The need for accurate data pinpointing where broadband service is available and where it is lacking, has never been more important, the FCC said on Thursday when it provided details to state, local and tribal entities with guidance on submitting broadband coverage data as the agency goes full-throttle to develop new maps of high-speed service across the nation. The FCC …
Think tank researcher identifies U.S. mobile wireless speeds are among the best in the world
A constant refrain often heard in the broadband debate is that Internet speeds in the United States are generally far slower than for most other advanced countries. To test that argument, last February the Phoenix Center released a paper entitled Comparative Analysis of Fixed Broadband Speeds in Cities Across the World in which their Chief Economist Dr. George S. Ford compared …
$600 million set aside in Biden’s proposed budget to boost rural broadband
President Joe Biden yesterday unveiled a proposed $5.8 trillion budget for 2023, that included over $600 million for additional broadband funding through the USDA’s ReConnect program, which provides grands and loans to deploy broadband to unserved areas, especially tribal areas. To be eligible for ReConnect Program funding, applicants must serve an area without broadband service at speeds of 100 megabits …
USTelecom releases ‘blueprint’ for $65 billion in infrastructure grants
USTelecom | The Broadband Association, a leading association of connectivity providers and technology innovators, today released a new memo to President Biden and Vice President Harris, Cabinet secretaries, NTIA, FCC, Congress, Tribal leaders and state broadband offices with concrete recommendations to make the most of the $65 billion broadband investment in the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA). USTelecom President …
Four trailblazing pioneers inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame
A trailblazing class of pioneers was inducted into the prestigious Wireless Hall of Fame Thursday night. The event, hosted by the Wireless History Foundation (WHF), a nonprofit organization that has honored the hall of fame members for the past decade, celebrated Pat Riordan, Mark Crosby, Jim Tracy and Ari Fitzgerald. “We were so happy to highlight the accomplishments of the Hall of …
Pelosi’s on again, off again historic infrastructure bill passes with NATE and WIA applauding broadband funding
After months of frustrating attempts to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally achieved success with the support of 13 Republican House members on Friday night. The bill, which received 19 GOP votes in the Senate, was dissociated from the broader social spending package known as Build Back Better “Tonight, we took a monumental step forward as a …
Fischer amendment on broadband will create multi-agency mapping tool for deployment
Organizations and industry groups released statements supporting an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, that passed unanimously during the Senate’s consideration of the bipartisan infrastructure package. The amendment will increase transparency by directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to create a publicly accessible online mapping tool for broadband infrastructure deployment. This …
Infrastructure bill passes the Senate, but Speaker Pelosi is expected to play her trump card to delay it
The Senate this afternoon passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill to rebuild the nation’s crumbling infrastructure with modernized highways, roads, bridges, railways and transit systems as well as provide needed broadband services, after months of intense debate over how to prioritize and pay for President Joe Biden’s plan to boost the U.S. economy. However, the bill now faces potentially lengthy …
Senate puts it in writing: Fiber will not keep wireless from benefitting from $65 Billion broadband bill
A group of senators finalized the legislative text totaling 2,702 pages last night for the long-awaited infrastructure deal, bringing the Senate a step close to passing the administration’s bill that would provide $65 Billion for the nation’s broadband development. Industry lobbyists were relieved when their core concern was struck from the legislation being considered that would have favored high-speed fiber development …
Historic infrastructure deal appears to be days away from banking $65 billion for broadband
Following weeks of negotiations, a bipartisan group of senators have reached a deal on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that provides $65 billion for broadband, the fourth-largest expenditure below $66 billion for rail services, $73 billion for electric grid and power structures, and $110 billion for roads and bridges. Although the final bill is not complete, the Senate can begin …
New interactive mapping service locator provides a ‘sobering view’ of nation’s lack of broadband
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a new publicly available digital map that displays key indicators of broadband needs across the country. This is the first interactive, public map that allows users to explore different datasets about where people do not have quality Internet access. The “Indicators of Broadband Need” tool puts on one map, …
Nokia and AT&T accelerate C-Band rollout with first commercial equipment call
Creating a connection is so much more personal than just devices and networks. For AT&T’s teams who are deploying their 5G network it’s about thinking and working ahead in the race to develop what their customers will need next before they know they need it, the company said in a blog yesterday. That anticipation is what allowed AT&T and Nokia …
SBA CEO Jeffrey Stoops elected WIA Chairman and Tom Kane joins Board of Directors
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) has announced that Jeffrey Stoops, President and CEO of SBA, was elected to serve as Chairman of the WIA’s Board of Directors. A new slate of officers was also elected. The new Chairman and officers include: Chairman: Jeffrey A. Stoops; President and Chief Executive Officer; SBA Communications Corporation Vice Chairman: Alex Gellman, Chief Executive Officer, …
Frontier lied about internet speeds, FTC, 6 states allege in their lawsuit
The Federal Trade Commission, along with law enforcement agencies from six states, sued internet service provider Frontier Communications this week, alleging that the company did not provide many consumers with internet service at the speeds it promised them, and charged many of them for more expensive and higher-speed service than Frontier actually provided. In a complaint, the FTC and its state …
‘Turf-like’ contractor model isn’t sustainable down under: Australian communications union
Over 600 telecommunications technicians across Australia quit installing and repairing National Broadband Network (NBN) services yesterday as part of a National Day of Action, according to the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU). The NBN is an Australia-wide project funded by the Federal Government to provide all homes and businesses with a fast, reliable connection to the internet. Access to …
CCA: FCC is poised to misspend up to $1 billion of rural funds in wealthy, densely populated areas
In a study filed with the Federal Communications Commission, Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) asked the Commission to reconsider awarding Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase I grants to wealthy, densely populated areas that already have access to broadband, and instead direct support to genuinely unserved communities. In a statement, CCA President & CEO Steven K. Berry said, “Pervasive errors in …
Broadband trade groups sue NY over $15 internet mandate. Gov. Cuomo says, ‘Bring it on’
Trade groups representing internet service providers sued the state of New York on Friday, alleging that a new mandate requiring ISPs to offer low-income internet plans capped at $15 each signed two weeks ago oversteps the state’s regulation authority. The lawsuit was filed by industry associations including the New York State Telecommunications Association, CTIA- The Wireless Association, ACA Connects – …
President Biden’s prime-time joint address to Congress provided little time for broadband
If you didn’t have an additional 70 minutes to spare last evening to watch President Biden’s fist-bumping prime-time joint address to Congress to discover how his leadership and administration’s actions will alter the industry, it can be summed up in one sentence: The internet was a science breakthrough, America needs high speed internet, wind turbine blades should be built in …
New Mexico expected to fund blimp broadband study for rural internet
Alphabet Inc.’s Project Loon’s stratosphere balloons received a kick start in 2017 when the company was selected to assist Puerto Rico in providing internet service after Hurricane Maria devastated the island’s cell phone service. However, four years later Alphabet shut down Loon after determining the business is not commercially viable and they couldn’t “get the costs low enough to build …
Lower satellites will provide SpaceX with higher broadband reach thanks to the FCC
The FCC on Tuesday voted to approve a SpaceX plan to deploy some Starlink satellites at a lower earth orbit than planned as part of its push to offer space-based broadband internet. Elon Musk’s SpaceX had asked the FCC for approval to fly 2,824 satellites at a lower orbit as part of the plan to provide high-speed broadband internet services …
