Drones
Aron Solomon: The New Horizon of Drones and Your Privacy
We have yet to wrap our minds around the impact of drones in our own lives and in society.
Spectrum
Federal Communications Commission Must Reconsider Ligado Offer, Says Former Commissioner
July 9, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission should rescind or reconsider its Ligado offer, former Commissioner Robert McDowell said in a Lincoln Network webinar Thursday. The webinar, titled “Industry Perspectives: FCC’s Ligado Decision,” saw participants discuss the Federal Communications
Artificial Intelligence
Brookings Panelists Emphasize Importance of Addressing Biases in Artificial Intelligence Technology
June 19, 2020 — “The potential for discrimination increases with each generation of technology,” said Nicol Turner Lee, a fellow at the Center for Technology Innovation, in a Friday webinar hosted by the Brookings Institution about the intersection of race, artificial intelligence and structural ine
FCC
Chairman Ajit Pai Calls His Federal Communications Commission ‘The Most Aggressive in History’
June 19, 2020 — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said that the current agency is “the most aggressive FCC in history in terms of spectrum.” He cited 2017’s 600 MegaHertz (MHz) auction, which earned the agency $19.8 billion, as well as three millimeter-wave auctions that netted aro
FCC
Commissioner O’Rielly Says He Would Shorten Rural Broadband Build Out Period and Collect Accurate Broadband Maps
June 17, 2020 — Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., used a nominations hearing on Tuesday to grill Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly on issues ranging from the Ligado decision to poor broadband mapping data. The Trump administration has submitted O’Rielly’s n
Big Tech
Technology Behind Google and Apple’s Protocol is Insufficient for Contact Tracing, But Preserves Users’ Privacy
June 1, 2020 — Google and Apple are rarely criticized for not collecting enough data on users, but under the state of emergency COVID-19 has brought about, this is no longer the case, said panelists at a webinar hosted Thursday by the Cato Institute. Because users’ location data could help reduce th
FTC
Healthcare Deregulation Best for Competition, Says Federal Trade Commissioner
May 18, 2020 — Deregulation of healthcare will increase competition and personal choice, said Federal Trade Commissioner Christine S. Wilson in a Monday webinar. The webinar, hosted by the Federalist Society and moderated by Svetlana Gans, vice president associate general counsel of NCTA, the Intern
FCC
FCC Approves Rules for Deployment of Satellites, Allocates Six Megahertz of Low-Band Spectrum to Broadband
May 13, 2020 — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday adopted new rules for the deployment of satellites. The action, at the agency’s May meeting – its second monthly meeting conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic –comes at a time of increased pressure by military officia
broadband roundup
Coronavirus Roundup: Contact Tracing Gold Rush, Tech Companies’ Misinformation Criteria, Additional Telelearning Funds
May 12, 2020 — As the United States turns its focus to reopening, tech companies are looking at the opportunities for contact-tracing technology as the next tech gold rush, CNBC reported. Contact-tracing technology, as seen in South Korea, would use GPS technology to tell users if they have come wit
FCC
Military Witnesses Bash FCC’s Approval of Ligado at Live Senate Committee Hearing
May 6, 2020 – Military officials and legislators urged the Federal Communications Commission to reverse their approval of increased satellite broadband infrastructure development in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that took place in person on Wednesday. In April, the FCC authorized the imp
Privacy
Data Produced By Cell Phones Not Sufficiently Accurate to Use for Coronavirus Contact Tracing, Says ACLU
April 10, 2020 – Data produced by cell phones is “not sufficiently accurate to be used for contact tracing,” according to Jay Stanley, senior policy analyst at a Wednesday press briefing by the American Civil Liberties Union. Contact tracing is the practice of using data to infer the likelihood that
5G Wireless
Gordon Smith: Can a 5G Fund Connect Rural America at 21st Century Speeds?
Last month, Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai announced a new plan to allocate $9 billion toward deploying 5G wireless in America’s rural areas. From these funds, $1 billion would be earmarked for precision agriculture. The 10-figure sum is impressive, but it’s not all new money. Pai would re
NTIA
Speaking at Commerce Department Symposium, Federal Agencies Doubt Benefits of Spectrum Plan
WASHINGTON, September 10, 2019- Federal agencies speaking at radiofrequency symposium hosted on Tuesday by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Symposium expressed doubts that any kind of a national spectrum strategy would be useful. Addressing speculation that the Commerce
Broadband's Impact
Video of March 2013 Broadband Breakfast Club: ‘Smart Cars, the Consumer Experience and Broadband’
WASHINGTON, March 26, 2013 – Today’s cars are getting smarter because drivers are bringing smart phones into their cars and because autonomous-driving systems are getting closer and closer to market availability. Indeed, the accelerating use of the smart phone has dramatically brought the issue of a
Broadband's Impact
Touchscreens, GPS and Tablets, From 20 Years Ago So Futuristic to Today So Routine
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2013 – While combing the internet to wax nostalgic via old commercials from my childhood, I made my way through memories of nerf-guns and ninja turtles toys. Along the way I discovered an AT&T commercial from 1993 entitled “View of the Future.” The commercial features what we
Congress
Barton, Markey to Wireless Carriers: ‘Do You Track Customers’ Location Info?’
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2011 – Reps. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Joe Barton (R-TX), Co-Chairmen of the House Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus sent letters Tuesday to Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T asking the wireless companies to disclose how the firms collect and stored user location data. The letters to
