With more and more schools closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students across the country are switching to online learning. This change poses problems for low-income students who may lack internet connectivity in their homes. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 18 waived gift rules for its Rural Health Care (RHC) and E-Rate programs to allow broadband service providers to support telehealth and remote learning capabilities during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. […]
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of 16 senators pushed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to temporarily allow schools to use the E-Rate program funding to provide Wi-Fi hotspots or devices with Wi-Fi capability to students who lack internet access at home. […]
More than 65 communications service providers have signed on to the Keep Americans Connected Pledge issued by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to promote sustained connectivity during disruptions caused by the coronavirus. […]
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced legislation Feb. 28 that would increase the number of children who have internet access in their homes to close the “homework gap.” […]
The National Association of Counties (NACo) released a report on its TestIT app, which found that over half of U.S.’ counties are experiencing the Federal minimum of broadband standards. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted on a final order Feb. 28 to auction mid-band spectrum for use by providers of 5G wireless services, but the vote spurred some criticism from members of both parties in Congress. The auction is set for December 2020. […]
The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) will hold its next Technological Advisory Council (TAC) meeting on March 24 at the FCC headquarters. […]
The House of Representatives is looking to strengthen public safety network resiliency with two new pieces of legislation. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving to a new headquarters building near Union Station in Washington, D.C. as a “big component” of its current IT modernization journey, according to CIO Francisco Salguero. […]
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai announced appointments to serve on three working groups of the agency’s Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment (ACDDE) on Feb. 19. […]
A Federal judge ruled Feb. 18 that Congress has the authority to ban Federal agencies and contractors from doing business with Chinese communications equipment maker Huawei. […]
The Government Accountability Office found in a Feb. 6 report that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) need to work together to modernize the United States’ emergency alert capabilities. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today approved final rules for a program that will funnel $20.4 billion over ten years to communications service providers to extend fast broadband services to unserved and underserved areas of the U.S. […]
Witnesses at today’s House Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing agreed that closing the digital divide and increasing internet adoption in the U.S. requires a combination of private sector competition, and financial and regulatory help from the Federal government. […]
While touting the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) efforts to smooth the path for 5G wireless infrastructure and service deployment, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr told the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee today that “accelerating infrastructure deployment [has] created a new challenge and opportunity.” […]
A bipartisan group of House members introduced legislation on Jan. 16 that would use broadband service data mapping to identify areas of the country where high rates of poor maternal health overlap with a lack of broadband service access. […]
A group of bipartisan legislators led by Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., sent a letter on Jan. 10 to Federal Communications Commissioner Ajit Pai to thank him for his December 2019 vote to “modernize the 5.9 GHz band.” […]
At least one low-cost phone model of the type used to access voice and broadband services provided to low-income Americans through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Lifeline Program has been found to be pre-installed with foreign malware, according to research released by Malwarebytes on Jan. 9. […]
The recent approval by the House of Representatives of two bills to improve the Federal government’s efforts to assemble and maintain accurate nationwide broadband service maps is adding weight to an ongoing push by the Federal Communications Commission to do the same in order to direct funding and other regulatory help to bringing more broadband options to underserved areas. […]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the appointment of chairs for four working groups that will support the work of the FCC’ new Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture. […]
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is poised to take action next week on a range of tech-related legislation including bills dealing with making available spectrum for 5G wireless services, and further action to rein in robocalling. […]
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai proposed Dec. 4 to create a $9 billion fund to support the deployment of 5G wireless services in rural portions of the U.S. The proposal would require approval from a majority of the full five-member commission, with a vote likely sometime in 2020. […]
The Federal Communications Commission voted today to bar the use of Universal Service Fund (USF) money to pay for equipment and services supplied by China-based communications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, and more broadly any other firms that “pose a national security threat” to the U.S. […]
A bipartisan bill to develop a next-generation mobile communications strategy cleared the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (E&C) via a voice vote on Nov. 20. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee (E&C) voted on Nov. 20 to approve the Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act (Broadband DATA Act). […]
The Federal Communications Commission announced appointments to its Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force that will work on strategies to advance broadband communications deployment on agricultural land and promote precision agriculture. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hired Francisco Salguero – now deputy CIO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) – as the FCC’s next CIO, Salguero confirmed on Nov. 20 at ATARC’s Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) event. […]
Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced a bill in the House on Nov. 8 that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact regulations requiring public inspection files to be available online in a machine-readable format. […]
Senators and Federal government officials sparred over the country’s 5G-readiness and supply chain security at a hearing today of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. […]