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
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
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: 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, 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
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
OREM, Utah, July 6, 2017 – The founder of the Broadband Breakfast Club, journalist and lawyer Drew Clark, announced his candidacy for city council here with a campaign seeking to tap into “Better Broadband, Better Lives.” Orem is the fifth-largest city in Utah, home to Utah Valley University, and a sister city to Provo, the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 3, 2017 – Self-driving vehicles could reduce congestion, supplement public transit systems and help the elderly and disabled travel safely, said Jeffrey Massimilla, chief product cybersecurity officer of Product Cybersecurity for General Motors, at a Federal Trade Commission workshop on Wednesday. Maureen Ohlhausen, acting chairman of the FTC, said that most new cars… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2017 – Self-driving vehicles will be able to help the disabled and elderly reach their destinations, said David Strickland, counsel for the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets, at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. The hearing was hosted by the Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2017 – Among rural Americans, 39 percent lack access to high speed internet compared to only 4 percent of urban Americans who lack access, said Rep. Rod Blum, R-Iowa, at a hearing Thursday on Capitol Hill. He said more needs to be done to get rural Americans service on par with urban… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2017 – Without efficient data, the Federal Communications Commission can’t put together a model that shows what the cost would be to cover areas with no wireless coverage, the senior vice president of strategic relations of the broadband company C Spire said at a hearing on Tuesday. The hearing on Capitol Hill… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: We can expect many more instances in which new interfaces are making technology more compatible with user needs. Underlying it all is faster and better broadband technology. || Microsoft Cortana Speech Recognition Now Allows You To Dictate Text In Office Apps, from Geeky Gadgets: c is bringing Cortana speech recognition technology to… Keep Reading
Editor’s Note: From the press gaggle on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, between White House Deputy Press Secretary Lindsay Waters, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, and members of the press, about broadband internet services: PRESS GAGGLE BY DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY LINDSAY WALTERS SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE SONNY PERDUE Aboard Air Force One En Route Cedar Rapids, Iowa… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2017 — President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would add broadband internet access to his $1 trillion infrastructure proposal drew praise from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai despite the lack of details regarding how the Trump Administration would go about promoting more widespread broadband deployment. “I am grateful to President Trump for his… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2017 — The White House on Thursday plans to continue its “tech week” by hosting a group of 25 technology company founders and CEOs to meet with Trump Administration officials on new technologies and promoting economic progress, Deputy Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios said on Wednesday. “Tomorrow I’m very excited for [the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2017 — Cuts in the Federal Communications Commission budget won’t hinder the agency’s ability to provide services because the agency is entirely funded by fees, Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told senators on Tuesday during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing to examine the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request. “[W]e have compiled… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 21, 2017 — President Donald Trump on Monday kicked off the White House’s “tech week” by calling for a “sweeping transformation of the federal government’s technology” while speaking during the first meeting of the American Technology Council. The effort of information technology company CEOs – which Trump called an “incredible group” during their… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2017 – Internet freedom has declined worldwide for six consecutive years, said Stuart Brotman, a nonresident fellow at the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution, citing Freedom House at a panel Wednesday. The panel about global internet freedom under the Trump administration took place at Brookings. Besides moderator Brotman, the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2017 – The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2Health Task Force last week announced updates to a broadband mapping platform to allow communities and businesses to better use high-speed internet to help patients with chronic health conditions. “As a famous writer once said, ‘data are just summaries of thousands of stories,’” Michele Ellison, chairwoman… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2017 — Despite myriad public events and a soundbyte-friendly title of “Infrastructure Week,” last week the White House was light on infrastructure and nearly empty of plans to build out 21st century digital infrastructure of fiber or wireless broadband. “There’s not going to be a lot of detail at this time,” a… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2017 – Two organizations supportive of municipal broadband advocacy efforts last week issued differing reports critical of a May 24 report by a University of Pennsylvania professor. The report, by Christopher Yoo and Timothy Pfenninger, was titled “Municipal Fiber in the United States: An Empirical Assessment of Financial Performance,” and it concluded… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2017 – Champions, partnerships and flexibility are necessary to bring fiber-optic networks to less-populated communities, said participants involved in launching such a network in Kent County, Maryland. Speaking at a Friday panel was hosted at the Schools Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition Annual Conference here, the executive director of the State Education… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2017 – Providing broadband service to schools, libraries and other nonprofit organizations is more difficult than commercial customers because of the way they struggle with funding, said Katherine Messier of Mobile Beacon at a Friday panel at the 2017 conference of the Schools, Health, and Libraries Broadband Coalition. Mobile Beacon, a nonprofit… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: In a conference call with reporters, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said that governors and mayors are scheduled meet at the White House with President Donald Trump for a session focused on efficiently using tax dollars for infrastructure projects.