BNN Bloomberg

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it’s conducting a “thorough” investigation of the February 22 wireless network outage at AT&T Inc. that interrupted mobile service for hundreds of thousands of subscribers in cities around the US.

The European Union’s digital enforcer downplayed a push from phone companies to have large technology companies like Netflix and Alphabet help pay for internet infrastructure, while outlining a broader vision for the overhaul of the telecommunications sector. Operators like Orange and Telefonica wanted major streaming sites to help foot the bill to roll out faster 5G networks and fiber.

Negotiators of the Senate infrastructure bill have agreed to focus its broadband subsidies on areas lacking basic internet, easing concerns of cable providers such as Comcast and Charter Communications that they’d face widespread taxpayer-funded competition by faster services. The White House initially sought $100 billion to spread broadband to all US households, a figure that was later pared to $65 billion. Earlier proposals called for subsidies flowing to areas lacking the fastest speeds, a cohort that includes an estimated two-thirds of US households.