Wireless Internet

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) and Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) have circulated the draft of a bill that would speed the deployment of 5G, just one a host of moves to goose the buildout of high-speed broadband.

This report analyzes the current and emerging generation of mobile wireless technologies and Compares those technologies to wireline technologies such as fiber‐to‐the‐premises (FTTP), cable broadband, and copper DSL across a range of technical parameters, including reliability, resilience, scalability, capacity, and latency. The report also evaluates wireless carriers’ mobile pricing and usage structures—including so‐called “unlimited” data plans—because those policies play a significant role in whether consumers can substitute mobile for wireline service.

The report concludes that, for both technical and business reasons, wireless technologies are not now, and will not be in the near to medium future, adequate alternatives or substitutes for wireline broadband.

Researchers at the University of Washington have found a way to track a person’s location and app use through serving ads on mobile apps.

The result opens the door for significant privacy invasions through the app-based advertising system. The researchers obtained the information by purchasing a series of ads targeted to specific locations and apps, then checking which mobile subscribers fit the targeting. In experiments conducted on Android devices, the team was able to pinpoint a person’s location within eight meters through a targeted ad. They tested ads on 10 different apps, including Grindr, Imgur, Words with Friends, and Talkatone, all using widely available ad networks. By serving ad content to a user’s apps, the ad buyers could learn what apps the user has installed. That information could be sensitive, revealing a user’s sexual orientation or religious affiliation. Researchers could also find out when a user went to a specific place. After targeting ads to a specific location, the ad network would notify them within 10 minutes of when the user arrived.

A top federal government cybersecurity watchdog issued an advisory on Oct 16, warning users to update their devices to protect against a newly discovered vulnerability that affects nearly every modern, protected Wi-Fi network. The US Computer Emergency Readiness Team's announcement comes after a security expert at the University of Leuven in Belgium published findings that showed that a widely used encryption system for wireless networks could give attackers an opening to steal sensitive information such as e-mails, chat histories and credit card numbers.

The exploit would allow hackers to eavesdrop on Internet traffic between computers and wireless access points. The findings are significant because of the wide range of devices that could be affected. "The attack works against all modern protected Wi-Fi networks,” Mathy Vanhoef said on a website he created to share his research. “Depending on the network configuration, it is also possible to inject and manipulate data. For example, an attacker might be able to inject ransomware or other malware into websites.”

[Commentary] By launching 11,943 satellites SpaceX will do to telecoms what WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger did to SMS and in doing so capture a $1tn+ business — and there’s fringe benefits for Tesla.

What SpaceX are actually seeking is to replace every broadband and communications provider on the planet, by cutting out the middle man of land-based networks that stand between you and the internet. In doing so they will be essentially competing with every communications provider in the world — a business valued at over a trillion dollars. Forget about poor communities in Africa for a second: this is a pitch to replace physical fibre/cable connections in modern industrialised economies But a few questions arise from this including the big one: mobile phones. Will the plan be to have mobile phones work directly with satellites overhead? Is that even possible? Or will there be a hybrid approach — provide broadband to physically static locations and work from there?

[Gavin Sheridan is the Founder and CEO of Vizlegal.]

Mentioning the public interest just once, the Federal Communications Commission adopted its 20th wireless competition report this week. As mandated by law, each year the FCC is tasked with reviewing the competitive market conditions with respect to commercial mobile services (voice, messaging and wireless broadband) including the number of competitors, an analysis of whether any competitors have a dominant share of the market, and a statement of whether additional providers or classes of providers would be likely to enhance competition. Each year, the headline-grabbing decision before the FCC is whether or not there is “effective competition.” This week, for the first time in eight years, the FCC concluded that there is “effective competition.”

The internet is a powerful enabler for social change; yet, for 34 million Americans it remains out of reach. A disproportionate number of these people include vulnerable populations such as low-income families or individuals, seniors, and adults living with a disability. Mobile Beacon works hand-in-hand with community organizations to create digital inclusion programs that provide the internet to the people that need it most. Together, we help connect people to this vital tool to improve their lives. That’s why we’re offering the to help you create programs that will really take off. When you become one of our pilot sites, you’ll have access to the full which includes:

25 donated 4G LTE mobile hotspots
FREE unlimited 4G LTE data plans during the pilot program
25 donated Lenovo Thinkpad E560 laptops

Pilot applications should have a clear focus on how mobile, high-speed internet will make a tangible change for the people you serve. Provide as much detail as you need to explain what you plan to do and how you will measure your impact.

The internet of things (IoT) is about more than just connecting widgets to networks and to each other, according to Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen. It’s also about providing access for those who might not otherwise have it.

Dish spent $6.2 billion to buy licenses during the auction of 600 MHz that wrapped up in 2017, far exceeding the expectations of most analysts and adding low-band airwaves to its significant holdings of mid-band spectrum. The company outlined plans to build a narrow band IoT network to provide connectivity to a wide range of devices other than traditional tablets and smartphones. But people are also a key component of the IoT, Ergen observed. “Where we are focused as a company is really on the connectivity side,” Ergen said. “We have a lot of spectrum that we’ve acquired over the years that can be used in a wireless way to connect communities and people and things.” For that connectivity to be fully leveraged, though, it must be accessible to as many users as possible, Ergen continued. That not only includes consumers in urban areas—a key segment of the emerging IoT market—but also those in outlying areas who may not have reliable access to networks through wireless or fixed-line services. “For smart cities, that’s going to be an important thing so that you can connect more efficiently regarding street lights or garbage cans or parking tickets or air quality or whatever it’s going to be. I think we can play a role in that as a company and we get excited about that piece of it,” he said. “When you really get into connectivity, as long as everybody has access to that connectivity on an equal basis, then it’s what they do with it…. You don’t want red-line networks where certain people can’t get access to parts of the network when other people can. You’ve got to bring those people together, and then it’s their game and they make of it what you can.”

You'll soon be able to text on any Delta flight for free. Delta flights worldwide will have free texting through a Gogo app, starting Oct 1. Free messaging will be available on Gogo-enabled Delta flights for planes with two or more cabins. Travelers will be able to access the feature through Delta's Wi-Fi portal page, airborne.gogoinflight.com. Delta has 1,300 planes worldwide and all but 130 of them have Wi-Fi, according to a Delta spokeswoman.

It is ironic that at the very moment the public is debating whether reliance on four-firm competition is enough to protect small businesses and consumers, the Federal Communications Commission declares "mission accomplished." We shouldn’t ignore how four-firm competition, data roaming rules, spectrum screens and other regulations adopted by previous Administrations continue to benefit consumers. At the same time, we cannot ignore the continuing problems of concentration -- particularly in rural markets and for low-income Americans. The purpose of the Competition Report is to provide an important tool for Congress and the American people to understand the wireless market. It is not intended to put a happy face on an industry that remains concentrated by conventional antitrust metrics.