The Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program has taken a step closer to becoming reality, with state and territory funding allocations having been announced. Now, states and territories must submit their five-year plans to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to describe...
Texas to receive the largest amount: $3.3 billion in federal funds to close the digital divide
The Biden administration has announced how it will divvy up $42.5 billion in federal funding for broadband among the U.S. states and territories; now it's on the states to...
Last year, the FAA issued more than 1,400 warnings about the possibility that on-board aviation systems may be disrupted by 5G C-Band operations
A quickly approaching July 1st deadline for passenger jets to upgrade their altimeters to address potential 5G interference could cause some airline...
The digital divide between urban and rural households in the U.S. is growing. At a time when access to the internet is becoming increasingly vital for education, remote working, and accessing certain government services, almost 10% of rural households still have no access to...
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed a program that would require operators serving the most remote parts of the United States to provide network speeds of at least 100 Mbps downstream and 20 Mbps upstream.
The proposed order would create a new...
The Biden administration has announced more than $930 million for high-speed "middle mile" infrastructure connections, meant to help expand capacity and lower the cost of connecting local broadband deployments to regional and national networks.
Middle-mile infrastructure doesn't connect end users directly, but rather connects...
USDA awards $420 million in grants, $294 in loans for fiber deployments
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is awarding more than $700 million in broadband funding for projects in 19 states as part of its ongoing ReConnect program focused on rural connectivity and development across...
BICS' Head of Fraud Prevention and Security Katia Gonzalez provides an update on STIR/SHAKEN and argues that while the FCC's initiative has made a dent in the robocalls being experienced by many Americans, spam, fraud and other related telco issues must be considered on...
The investment in the EU semiconductor market includes both public and private funds
The European Union (EU) this week approved a massive semiconductor and communication technologies project that will use roughly €8 billion ($8.6 billion) in state funds. The public investment encouraged another €13.7 billions ($14.7...
The newest version identifies another 330,000 locations unserved by broadband
The Federal Communications Commission has released an updated version of its National Broadband Map, one that FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said reflected a "big" step in a new, iterative process that is meant to provide...
Avid Telecom is accused of making 7.5 billion illegal robocalls to millions of people on the Do Not Call Registry
Nearly every state in the U.S. — and D.C. — has joined a lawsuit this week against Avid Telecom, accusing the company of making 7.5 billion illegal robocalls to...
Anna Gomez is a former NTIA, FCC deputy and former Sprint VP
President Joe Biden has selected a new nominee to fill the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission: Anna Gomez, a veteran telecom attorney who has held telecom-related positions across multiple federal agencies...
Broadcom first announced plans to acquire VMware for $61 billion in May 2022
Broadcom’s plan to acquire VMware for $61 billion, first announced in May 2022, has encountered another setback. Regulators in both Europe and the U.S. are still looking into the proposed merger and...
Micron failed to pass a cybersecurity review, says the Cyberspace Administration of China
Tensions between China and the U.S. escalated over the weekend when the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced its decision to ban Idaho-based memory chipmaker Micron from selling to Chinese companies.
According...
The FCC will not authorize two-way, high-powered terrestrial mobile use on the 12.2-12.7 GHz band
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 4-0 this week to preserve parts of the 12 GHz spectrum band for advanced satellite services. The decision means that the Commission will not...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The refrain came again and again over the course of the afternoon, from carriers, network equipment makers and other industry players: Spectrum is the lifeblood of wireless, and the future of the telecommunications, the technological leadership of the United States, and the country's...
State Department is requesting the band be officially recognized for 5G
As the U.S. federal government continues its efforts to identify additional spectrum for mobile network use, particularly in the midband range, the U.S. State Department is beginning the process to have 3.3-3.4 GHz become...
Oppo established its in-house chip unit, called Zeku, in 2019
With the global semiconductor market still facing shortages, political tension and other setbacks, Chinese smartphone maker Oppo has announced the abrupt closure of its in-house chip design unit.
"Due to the uncertainties in the global...
As the U.S. federal government pours billions of dollars into broadband deployment and adoption, it is also trying to get a better handle on coordination and tracking of those efforts across disparate agencies with different funding mechanisms and program requirements.
A new report from...
The future of spectrum is at a crossroads
PITTSBURGH, Penn.—Good wireless spectrum is hard to find, and it's getting harder and more complex. There are pressures all the way from the local level to the international one, for leadership in defining new bands that will...
CCA's Donovan: 'It's a pretty wild time in wireless'
The Competitive Carriers Association meets this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for its Mobile Carriers Show, amid a policy environment in a fair amount of turmoil, particularly from the spectrum point of view.
"We have a full...
In January 2022, Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has blocked Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard, claiming the deal would lead to “reduced innovation and less choice” in the cloud gaming market.
Announced in January...
The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously approved new rules in place that govern how space-based systems coordinate and share spectrum, in an attempt to balance early-mover system protections while enabling newer players to have spectrum access.
The changes mark the first work coming out of...
First funding opportunity focuses on testing
The Biden administration is officially kicking off the first funding opportunity for the $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, which is part of the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year and focuses on federal government's efforts...
