Reporting

Two bills approved by Congress awaiting President Donald Trump’s signature would limit the powers of Michael Pack, the president’s pick to lead the US Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and four other international media organizations. The legislation includes changes limiting the powers of the USAGM and its chief executive, but in different ways. The two bills taken together could restrict Pack’s actions between now and January 20, when Democratic President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

The telecommunications ecosystem is broken, but there's a move underway by the Telecom Ecosystem Group to rectify, if not completely reset, some of those problems.

The Federal Communications Commission should define broadband as internet speeds of at least 100 Mbps in both directions, up from the current benchmark of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, trade groups for rural broadband carriers and fiber carriers argue in a new regulatory filing. The current standard “does not reflect what American consumers need today, let alone tomorrow,” NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association and the Fiber Broadband Association told the FCC.

The $900 billion coronavirus package and $1.4 trillion government funding deal are full of technology and telecommunications priorities that will help Americans stay connected amid a darkening pandemic and keep issues from antitrust to artificial intelligence policy front-and-center heading into 2021. Both the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice's antitrust division get a bump in funding.

Facebook and Google agreed to “cooperate and assist one another” if they ever faced an investigation into their pact to work together in online advertising, according to an unredacted version of a lawsuit filed by 10 states against Google. Ten Republican attorneys general, led by Texas, are alleging that the two companies cut a deal in September 2018 in which Facebook agreed not to compete with Google’s online advertising tools in return for special treatment

What Is in the $900 Billion Covid-19 Aid Bill  Here's how DC responded.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): "The agreement invests $7 billion to increase access to broadband, including a new Emergency Broadband Benefit to help millions of students, families and unemployed workers afford the broadband they need during the pandemic."

Promised to be a faster, more reliable cell network, 5G requires the construction of thousands upon thousands of small cell towers just a few blocks apart. Indigenous nations like the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas are in a difficult situation. The offices are woefully underfunded, which makes it impossible for Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (THPOs) to process the hundreds of 5G requests each week, and if tribes don’t respond, construction of a tower could damage religious places, cemeteries, or other historic sites.

The Senate on Dec 19 failed to move forward on two inspectors general because 12 Senate Republicans were absent, potentially costing President Donald Trump some lame duck appointees. In back-to-back 39-48 votes, the Senate was unable to take procedural steps to confirm John Chase Johnson to become inspector general of the Federal Communications Commission and Eric Soskin to become inspector general of the Department of Transportation. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted against the nominees, a move that allows him to bring them back to the floor whenever he wan

Dozens of tech hubs around the world have dreamed of nipping at Silicon Valley’s heels, but in 2020 those dreams are starting to look like reality. Thanks to Covid-19, “the spreading out of tech is having a 10-year acceleration,” says Rana Sarkar, Canada’s consul general for San Francisco and Silicon Valley. Before the pandemic, mid-size cities across North America and Europe and major Asian centers would create startup accelerators only to struggle to retain their local talent or attract venture capital — one of the leading measures of success, pre-pandemic.

Congress is set to pass a $900 billion Covid-19 aid bill. The legislation includes $7 billion for broadband.