WASHINGTON, November 17, 2014 – Federal Communications Committee Chairman Tom Wheeler and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., on Monday proposed increasing the $1.5 billion cap to the E-rate portion of the Universal Service Fund. Schools and libraries, who would benefit from such an increase, have been calling for it for years now. Despite requests for E-rate… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014 –High-capacity internet and networked services are the future of education because they will provide instructors and students with the necessary connectivity and capacity for 21st century educational technologies, said the Indiana state director of Education Networks of America at the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition conference here last week.
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WASHINGTON, October 1, 2014 – Smartphones are about to become “NSA-proof,” according to the Washington Post. In the wake of continued stream of information about surveillance by the National Security Agency, Google and Apple are making device encryption a standard feature in their newest software releases in an effort to ease consumer concern about government… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 29, 2014 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said that the agency was committed to modernizing the E-rate program. He made the statement in remarks at the 2014 Educational Technology Summit here in Washington. Schools and libraries participating in the FCC’s E-rate program must pay the best rates available for high-speed connectivity. He said the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2014 –Verizon Communications and AT&T are urging the Federal Communications Commission to include the use of data caps in the agency’s definition of broadband. Including usage-based pricing in its definition is important because companies that use universal service funds to build networks in rural areas must accept the standards laid out in… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2014 – In a phone conference on July 1, in the lead-up to last week’s open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission, agency officials discussed Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal to modify the E-rate program. The agency seeks to spend more funds on Wi-Fi gap connectivity within schools around the country and maximize the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2014 – In an effort to combat ongoing complaints of inefficiency within the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund, Chairman Tom Wheeler on Monday announced a strike force dedicated to “rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse.” To be led by Loyaan Egal, a former public corruption attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2014 – Satellite TV provider Dish Network is lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to block Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable, according to National Journal. Charlie Ergen, chairman of Dish, told FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler that “serious competitive concerns” would arise from the deal and that Comcast would effectively control “choke points”… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 8, 2014 – Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly supports modernizing the E-Rate program, but not if it means increasing the “ever growing strain on [the average American’s] pocketbook,” he wrote in a blog post Monday. The solution to increasing the program size, O’Rielly said, is to cut spending to outdated technologies, like long… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 7, 2014 – As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote on E-Rate modernization July 11, some educators are “threatening to derail” the process according to The Hill. These educators have criticized Chairman Tom Wheeler’s proposal for focusing large sums of funding on Wi-Fi while neglecting to increase the overall E-Rate budget. The… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 25, 2014 – Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, have raised concerns over the proposed Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, according to Broadcasting & Cable. At issue is the potential for a reduction in outlets for traditional video programming, innovation in broadband, and price… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 23, 2014 – The Federal Communications Commission announced that its open meeting on July 11 will center on closed captioning of internet protocol-delivered video clips, the Connect America Fund’s rural broadband expansion, and modernizing E-Rate to deliver digital learning. Tom Wheeler explained more about the E-Rate modernization plan in a blog post on… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 3, 2014 – A group of more than 40 members of Congress have urged the Federal Communications Commission to modernize the E-Rate program of connectivity for schools and libraries. More specifically, the group is calling for ”100 [Megabits per second] of bandwith or more for every 1,000 students and staff workers today, and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 28, 2014 – The National Journal reported that the Federal Trade Commission released a report charging the data brokerage industry with collecting “troves” of information on nearly all American consumers. The agency urged Congress to push for more transparency. Believing that an invasive collection of personal data could harm consumers, the FTC recommended… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON – A widely supported program intended to subsidize internet access for schools and libraries continues to fall short of its goals, according to a recent report from the Federal Communications Commission. The E-Rate program offers subsidies for schools and libraries to obtain broadband connectivity, but due to administrative hurdles most recipients respondenting to an… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 11, 2010 - The Justice Department revealed Wednesday that it has reached a $16.25 million civil settlement with Hewlett-Packard for alleged E-rate fraud, following an investigation with the Federal Communications Commission. The program funds internet connections in schools and libraries. HP's payment will flow back into the fund. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, September 24, 2010 - The Federal Communications Commission has decided to allow the E-rate program to subsidize more than basic internet service. Keep Reading
Washington, February 16, 2010 - Federal Communications Commission chief Julius Genachowski previewed the agency’s upcoming plan to outfit the nation with broadband access at a winter committee meeting of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 14, 2010 - Broadband Census News LLC on Thursday released, for FREE, the full-length video of the Broadband Breakfast Club event on January 12, 2010: "Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan: Education and Distance Learning." Don't Miss BroadbandBreakfast.com's forthcoming Town Hall Webcast on Tuesday, January 19, 2010: "Net Neutrality, Copyright Protection and the National Broadband Plan." Among the speakers at the webcast include FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Registration for the live webcast is available for FREE at http://ipbreakfast.eventbrite.com. There is a $45.00 charge to attend the breakfast in person. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2010 - Representatives from the federal government, educational organizations, trade associations, and school districts came together to discuss the state of broadband in our educational system and what can be expected from the national broadband plan under development by the Federal Communications Commission. The session, the January Broadband Breakfast Club, commenced with a presentation by Steve Midgley, Director of Education at the Federal Communications Commission. Midgley began with a brief background of the national broadband plan mandate and the national purposes behind it. He said that he believed that aside from the necessary deployment and adoption data that will be included in the plan, the success of the plan hinges on the agency’s answer to this specific question of Congress: “why are we building this network?” To address this question, Midgley paired the priorities of the Department of Education with the four core strategies of the broadband plan’s education component. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 17, 2009 – The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday laid out a rough draft of its national broadband plan after weighing through 66,000 pages of written comments, 27 public notices, 100 items posted on its “blogband” web site, and 700 blog comment posted to the record. But the agency says it is still difficult to answer key questions that must be addressed within two months time, or by February 17, 2010. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 9, 2009 - Mayors and state elected officials emphasized the value and importance of local engagement in initiatives designed to promote high-speed internet access at a Wednesday morning workshop at the Federal Communications Commission. Three Commissioners plus Chief Diversity Officer Mark Lloyd gathered to discuss the particular role that local and state governments have in promoting broadband for under-served communities. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 2, 2009 - The nation's cable television and internet providers are once again making an aggressive push for broadband stimulus funds to be spent on "demand-side" programs as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association announced a pilot program for "Adoption Plus" - a proposal to promote broadband adoption for nearly 3.5 million children of middle school age. The children targeted by the program live in around 1.8 million low-income households that are eligible for the National School Lunch Program and do not receive broadband services. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 - The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday voted to advance the nominations of Julius Genachowski and Robert McDowell to serve on the Federal Communications Commission. If approved by the full Senate, Genachowski would serve as chairman and McDowell would serve a second term on the regulatory body. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2009 - Broadband adoption is widely viewed as spurring innovation, but $7.2 billion had stakeholders gathered at Monday’s public meeting on broadband funding to offer comments on what sort of "innovative programs" could make best use of the funding. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 28 – By combining better public information, market mechanisms and smarter systems of subsidization, the government can play a positive role in funding infrastructure investments in telecommunications, according to three reports released Friday by the Brookings Institution. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 14 – A study about broadband adoption by the Phoenix Center is a better gage of United States deployment than the higher-profile reports of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a Republican Federal Communications Commissioner said Monday. Keep Reading
June 20 - All Americans, whether they be poor, handicapped, or rural, have the right to universal broadband service, Rep. Ed Markey said on Friday. The congressman also blasted the compromise foreign surveillance legislation that passed Congress on Friday. Keep Reading