Marguerite Reardon

FCC Wins Court Battle to Repurpose Auto Safety Spectrum for Wi-Fi

The Federal Communications Commission won an important battle in a fight to free up more unlicensed wireless spectrum for Wi-Fi devices. A federal appeals court on August 12 sided with the FCC in its decision to reallocate a big chunk of key spectrum for an expansion of unlicensed Wi-Fi use. The spectrum had previously been set aside for auto safety.

Why Fiber Is the Key to Getting Faster 5G Everywhere

While we're still a long way from seeing any of the much-hyped futuristic applications that 5G was supposed to bring, like autonomous vehicles or augmented reality, even the promised higher download speeds and super responsive networks have been inconsistent or simply unavailable to most people, especially those who live outside big cities or dense suburban communities. But there's a potential answer to the 5G coverage issue: more fiber. There's reason to be hopeful on the fiber front.

President Biden's Broadband Agenda Is at a Do-or-Die Moment

Net neutrality and the rest of President Joe Biden's broadband agenda hang in the balance as the president's nominee for the deadlock-breaking fifth commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission awaits a vote in the US Senate. But the process has stalled for nine months and time is running out. Gigi Sohn, a longtime public-interest advocate and former FCC adviser, was nominated in October 2021 to be the third Democrat at the agency.

It Takes a Village: Solving the Broadband Adoption Problem in Rural America

While some families are unconnected because broadband simply isn't available, many don't have access even when it is available, because they can't afford the service or they lack devices like laptops to connect to home broadband.

Net neutrality will make a comeback in 2022

A new chapter in the ongoing saga of net neutrality and who governs the internet will take shape over the next year thanks to another shift in power at the Federal Communications Commission. With new appointees from President Joe Biden firming up a Democratic majority at the agency, reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules thrown out under the Trump administration will be a top priority for the FCC. In late 2021, Biden named Jessica Rosenworcel the permanent chair of the FCC.

President Biden's FCC pick will be instrumental in net neutrality fight

Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], President Joe Biden's pick to fill the vacant seat on the five-member Federal Communications Commission, will pave the way for the restoration of Obama-era net neutrality protections if confirmed by the US Senate.

Meet the woman who will bring back net neutrality

Long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of children to attend school via the internet, Federal Communications Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was sounding the alarm about US students who lacked access to broadband.

Digital divide fix at risk as $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill stalls

As Democrats in Congress wrestle over President Joe Biden's multitrillion-dollar package targeting everything from roads to child care, hanging in the balance is a small but critical sliver of the infrastructure bill seen as a possible salve to our digital divide problem. This legislation provides long-overdue funding to upgrade traditional infrastructure, such as roads, bridges and electrical grids. But also included in the bill is a proposal for $65 billion in federal funding for broadband investment.

Section 230: How it shields Facebook and why Congress wants changes

Frances Haugen, a former Facebook product manager, sat before a Senate subcommittee for more than three hours and described how the social media giant has prioritized its profits over public good. In her testimony, Haugen called on Congress to regulate Facebook and require more transparency from the company on its practices.

FCC is laser-focused on erasing the digital divide

For Federal Communications Commission Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, the moment is now to get the US on the right track toward ending the digital divide. That's what she's been trying to do with an influx of federal funding aimed at getting Americans connected to the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic. The crisis, which has hit low-income Americans and people of color especially hard, has brought attention to the digital divide and has spurred Congress to act, Rosenworcel said.

Biden's call to restore net neutrality: What you should know

President Joe Biden wants net neutrality regulations back on the books. In his executive order on competition, Biden urged the Federal Communications Commission to restore Obama-era net neutrality rules and to take other measures to promote broadband competition, including asking the FCC to require broadband companies to provide transparency on pricing. Net neutrality supporters applauded the executive order and calls for the FCC to restore net neutrality protections.

Schools and libraries can apply for FCC broadband relief funds starting June 29

The Emergency Connectivity Fund to subsidize broadband connectivity and devices for schools and libraries in response to the coronavirus pandemic will begin accepting applications for funding starting June 29.