|| Trump to Push for U.S. Infrastructure Overhaul of Roads, Bridges, Air Traffic,… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2017 — Infrastructure plans in President Donald Trump’s 2018 budget represent a significant break from his predecessor not only in the brick-and-mortar variety, but also in the next generation of infrastructure for the next generation of the American economy — wired and wireless broadband networks. While infrastructure investment under President Barack Obama… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: While there are a lot of uncertainties about timing – and how it meshes with tax legislation – the White House is pressing forward with its “vision” for infrastructure, which is primarily one of melding public and private forces to rebuild physical backbone of America. This is not all bad, as public-private partnerships… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The Huntsville combination of open access and leased fiber is a model to watch! || Google Fiber launches in Huntsville, Alabama by leasing new municipal fiber network, from 9to5 Google: First announced over a year ago, Google Fiber is now live in Huntsville, Alabama. Alphabet’s internet connectivity division was able to launch its service… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Always important to get to the bottom of reports criticizing municipal networks in an incomplete fashion. Bravo to Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Next Century Cities for addressing these. || Addressing UPenn Report: Dud Data, Unsuitable Approach, from Institute for Local Self-Reliance: For the second week in row, our staff has felt… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: United States broadband speeds are continuing to rise, according to Akamai’s periodic “state of the internet” report. The more urban “states,” including Rhode Island, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, conventionally do better in these rankings than less-dense states. || Akamai: Average U.S. Broadband Speed Rises to 18.7 Mbps, from Telecompetitor: The… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Mixed signals emerging from Office of Management Budget about the role of infrastructure in the Trump administration plan. Trump Budget Said to Include $200 Billion for Infrastructure, from Bloomberg: President Donald Trump will propose spending $200 billion in federal funds over 10 years to spur investment in the nation’s infrastructure, a senior… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: The best time to release a budget? When the president is away on a foreign trip! Trump to Propose $1.4 Trillion in Cuts to Non-Defense Agencies, from GovExec President Trump, in budget documents to be released on Tuesday, will propose shrinking spending at non-defense agencies by $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years, with… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Even in areas where information technology is booming, like Utah, it’s important to consider the impact that the adoption of broadband technology will have on those who are “less connected.” A look at how Digital Inclusion applies in Utah. || Increasing Digital Inclusion In Utah: ‘The more the tech community understands digital inclusion… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 5, 2017 – Open access networks are becoming more real for gigabit connectivity in the United States, according to panelists attending the Broadband Communities Summit here this week. The conference was notable in having numerous, positive discussions of the “three-tiered” model: One entity owns the fiber infrastructure, a second entity operates the gigabit… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: An example of the convergence of the Washington and Silicon Valley elites, in the form of technology and broadband taking over (at least one portion of) our world. || Campaign and White House veterans who in years past would have turned their resumes & connections into cushy jobs are headed west to… Keep Reading
In the battle to deploy broadband, cooperatives (co-ops) can be a decisive force to cover the rural flanks in states with aggressive broadband adoption goals such as California, New York, and Minnesota. In the more rural states, or ones without stated commitments to broadband, co-ops may have to carry the lion’s share of responsibility if… Keep Reading
DALLAS, May 1, 2017 – One of the biggest puzzles in broadband today is a financial conundrum: Our nation needs next-generation networks everywhere, but advanced internet capacity is spotty at best. One solution to the problem of financing universal broadband networks — on display in Ammon, Idaho — will be presented at the Rural Telecommunications… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: A new report from the Haas Institute raises the question that’s been lurking behind the important-to-significant fiber rollouts over the past decade by Verizon, Google and AT&T: Are these providers cherry-picking their neighborhoods? This report drills deeply into AT&T’s deployment. || Digital Divide in California, by the Haas Institute: Californians need high-speed… Keep Reading
DALLAS, April 25, 2017 – What kind of workplaces and economic environment are rural areas likely to experience in the future? At the Rural Telecommunications Congress program here at the 2017 Broadband Communities Summit next week, two of the sessions on Wednesday, May 3, will feature address that question. First, we’ll hear a “case study”… Keep Reading