BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: Last week Google announced three new phones on its Project Fi network. Which raises the question (particularly for those iPhone users blocked out of the project) about what on earth is Project Fi, and how does it work? In sum, it's Google's version of a virtual mobile network stitching together elements of… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 6, 2018 – The Trump administration will unveil principles for its long-awaited plan to spend $1.5 trillion on revamping the nation’s infrastructure this coming Monday, a White House official confirmed to BroadbandBreakfast.com. Trump alluded to the forthcoming plan during his first State of the Union address last week, when he called on Congress… Keep Reading
Editor's Note: Updated January 30, 2018, at 8:44 a.m. with statement from the National Security Council. WASHINGTON, January 29, 2018 – The Trump administration has made no decisions regarding a National Security Council proposal to nationalize the forthcoming fifth-generation, or 5G wireless broadband network meant to prevent the network from being exploited for espionage purposes… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 7, 2017 — The Universal Service Fund dollars the Federal Communications Chairman has allocated for rebuilding Puerto Rico’s communications infrastructure has helped with rebuilding efforts so far, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said on Monday in a statement following his visit to meet with stakeholders across the hurricane-ravaged island. “I was glad to hear… Keep Reading
BROADBAND BREAKFAST INSIGHT: It is truly astonishing to see an incumbent provider, such as Verizon, taking the position that there must be easier access to poles and rights of way. But that's a good thing! Perhaps this is evidence of how far Verizon has moved away from the public utility model, but it is a… Keep Reading
Broadband Breakfast Insight: Will the cable or the telco incumbents make the first move to the gigabit fiber future? The answer may be "none of the above." Public-private partnerships unallied with either camp may make the next move in getting infrastructure to the smart cities of the future. -> AT&T, Verizon and other large incumbent… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2014 - On Monday, tensions with China over cybersecurity increased as the U.S. Justice Department indicted five Chinese military officers for stealing trade secrets from six United States companies. The Guardian quoted Attorney General Eric Holder as saying, “The range of trade secrets and other sensitive business information stolen in this case… Keep Reading
Although it is the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) that is charged with implementing the ambitious universal service policy goals set forth in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the “Act”), the FCC designated the Universal Service Administrative Company (“USAC”), an independent, not-for-profit corporation, to administer the day-to-day operations of federal universal service. USAC bills… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 29, 2014 – President Obama highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity in his State of the Union address Tuesday, and announced that Apple, Microsoft, Sprint and Verizon were contributing funds to enable ultra-high-speed broadband connections “over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit.” The statement appears to be a… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 31, 2013 — Last Monday, Verizon announced that it would release a new high speed FiOS Quantum Internet service, providing download speeds of 500 megabits-per-second and upload speeds of 100 Mbps. The new speeds are a drastic improvement on most other connections, allowing large files to be sent as easily as a simple email.… Keep Reading
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 antitrust grounds, different non-profit interest groups found different reasons to applaud the… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2013 - Starting the New Year off by attending the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas provides a wonderful lens with which to focus on the year ahead in technology. Today, broadband is the driver for almost all of today's digital technologies. Of the hundreds of examples of digital technologies that I… Keep Reading
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, December 26, 2012 - Many families would like to get an iPhone for their whole family, but the problem is the price. There are lots of families that have kids with iPods (which cost the same price as iPhones, excluding service plans) and lots of parents with phones. Many times, kids also have… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON Tuesday June 12, 2012 - Last week the Federal Communications Commission moved forward with white spaces reform free of challenges from the microphone industry, they took on special access reform and held a meeting of experts to address the future of wireless mHealth innovation. Broadbandbreakfast has some notes on each of these stories. … Keep Reading
WASHINGTON December 14, 2011 – The FCC, the Hill and the Telecom industry has been busy over the last couple of weeks. Here is a wrap-up of the most important events. House Passes Spectrum Auction Incentive Bill After a 234-193 vote, the House Payroll Tax Extension Bill incorporated the full version of the Republican Incentive… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, November 25 2011 – As we all sit and digest post Thanksgiving, Broadband Breakfast can finally wrap up some stories that we have been interested in over the past couple of weeks but have not had time to get around to. We wanted to draw attention to a couple of the stories below and… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON Friday November 10, 2011. Thursday afternoon, the Senate voted 52 – 46 to defeat S.J Res 6 which would have overturned the Federal Communication Commissions Open Internet Rules. The rules are now set to go into effect on Nov 20, but they still face challenges in the courts from companies like Metro PCS, Verizon that… Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, August 31, 2011 - With the Justice Department's announcement on Wednesday that it will contest AT&T's proposed acquisition of T-Mobile, the attention should now turn to what some consider the deal's key driver: getting more wireless spectrum into the hands of broadband providers. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2011- Both AT&T and Verizon taken steps to to deploy their 4G LTE networks in recent months, with Sprint and T-Mobile heavily advertising their existing 4G technologies. With rampant speculation regarding the iPhone 5 industry watchers have predicted that consumers would be clamoring for the faster speeds promised by LTE. "Not so," says consumer research firm Retrevo. Keep Reading
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 worked on updating the Universal Service Fund to handle the demands of broadband expansion rather than voice service. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON July 6, 2011- The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the Communiqué on Principles for Internet Policy Making last week, presenting a new framework of policies that will promote open internet regulations while still protecting the rights of content makers. The OECD is an international organization composed of 34 governments with a goal of promoting democracy and expanding market economies. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 24, 2011 – Wednesday Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) introduced legislation that would require wireless 4G carriers to provide consumers with complete and accurate information about their 4G services. "Consumers deserve to know exactly what they're getting for their money when they sign-up for a 4G data plan," said Rep. Eshoo in a statement released on Wednesday. Keep Reading
