The FCC has granted five telecom companies’ requests for additional time to “rip and replace” Chinese-manufactured equipment due to a shortfall of funding, supply chain issues, and workforce shortages due to factors beyond their control. The agency agreed to delay their deadlines, extending them all into 2024 with the following new dates: WorldCell, May 20, 2024; Mediacom, January 15, 2024; …
Midco sells its towers and is sold on Sioux Falls as its new headquarters
Midco announced that it sold its tower portfolio to K2Towers. The companies did not reveal the amount of the transaction nor how many towers were in the agreement. However, according to Midcontinent Communications’ registrations with the FCC, the company has 33 structures. In a statement, Midco said the sale further solidifies the company’s commitment to delivering exceptional broadband services to …
Charleston’s historic skyline is degraded by a 5G mono toilet paper pole: residents
Founded 353 years ago, the City of Charleston, SC, is one of America’s most beautifully preserved architectural and historical treasures. It boasts the first public college, museum, and playhouse in the U.S., and unfortunately, as The Post and Courier has labeled it, the first “toilet paper tower” that has become a “prominent and regrettable Charleston landmark.” The publication’s editorial excoriated the erection …
Maui cell site outages drop considerably as death toll rises to 111 with possibly 1,000 still missing
Although cell phone coverage has improved significantly in Maui today with only five out of 21 cell sites on the west coast out of service, the death toll has risen to 111, and according to authorities, more than 1,000 people are estimated still to be missing. The five sites represent an out of service amount of 24%, about half of …
Almost half of Maui’s cell sites are operational in six impacted areas as communications on the island improves
Since yesterday, when 90% of cell sites were out of service in six hard-hit cities on Maui following the deadly wildfire that swept through the island’s west coast, carriers have considerably recovered, with 48% of sites being operational today. Ten out of 21 cell sites are in service, according to the FCC’s Communications Status Report of August 15, 2023. The …
FCC nominee Gomez advances to Senate floor despite Ted Cruz’s protests, Carr and Starks are renominated
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation voted today to bring nominations for the Federal Communications Commission to a floor vote against dissent from multiple Republican senators. The vote considered the renomination of commissioners Brendan Carr and Geoffrey Starks and the nomination of Democrat Anna Gomez, who currently serves as senior advisor for international information and communications policy in …
Dish meets its 70% buildout deadline with assistance of three major towerco partners
Dish Wireless announced yesterday that as of June 14, the carrier is offering 5G broadband service to over 70 percent of the U.S. population, giving more than 240 million Americans access to its technology. This marks a significant milestone for Dish and the U.S. telecom industry, as Dish designed, built, and deployed a first-of-its-kind 5G network in three years. Dish …
FCC’s systems have been down for the past week and may be unavailable for the foreseeable future
The FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS) is currently down and not accessible to the public. This includes the Commission’s License Manager, License Search, Application Search, Tower Construction Notification System, E-106 System, Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) Online Filing, ASR Application Search, ASR Registration Search, TOWAIR, and all ULS Specialized Searches. The systems are anticipated to be down until at least next …
FCC’s report shows Guam’s cell site outage at 20%, three weeks after Typhoon Mawar crippled the island’s power
After Typhoon Mawar tore through Guam, the second largest U.S. territory, on May 24, the FCC identified that 60% of its 327 cell sites were down. Two days later, it increased to 70%. However, in today’s report, that number has considerably improved, with the agency showing that only 19.9% are out of service. Seven were due to damage, ten due …
FCC issues a $5,134,500 penalty for illegal robocalling; a whopping $4,500 for each call made
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted a $5,134,500 fine against John M. Burkman, Jacob Alexander Wohl, and J.M. Burkman & Associates LLC for making 1,141 unlawful robocalls. In this unanimous decision, the FCC rejected the arguments asserted by the parties in their response to the Commission’s 2021 proposed fine in this case. The robocalls, in this case, made on August …
FCC updates national broadband map to fix nationwide accuracy challenges
The FCC took another step forward in its effort to develop the best and most accurate broadband maps ever built in the United States. In a note, to understand why requires a bit of history, said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “For decades, the Commission produced broadband maps based on census blocks. In practice, this meant that if there was high-speed internet …
Biden plans to pick NTIA lawyer Anna Gomez for FCC to end agency deadlock: Bloomberg
President Joe Biden plans to select veteran government lawyer and former National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) acting Administrator Anna Gomez to serve on the Federal Communications Commission and give the agency its first Democratic majority of his presidency, according to Bloomberg. Gomez will fill the long-vacant fifth FCC seat. The timing of a formal announcement appeared to be imminent, …
A taste of 5G spectrum offerings is more easily explained using its constituent flavors
By John Paleski Mobile broadband businesses were eager to shell out over $120 billion during FCC auctions to acquire spectrum blocks to roll out 5G. That’s understandable since they needed it to lay the groundwork for fifth-generation wireless services. However, understanding what 5G is and the spectrums used to offer transformational speeds and capabilities that can open the door to …
RWA alerts the FCC to a rip-and-replace carrier that is $5 million over budget and only 15% completed
The Rural Wireless Association (RWA) filed a May 9 New York Times article with the FCC yesterday on the plight of small carriers such as Alabama-based Pine Belt Communications as they wait for Congress to fully fund the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program. RWA asked that the article, ‘Rip and Replace’: The Tech Cold War is Upending Wireless Carriers, …
FCC issues new broadband funding map with corrected data issues
The Office of Economics and Analytics, in conjunction with the Wireline Competition Bureau, has released the Broadband Funding Map. The map and its underlying data can be found here. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) requires the Commission “to establish an online mapping tool to provide a locations overview of the overall geographic footprint of each broadband infrastructure deployment project …
NY AG fines three companies $615K for faked net neutrality comments that swayed the FCC
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday that her office had secured $615,000 from three companies, LCX, Lead ID, and Ifficient, that supplied millions of fake public comments to influence a 2017 proceeding by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to repeal net neutrality rules. Net neutrality prohibits broadband providers from blocking, slowing down, or charging companies to prioritize certain …
Former Chairman Pai’s wish to lessen security gets a tepid response as FCC moves forward with reporting percentage
The FCC voted unanimously yesterday to move forward on a proposal requiring carriers operating in the U.S. to report their ownership information more regularly to combat national security threats and allow the agency to get a better picture of the ownership of authorized companies. At the open meeting, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel capsuled the Commissioners’ concerns that the information is …
Once tough on China carrier security, former FCC Chairman turned investor wants FCC’s security proposal watered down to raise capital
In advance of Thursday’s FCC open meeting, where the Commission will consider an order and notice of proposed rulemaking that would protect the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure from threats in a national security and law enforcement landscape, a former FCC Chairman and Commissioner have registered their concerns that one area is to stringent and could affect investments in their company. Former …
Communication worker safety zone cost questioned as FCC sweeps old pole standard ‘under the rug’: Duke
Duke Energy is claiming that the FCC improperly used its authority to award AT&T “significant rate reductions and massive (though incalculable) refunds” in its opening brief filed last week with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in its petition for review of an FCC November order denying it reconsideration in a pole attachment rate dispute with AT&T. Duke’s petition stems …
TIA’s BEAD summit will thread the way for contractors and suppliers to take advantage of $42 billion in funding
Recent trade shows have explored opportunities that will become available through the Broadband Access and Employment Program’s (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), providing States approximately $42 billion to deploy broadband in America where it is not located. However, they were typically 45-minute sessions that often scratched the surface, leaving many unanswered questions. Fortunately, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) is …
