Reporting

Budget Bill Includes Rural Broadband Bucks

The budget bill that passed in the wee hours of the morning of Feb 9 included $20 billion for infrastructure initiatives, at least some of which will go to broadband buildouts.

The Left’s War Against The New York Times

The New York Times has flourished under President Donald Trump, witnessing a surge in digital subscriptions and regularly breaking major news about the administration and the Russia inquiry (not to mention #MeToo). Yet liberal criticism of the Times has also intensified, especially on social media. Not a day passes, it seems, without a prominent Twitter user complaining that the Times is biased against the left, too friendly to President Trump and his supporters, or engaging in false equivalences between Democrats and Republicans.

FCC Chairman Pai's Response to Rep. Matsui Regarding Implementation of the Lifeline National Verifier

On January 31, 2018, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai provided Rep Doris Matsui (D-CA) an update on the FCC's efforts to advance the implementation of the National Life Verifier. Over the last quarter, FCC staff have:

FCC Chairman Pai's Response to Sen Markey Regarding the First Amendment

On October 11, 2017, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asking for a response to President Donald Trump's call to challenge television broadcasters' licenses because of their news coverage. On February 1, 2018, Chairman Pai wrote back saying that he is a strong supporter of the First Amendment and the FCC will continue to protect the First Amendment. "I have made clear that the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast," Chairman Pai wrote.

UK lawmakers press social media giants over Russian influence

British lawmakers grilled Silicon Valley social media giants over the presence of “fake news” and Russian influence on their platforms in Washington (DC).  The British parliament members asked Twitter, Facebook and YouTube representatives pointed questions during a special US hearing over how hoax content disseminated from their websites may have swayed the 2016 British "Brexit" referendum on leaving the European Union.   The tech representatives downplayed those concerns, citing internal data they said found that accounts linked to Russians did not heavily use their platforms in the same w

CLOUD Act Promotes Surveillance-Data Access Framework

With government access to foreign communications much on the minds of Washington legislators these days--particularly a FISA Act warrant related to a Trump Administration official--a bipartisan group of Congressmen is introducing the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act.

Brace Yourself for Higher Cellphone Bills in 2018

Cheap wireless plans might be harder to find in 2018. The two most aggressive US wireless carriers, Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc,  are signaling they will scale back discounting this year after a failed attempt to combine their businesses. Sprint, the No. 4 carrier by subscribers, said that it would only chase new customers it considers profitable. No.

Mediacom takes shot from Alabama mayor

A year after Mediacom paid an undisclosed sum to take over the cable system in Andalusia (AL) the town’s mayor is warning the operator that if he continues to hear complaints, Andalusia will shop for a municipal broadband provider. “For the entire time that I have been mayor, I have not received as many complaints about anything as I have received about the cable and broadband service from Mediacom,” said Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson. “Whatever it is that they’re doing here, they need to make some changes.”

Rep Coffman Says No Way to CRA

Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), who opposed the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of the network neutrality order, said he would not support efforts to restore the Obama-era rules via the Congressional Review Act. “The CRA is a non-starter for me as it defers again to agency rulemaking,” Rep Coffman said at the Incompas policy summit .

OSTP Staffing Update

Roughly half of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) consists of Trump administration hires. More than 20 new people have joined the office since the start of President Donald Trump’s term.

Sinclair-Tribune deal shifts DOJ decision deadline to Feb. 11

Sinclair Broadcast Group has extended the deadline for the Justice Department’s decision regarding its proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media. In an SEC filing, Sinclair and Tribune said that they had agreed to not consummate the merger before Jan. 30, 2018, but now that deadline has been moved to Feb. 11, 2018. Tribune and Sinclair also agreed to provide 10 days’ notice to the DOJ before closing the merger.

Sorry, FCC: Charter will lower investment after net neutrality repeal

The Federal Communications Commission's quest to prove that killing network neutrality is somehow raising broadband investment recently focused on Charter Communications. Charter, the second largest US cable company after Comcast, "is investing more in its broadband network and workforce because of the FCC's Restoring Internet Freedom Order [that repealed net neutrality rules] and last year's tax reform legislation," FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry claimed in a tweet Feb 8. But Charter raised its capital investment in 2017 while the net neutrality rules were in place.