In order for the Federal Communications Commission to approve the mega-merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, AT&T has to make a showing that the merger is in the public interest. Despite AT&T’s declaration that this merger is the most pro-consumer, pro-innovation and pro-investment solution to America’s wireless problems, a mega-merger like this can only hurt the broadband market, both for innovators and consumers alike. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, June 2, 2011 - The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation assembled a panel Wednesday to debate the merits and minuses of government support of broadband networks. The Oxford-style debate, "Governments Should Neither Subsidize nor Operate Broadband Networks to Compete with Commercial Ones," included four panelists. Rob Atkinson, President of ITIF and Jeff Eisenach, Managing Director and Principal of Navigant Economics argued against government intervention; Jim Baller, President of Baller Herbst Law Group, and Chris Mitchell, Director of Telecommunications at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance argued in favor. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON May 25, 2011 - AT&T announced Wednesday that it will upgrade its HPSA+ network to Long Term Evolution (LTE) in five major markets starting this summer, representing the company's first steps into adopting the standard on its nationwide network. LTE networks represent upgraded technology from HSPA+ networks, allowing increases in speed capabilities. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON May 12, 2011- The Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights assembled leading mobile CEOs Wednesday to explore the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. “The proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile will bring together two of the four remaining national cell phone carriers to create the nation's largest cell phone network, with an estimated 43 percent market share,” said Sen Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Subcommittee, setting the tone for the hearing. “Should this deal be approved, AT&T and Verizon will control close to 80 percent of the national cell phone market.” Keep Reading
WASHINGTON April 28, 2011 - The Federal Communications Commission gathered key industry experts on Wednesday to explore the different ways that the Universal Service Fund can be modernized to effectively deploy high speed broadband to rural America. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2011 - At the group's annual convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, Rural Cellular Association CEO, Steven Berry, announced the addition of wireless carrier, Sprint to the RCA. "This is a very timely addition to RCA’s membership, and a stronger membership will certainly help ensure that our voices are heard at the Federal Communications Commission, on Capitol Hill, and at the White House and other parts of the Executive Branch,” said Berry through a joint statement released this week. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 8, 2011 - The Federal Communications Commission passed a series of measures aimed at expanding mobile broadband access at its April open meeting on Thursday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 7, 2011 - The Wireless Communications Association International, a technology-neutral broadband advocacy organization, gathered industry experts to discuss next generation fourth generation wireless technology on Wednesday. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, April 5, 2011 - The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit dismissed a suit Monday seeking to overturn the Federal Communications Commission's recent net neutrality rules, finding that the appellants in the case filed their appeal prematurely. Keep Reading
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 all four major wireless carriers were sent response to a recent story in the New York Times, which reported that the German mobile provider Deutsche Telekom tracked the locations of German politicians. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON March 23, 2011- Broadband voice company, Bandwidth.com, unveiled Monday a nationwide map that displays availability and pricing data for business broadband connections, building on information from the National Telecommunications Information Administration's national broadband map. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2011 - Verizon launched its first 4G capable phone Thursday, marking the first step into the next generation of high-speed wireless by one of the two biggest wireless carriers in the U.S. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2011 - Apple’s initial iPad 2 sales and projections for 2011 say while that Apple probably will not face much competition in tablet sales, the competition for wireless data plans for the device are heating up. Apple sold over 15 million of the original iPad, and brisk resales of used iPads on eBay, Gazelle, and other resale sites indicate that the original model is still quite popular. Analyst Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets sees upgrades from the original iPad comprising only a fifth of iPad 2 over the next 12 months. That means that the remaining 80 percent of iPad 2 purchasers will likely be new to the tablet platform. Abramsky projects Jobs and Company will sell 28 million of its new model touchscreen tablet by the end of the calendar year. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 15, 2011 - Despite fanfare regarding the end of exclusivity for the Apple iPhone with the launch of a CDMA version, the reality is that many carriers are still unable to attain certain devices. While the majority of current subscribers now have access to the once-exclusive iPhone, because AT&T and Verizon have been allowed to create a duopoly in the wireless industry, from a competition standpoint, AT&T and Verizon are the only two carriers with access to the device. Translation: Less than 2 percent of domestic wireless carriers have access to one of the nation’s most coveted devices. Just as the iPhone is not the only smartphone on the market, it is also not the only device that is unavailable to consumers. Due to exclusive handset arrangements, consumers are left to choose between robust coverage where they live or the latest hot device they desire. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 11, 2011 - Legislators in the House and Senate introduced companion bills that would prohibit states from levying new taxes specific to wireless services in an effort to keep barriers to access for mobile internet services low. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2011 -- The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday moved to tweak the rules governing the terms on which cable companies and satellite operators can re-transmit the signals of broadcasters in the wake of several high-profile disputes that often left consumers in the dark at critical programming moments. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 22, 2011 - After Apple recently broke its exclusivity agreement with AT&T and brought the iPhone to Verizon, our panel discusses whether consumers suffer from a lack of choice in handsets between carriers what effects that may have on the wireless marketplace. Additionally, the panel explores the implications of exclusivity agreements on the consumer and the law and debates the future of these agreements. Keep Reading
WASHINGTON, February 17, 2011 – The Senate Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing Wednesday to address potential criticisms of the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Acts (COICA), which would target websites dedicated to stealing American intellectual property. Keep Reading