WASHINGTON, September 15, 2017 — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Thursday announced the appointment of wireless broadband advocate L. Elizabeth Bowles to lead the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. “[Bowles] has made great contributions to the BDAC and its working groups already, and she brings to the table a combination of talents and… Keep Reading
Live Streaming at 2017 NATOA Annual ConferenceNATOA is pleased to announce that we will once again be streaming select sessions during our 2017 Annual Conference this week. Use this link to watch the sessions live from Seattle, WA. Source: Live Streaming at 2017 NATOA Annual Conference Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Some insights from those soon to be in the eye of Hurricane Irma, from David Oxenford’s Broadband Law Blog: FCC Issues Guidance for Broadcasters and Other Regulated Services in the Path of Hurricane Irma | Broadcast Law Blog The FCC has issued a series of public notices to broadcasters and other FCC-regulated… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 16, 2017 —President Donald Trump on Monday signed a new executive order to streamline the nation’s infrastructure permitting processes.The order, which Trump signed during a ceremony at his New York City residence, will “ensure that the Federal environmental review and permitting process for infrastructure projects is coordinated, predictable, and transparent.” Major infrastructure projects — which… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: We’ve been enjoying our participation in this webinar series of the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration. It has now run for one year. However, the webinar series is taking a break for the month of August, so don’t expect an event this Wednesday! BroadbandUSA presents a webinar on the… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Here’s my piece in the Deseret News, responding to information about the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency that simply isn’t correct. I discuss why cities need to open up their thinking about using fiber as a utility, and why cities are going to be in the game for a long time yet to come.… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 2, 2017 — A pair of senators on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan bill which they hope will improve wireless networks in underserved rural areas of the United States. The aptly named Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (AIRWAVES) Act, introduced by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, and Cory Gardner,… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A good attempt to “decode” the furor surrounding Facebook’s artificial intelligence experiment, and all of those chattering robots. Scare stories aside, the opportunity for machine intelligence and human intelligence to complement each other is truly remarkable. The ‘creepy Facebook AI’ story that captivated the media | Facebook has been experimenting with AIs that… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2017 — Omissions in sworn testimony by Federal Commissions Commission Republican nominee Brendan Carr regarding his representation of various telecommunications providers won’t cause any delay in his upcoming confirmation vote, Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Bill Nelson, D-Fla, told BroadbandBreakfast.com on Monday. Carr, who currently serves as general counsel to the FCC… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2017 — President Donald Trump is committed to moving an infrastructure bill this year despite making little legislative progress towards on other policy goals, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday. “The President has been very outspoken on the need for a massive overhaul to the country’s infrastructure system,”… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2017 – At a Wednesday confirmation hearing for Peter Davidson to be general counsel of the Department of Commerce and others, Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Florida, said the country needed data-driven leadership. Chairman John Thune, R-South Dakota, introduced Davidson and the other nominees. Davidson was senior vice president of… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 28, 2017 – The New America Foundation’s wireless project promoted a hybrid fiber and wireless technology approach at a Tuesday event, “Shared Spectrum as a Fiber Extension,” discussing ways to make high-speed broadband internet more available through an additional 500 megahertz of wireless spectrum. Moderated by Michael Calabrese, director of the wireless future… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 – The official topic of Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing was reauthorization of the Federal Communications Commission, but the big focus was on net neutrality. “The Commission’s decision in 2015 to reclassify the internet as a public utility was a power grab laced with the irony of suffocating the… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Our friend Craig Settles probes the question: How can rural areas get better broadband? Equally important, he provides some concrete examples of where and how it is happening. Broadband and Rural Economices – Maybe Small is Better | Rural communities should set realistic goals for how broadband will affect the economy. Even… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2017 – With Congress heading towards the August recess without any sign of the administration’s promised $1 trillion infrastructure plan, President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order creating a new Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure. The advisory council – which will operate under the auspices of the Commerce Department –… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2017 – Rural areas of Tennessee have lost business because they don’t have access to high-speed internet, Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn said Monday at a panel on broadband infrastructure hosted by the Brookings Institution. Trump was aggressively pushing new infrastructure, said Blackburn, the chairwoman of the House Energy and Commerce Communications… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 24, 2017 – Even though People are now streaming emergencies on Facebook, but there is not yet a way to stream videos to 911, said Patrick Halley, executive director of the NG911 Institute, on Capitol Hill on July 17. The NG911 Institute is a nonprofit organization that promotes advanced 911 services. The event… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: One of the first groups to begin the movement toward a Gigabit City, KC Digital Drive, prepares for its Gigabit City Summit next week in Kansas City. Take advantage of opportunities to learn about how your city can benefit from fiber-optic connectivity! Why a Gigabit City Summit?, by Gigabit City Summit The… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: We’ll look forward to further clarification about this issue from Verizon. This appears to be one documented instance of a network provider attempting to slow down video of a non-optimized service. Or in other words, a prime suspect of the need for some kind of net neutrality rules. Netflix speeds on Verizon Wireless… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2017 – Speaking at a meeting of the agency’s newly-form Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly put forward his view that state and local governments are creating barriers to broadband deployment across the United States. “Broadband deployment remains a top priority of this Commission,” O’Rielly said. “It’s more than… Keep Reading