John Eggerton

The Federal Communications Commission has asked for a budget increase of a little more than 5 percent for fiscal 2024 (FY 2024), given inflation and its goal of getting broadband to 100% of the US in an equitable and inclusive way. In its budget request to Congress, the FCC said its top priority is the universal broadband the Biden administration has said should be achievable by the end of the decade. To do that, the agency said, it wants a 5.3

Cable broadband providers told the Federal Communications Commission that preventing digital discrimination in the provision of broadband services is a laudable goal but that they already offer equal access to high-speed service, and the proof is in the data. The FCC asked how it could “prevent internet providers from engaging in digital discrimination,” which suggests there is a problem that needs fixing. NCTA-the Internet & Television Association said that both FCC and census data make it clear that “cable broadband networks are available across providers’ service areas to homes and b

Citing a smear campaign to continue to prevent Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] from being seated as the fifth Federal Communications Commissioner, former Fox and ABC/Disney executive Preston Padden has written the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee to call out those tactics and advocate for Sohn, with whom he is not aligned politically. Padden also said he had been in contact with Fox’s Rupert Murdoch, an opponent of the Democratic nominee.

Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is urging Congress to move the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to be the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission. Her nomination has been held up for two years because not enough Democrats could be lined up to hold a Senate vote.

Broadband operators, including those represented by ACA Connects and NCTA–The Internet & Television Association, have asked the Federal Communications Commission to either clarify or reconsider two requirements in rules implementing consumer broadband labels that they say may not pass legal muster otherwise. Congress mandated the labels so consumers can better gauge just what kind of broadband service they are getting, including price, speed, and quality. In a joint petition for clarification or reconsideration filed with the FCC, the associations said they generally support the adoptio

The opponents of [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] Gigi Sohn's nomination to the Federal Communications Commission are bringing out their familiar artillery in their effort to keep her off the agency, where she would be the third Democrat, giving the Biden administration the majority it would need to tackle partisan issues, notably network neutrality rules. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) launched an attack on her character and her politics, while Fox News Channel also ran a story taking aim.

With Rep Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally getting enough votes to be elected Speaker of the House and that body cleared for the takeoff of Republican committee leadership, look for that leadership to launch Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) oversight hearings.

The bipartisan leadership of the Senate Commerce Committee wants stakeholders to have more time to challenge the accuracy of the Federal Communication Commission's new broadband availability map given what they said were the “significant flaws’ already discovered in the draft map. The FCC has conceded the mapping is an iterative process that will be improved by stakeholder challenges. The senators said, “it is absolutely critical that states, tribes, localities, and stakeh

A bill that would free up more money for the Federal Communications Commission suspect tech rip-and-replace program — mandated by Congress — did not make it into the $1.7 trillion must-pass omnibus appropriations bill, according to an unhappy Competitive Carriers Association.

With time running out in the lame-duck session of Congress, there is still no scheduled vote on advancing [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] Gigi Sohn’s nomination to the Federal Communications Commission. At deadline, her appointment was not listed among the 104 pending nominations on the Senate’s executive calendar, with the last action noted as “failed to report her favorably” out of committee, according to congress.