WASHINGTON, March 16, 2018 – Questions about how the federal government will be involved in rolling out the next-generation infrastructure for wireless, known as 5G (for 5th generation) remained after a Wednesday infrastructure hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee. “With the rise of the internet and cell phones, we face the new challenge of building… 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 30, 2014 - Internet service providers are adopting more usage-based pricing models and consumers may be using the internet less as a result, according to preliminary results from a Government Accountability Office study. Consumers may also be neglecting benefits of lower-cost models due to confusion over data caps, the report found. "In the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 13, 2010 - The United States plans to take actions to promote broadband similar to other nations, but achieving the goals will be challenging, says a new government report. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 26, 2010 - A new government report released publicly on Thursday reviews changes in the wireless industry since 2000 and addresses its effects, including carrier consolidation and competitiveness. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2010- With a vote of 290-131 the House of Representatives has passed the Telework Improvements Act of 2010 which expands telework options for federal employees. During the snow storms which occurred this past winter the federal government lost $71 million in productivity for each day of the four days it was closed. Originally the cost was estimated at $100 million but it was decreased after the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determined that 30 percent of federal employees teleworked during the storm. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 5, 2010 - BroadbandBreakfast.com has been actively covering the workshops of the Federal Communications Commission as the agency prepares its national broadband plan. We have covered all of the workshops since late August. In preparation for assembling the complete collection of articles, BroadbandBreakfast.com reporters are returning to the beginning of the workshops, on August 6, 2009. To see the complete collection of articles, click on http://broadbandbreakfast.com/category/fcc-workshops. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 16, 2009 - A number of groups representing minority interests are advocating that special rules be created by the government for Native Americans applying for broadband stimulus grants. The awards are being decided by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Agriculture Department’s Rural Utilities, which were charged by Congress in January to distribute $7.2 billion of federal funding to expand broadband penetration across the country. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, December 10, 2009 – The Federal Communications Commission should improve its outreach to consumers about its complaint process for poor wireless phone service, according to a report released Thursday by the Government Accountability Office. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 - The Native American population is one of the most disconnected groups in the country, according to a study released Thursday on broadband penetration. The Native Public Media and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative suggest that the Federal Communications Commission create a Tribal Broadband Plan within the national broadband plan that it is currently drafting. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 19, 2009 - The Government Accountability Office on Monday released a report analyzing the possible challenges faced by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Rural Utility Service when they implement the broadband stimulus. The largest problem that the GAO saw was that after 2010, both agencies will no longer have any funding to provide oversight to projects. Additionally, they currently lack enough staff to properly provide oversight. In the 2010 budget request to Congress, NTIA asked for an additional 40 full-time employees; RUS asked for 47 Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 3, 2009 - The Internet could provide vital links between people and institutions to keep government running and businesses operating during an outbreak of H1N1 influenza, said a report released in October by the Government Accountability Office. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 27, 2009 - Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation raised concerns Tuesday about getting broadband stimulus funds out to remote areas and how these areas should be defined. The discussion took place during an oversight hearing on the process of awarding out the $7.2 billion provided to the federal government by Congress to expand broadband deployment and adoption. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 11, 2009 – Current measures of broadband comparisons between the United States and the rest of the world – and within the country – have limitations, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office released on Friday. These limitations including the “lack of comprehensive measures from the government to compare price, actual delivered speeds, and service reliability data from providers,” and information that was gathered through international broadband comparisons that are not comparable across countries. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2009 - Wireless carriers deals with equipment vendors and their commitment to rural coverage came under the microscope Wednesday as executives and industry analysts testified before the Senate Commerce Committee during a hearing on "the wireless consumer experience." Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 2, 2009 – The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on Thursday ratcheted up their call for greater state involvement in disbursement and use of the $7.2 billion broadband stimulus funds with a letter to top Commerce and Agriculture Department officials. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, October 7 – Congress last week passed legislation, the “Broadband Data Improvement Act,” that seeks better information about high-speed internet connections but cuts all authorization of funds – an amount that had totaled $40 million for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 in the Senate Commerce Committee version of the legislation. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 31 – Part of the job of Congress is to “embarrass” federal agencies whose projects are often late and over budget, the chairman of a Senate Homeland Security subcommittee said Thursday. Keep Reading