5G Wireless
Celebrating Progress on 5G, the FCC’s Brendan Carr Urges Broadband Mapping
5G crusader Commissioner Brendan Carr voiced pride in the FCC’s focus on 5G over the past four years
FCC Gridlock, FTC’s Investigating Amazon-MGM, Brendan Carr’s USF Proposal Raises Questions
FCC gridlock could hobble president’s wishes, FTC opens investigation into Amazon buy, law professor raises questions about Carr’s USF proposal.
FCC
Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr Optimistic About Finding Common Ground at Agency
March 24, 2021 — Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr said the regulator has since 2017 seen what he wanted: Broadband speed increases and lower prices. “The approach we adopted in 2017 is working,” he said at the Free State Foundation’s 13th annual telecom policy conference on Tuesday.
Net Neutrality
Serious Conversation Needed on Net Neutrality, Says New FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington
February 16, 2021 – Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington said Tuesday that serious conversations need to be had about reforming net neutrality rules. Simington sits on a very different-looking FCC, which includes net neutrality advocates including Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworce
Education
Sen. Ed Markey Celebrates Telecom Act as Telecom Lawyers Tell Congress to Be Specific
February 2, 2021 – Democratic Sen. Ed Markey’s communications policy focus this Congress will be on net neutrality, children and climate change, the long-serving Massachusetts lawmaker said at a Federal Communications Bar Association event Tuesday to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Telecommuni
Broadband Live
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, October 7, 2020 — Champions of Broadband: Randy May
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 12 Noon ET — Champions of Broadband: Randy May Our guest is Randolph J. May, founder and president of The Free State Foundation, an independent, non-profit free market-oriented think tank founded in 2006. May is a past Chair of the Ameri
FCC
The FCC and Relinquished Authority Over Social Media, Amazon’s Worker Surveillance, White Spaces Database
Several trade associations last week notified the Federal Communications Commission that adhering to President Donald Trump’s executive crackdown on social media bias would reverse the agency’s decision to remove net neutrality regulations. In a comment filed on Wednesday, New America told the FCC t
FCC
FCC Announces Winning Bidders in 3.5 GHz Band, Utility Pole Regulation, Cable Monopolization Problem
The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday detailed the results of Auction 105, the recently concluded auction of 70 megahertz of priority access licenses in the 3550-3650 MegaHertz (MHz) band. The auction made available the greatest number of spectrum licenses ever in a single FCC auction,
Infrastructure
Michigan Broadband Cooperative Calls Report Saying Municipal Broadband Has an Unfair Advantage ‘Laughable’
June 30, 2020 — The Michigan Broadband Cooperative is hitting back at a report from the Free State Foundation that claims that local governments in Michigan frequently abuse broadband restrictions placed on them. Theodore Bolema, professor of economics at Wichita State University, wrote that the gov
Broadband Roundup: GOP Broadband Framework, Reassessing Eligible Telecommunications Requirements, Boycotting Facebook Ads
June 22, 2020 — House and Senate Republican leaders released principles to guide legislation aiming to close the digital divide in the age of COVID-19 on Thursday. The connectivity initiative was led by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and House Energy & Commerce Ranking Mem
Broadband Roundup: Economic Benefits of 5G, Lifeline Process Streamlined for Tribes, Maine’s Effort to Protect User Privacy
5G is an important driver of economic growth, wrote James Prieger, a professor of economic and public policy at Pepperdine University, in a report for the Free State Foundation Monday. Investments in 5G networks contribute directly to national GDP, creating jobs, accelerating business practices, and
Spectrum
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Attempts to Broker Agreement Between Satellite and Broadband for the C-Band
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2020 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced a reimbursement plan for incumbents offering satellite service in the C-Band in order to facilitate a public auction that is scheduled to begin December 8, 2020, Pai said Thursday. Speaking at the Informatio
Net Neutrality
Two Critics of Broadband Regulation Lament How Broadband Utility Advocates are ‘Taking their Case’ to American Public
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014 – The best way to prevent the internet from “fundamentally changing” is to not “fundamentally change internet regulation,” according to Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai. In a speech that attempted to rally the faithful to his “light touch regulation” approach, th
Broadband's Impact
Critics on Both Ends of the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules, With a Few Supporters in the Middle
WASHINGTON, May 19, 2014 – The Federal Communication Commission’s effort to thread the needle on net neutrality with regulations that will withstand legal scrutiny while also satisfying open internet activists led to starkly divided responses to the Thursday measure. In the camp expressing disappoi
Broadband's Impact
Everyone Finds Something to Like in FCC Approval of Wireless T-Mobile/MetroPCS Merger
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2013 – The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday announced their approval of the proposed merger of mobile wireless carriers T-Mobile and MetroPCS. Two years after the two agencies nixed AT&T’s attempted acquisition of T-Mobile on antitrus
Broadband's Impact
Free State Foundation Panel Calls for USF, Intercarrier Compensation Reform
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2011 – The Free State Foundation, a free-market think thank, assembled key industry experts Wednesday and pressed for the immediate need for reforms to the Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation systems. For the past year, the Federal Communications Commission has