Russians penetrated US voter systems, top US official says

The US official in charge of protecting American elections from hacking says the Russians successfully penetrated the voter registration rolls of several US states prior to the 2016 presidential election. Jeanette Manfra, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said she couldn't talk about classified information publicly, but in 2016, "We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated."

Critics shame Silicon Valley firms over addictive technologies

Tech industry critics spent a daylong event on Capitol Hill Feb 7 airing concerns that Facebook, Google, Apple and other major companies are peddling addictive products that damage young minds. Critics are seeking some sort of policy to address the problem. “Should there be some common sense regulation of the tech industry? Obviously,” said Jim Steyer, the head of Common Sense, the group that organized the conference. Franklin Foer, the author of a recent book critical of tech powerhouses, said that a “sense of shame” would shift norms in the industry.

Puerto Rican journalists sue over under-reported hurricane death toll

A Puerto Rican journalists’ organization is suing the island’s Demographic Registry over what it says are under-reported death counts following Hurricane Maria. The Center for Investigative Journalism (CPI) filed the suit Feb 7, arguing that the registry did not provide statistical updates on the death count after the hurricane. The suit cites a right to “public information and high public interest for Puerto Rico."

Tronc Sells The Los Angeles Times to Local Billionaire for $500 Million

The Los Angeles Times was sold to Patrick Soon-Shiong, a health care mogul and former surgeon, for $500 million. The deal includes The Times’s sibling paper, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and smaller publications in the California News Group. The deal, with Dr.

Senate budget deal includes $20 billion for infrastructure projects, including broadband

A bipartisan budget deal announced by Senate leaders includes $20 billion for U.S. infrastructure programs, an investment plan that comes ahead of the Trump administration's highly anticipated rebuilding proposal. The funds would go toward “existing” projects for water and energy infrastructure as well as expanding broadband to rural regions and improving surface transportation said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY).

Third Circuit Denies Prometheus Petition on FCC Broadcast Deregulation

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has denied a petition from Prometheus Radio Project that it effectively stay the Federal Communications Commission's November vote to deregulate local broadcast ownership.  The court suggested the jury was still out on the FCC's response to the court's direction on ownership diversity and that Prometheus did not make a case for direct action from the court.

How YouTube Drives People to the Internet’s Darkest Corners

YouTube is the new television, with more than 1.5 billion users, and videos the site recommends have the power to influence viewpoints around the world. Those recommendations often present divisive, misleading or false content despite changes the site has recently made to highlight more-neutral fare. People cumulatively watch more than a billion YouTube hours daily world-wide, a 10-fold increase from 2012, the site says. Behind that growth is an algorithm that creates personalized playlists.

Your smart TV may be prey for hackers and collecting more info than you realize, 'Consumer Reports' warns

If you’ve snapped up a smart TV, with built-in Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and other Web connections, heads up on this warning — your smart TV could make you vulnerable to hackers and is probably monitoring more of your viewing than you realize. Consumer Reports just analyzed smart TVs from five big U.S. TV brands — Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL and Vizio — and found several problems. All can track what consumers watch, and two of the brands failed a basic security test. 

What inclusivity really means, from the woman who held the highest tech job in America

A Q&A with former US Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. 

Cities to federal government: Don't tell us how to build our internet

At the end of January, San Jose's (CA) Mayor, Sam Liccardo, brought the issue of the digital divide fight into the open, publicly resigning from a Federal Communications Commission committee tasked with recommending ways to speed up broadband deployment. "I concluded that there is no will from this FCC or from this committee to put the lip service about bridging the digital divide into action," Mayor Liccardo said. "And I decided it was time to stop participating in this charade that there was a legitimate voice for local communities at this table."

AT&T Fixed Wireless and Fiber Expanded in Four States, Fiber Now Available to 7M Locations

AT&T has expanded its fixed wireless Internet infrastructure in four states. AT&T fixed wireless is now available in 33 counties serving more than 37,000 locations in AL, 40 counties serving more than 26,000 locations in AR, 46 counties serving more than 27,000 locations in GA and 51 counties serving more than 37,000 locations in TN.

Loveland (CO) votes to start developing municipal broadband network

The Loveland (CO) City Council voted on four measures that will allow the city to begin developing a municipal broadband network. The city will spend $2.5 million from the general power fund to gather more information about the network.  Loveland’s broadband task force recommended the city pursue a community broadband network through a retail — or utility — model or through a public-public partnership model. But nothing precludes the city from potentially pursuing partnership options with private entities.