Broadband costs too much for some people. Fixing that won't be easy

Federal and state governments have earmarked billions of dollars to build out fast internet service, but most plans don't address one of the biggest reasons people don't have broadband at home: They can't afford to pay for service. If the early days of the Emergency Broadband Benefit program are any indication, there is big demand for a more substantial subsidy. In the first week of the program, more than 1 million households signed up. Some civil rights and consumer groups are joining with the broadband industry to push Congress to make the broadband subsidy permanent.

How the homework gap may actually be the key to solving our digital divide

Beyond supporting students, information being collected by schools across the country could prove useful when addressing the problem of the digital divide. The work to close the so-called homework gap, exacerbated when the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools and forced 50 million students to suddenly adopt remote learning, could also provide the federal and state governments a roadmap toward fixing the broader digital divide problem. The homework gap is a subset of a much larger d

Homework gap: The digital divide crisis leaves millions of kids behind

The digital divide and the homework gap haven't gone away, even with new attention and funding directed toward emergency relief.

How coronavirus stimulus funds helped one state create a 'broadband miracle'

When Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and lawmakers in the Mississippi legislature got $1.2 billion in federal money from the first stimulus bill in March, they decided to do something different.

The Biden presidency: What it means for tech

President Joe Biden's presence in the Oval Office over the next four years will have a major influence on the tech sector, including infrastructure policy on broadband deployment and national security issues involving Chinese tech companies. The president and his team will also play a role in how to handle the growth and influence of social media giants.

With Ajit Pai stepping down, the net neutrality debate is roaring back

An old battle over who governs the internet will likely reignite as Democrats take control of the Federal Communications Commission following the inauguration of Joe Biden. Reinstating Obama-era net neutrality rules thrown out under the Trump administration will likely be a top priority for the agency, experts say. At stake in this battle is who, if anyone, will police the internet to ensure that broadband companies aren't abusing their power as gatekeepers. Supporters of net neutrality say rules are necessary to ensure broadband companies aren't abusing their power as gatekeepers.

What a Trump reelection would mean for the tech world

The tech world will be holding its breath to see whether President Donald Trump can pull out a victory.

How President Trump got the FCC involved in his war against Twitter

President Donald Trump is asking the Federal Communications Commission to review Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the law that gives social media companies their legal protection. The president wants rules that'll let the agency investigate complaints that social media companies discriminate against certain speech on their platforms. Any role in policing social media will be awkward for the FCC, which has cast itself as anti-regulation under Ajit Pai, its Trump-appointed chairman.

The Pentagon's fight to kill Ligado's 5G network

Even as major players like Verizon and AT&T are rushing to roll out 5G, a little-known company is looking to build its own alternative network using the wireless technology with the intent to connect the various devices in our lives. With so much hype around 5G, you'd expect a red carpet for this initiative. But the company, Ligado Networks, has run into some high-profile opposition: the US Defense Department. It's the latest twist in a long-running saga over the idea of an alternative cellular network.

Coronavirus lockdown, lack of broadband could lead to 'education breakdown'

The coronavirus pandemic has forced a lockdown of millions of people around the world, and New York, where schools have been shut down since March 16, and teachers and students have resorted to distance learning with online classes. But Larissa Rosa, an English-as-a-second-language teacher at Public School 7 Samuel Stern in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York, said at least 45 of the roughly 400 students at her school haven't logged on once.

Joe Biden's views on tech

Joe Biden has remained relatively quiet on tech. But here's a look at where he stands. On net neutrality, Biden hasn't said much. A spokesman for Biden's campaign said the former vice president is a supporter of strong net neutrality protections. But Biden's track record tells a different story.

Coronavirus has made peak internet usage into the new normal

Millions of people are working from home, children are attending school remotely, and they've all turned to their home broadband connections to stay connected. So far networks in the US and the world have been holding up even as usage spikes. But will it continue? "To be honest, I think we just don't know the answer," said Jon Sallet, a senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, and a former general counsel at the Federal Communications Commission.