launch and test a new satellite with cellular capabilities, part of Starlink’s collaboration with T-Mobile US to leverage T-Mo’s midband spectrum for satellite-based direct-to-cellular communications, including emergency …

Ligado claims that DoD has previously undisclosed systems running in its spectrum and has sued for compensation Ligado Networks has filed suit against the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and …

New consumer broadband labeling must be in place next year The Federal Communications Commission has laid out the deadlines for broadband service providers to put in place new consumer labeling that, much like nutrition labeling, is meant to give consumers …

New global organization will focus on “shared priorities” including open networks and diversifying the telecom supply chain The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan have joined together to form the new Global Coalition on Telecommunications (GCOT). The …

Dish has six months to complete drive testing to confirm its network speeds The Federal Communications Commission has confirmed to Dish Wireless that it has met its 5G build-out requirements and two of three related commitments, with one set of …

Carr, Starks confirmed to five-year terms The U.S. Senate has confirmed two FCC commissioners to five-year terms. Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks were confirmed by voice vote late Saturday, amid a rush by federal legislators to avoid a government shutdown. …

With a fifth Federal Communications Commissioner newly seated to round out a Democratic majority on the Commission, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is reviving the prospect of Title II-based, or “net neutrality”, regulation of mobile and fixed internet services by the Federal …

Big Tech companies have profited greatly from dominant market positions while riding largely for free over the top of fixed and mobile telecom networks and devices. The entire Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) ecosystem is enabled by a variety of …

Anna Gomez confirmed to fill FCC seat Three years into the Biden administration, the Federal Communications Commission finally has all five seats filled. The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm telecom law and policy veteran Anna Gomez as an …

NTIA holds firm that ‘close to 90%’ of materials involved in BEAD projects should be made in the United States With more than $42 billion poised to pour out in support of broadband deployment projects across the United States, the …

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making its mark as a game-changer. With its ability to analyze vast amounts of data, automate processes and enhance customer experiences, AI is revolutionizing policy and connectivity like never before. My interest in AI dates back …

Everybody else is doing it, so why can’t we? A new CTIA report breaks down how lower-midband spectrum at is being used for 5G—and already co-existing—with U.S. military systems in use around the world, and urges federal regulators to segment …

Intel announced the deal in February 2022 and hoped it would help scale its foundry services Intel has terminated the $5.4 billion deal to acquire Israel-based chip company Tower Semiconductor, citing regulatory hurdles. The deal, announced in February 2022, was …