Reporting

Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) appointment as acting chairman of the Intelligence Committee could mean more trouble for tech and telecommunication companies with ties to China. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Sen Rubio’s appointment in the absence of Sen Richard Burr (R-NC), who temporarily stepped down from the top spot while the FBI is investigating his stock trades.

An interview with House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR).

The FCC's June 2020 meeting agenda includes the following:

With some states beginning to lift stay at home restrictions during the coronavirus outbreak, Charter is offering a free month of service to new business customers.

Change is in the air for the telecommunications sector as vendors and service providers grapple with the fallout from COVID-19. While it may be too soon to carve all of the changes into granite, it does seem as though the industry is headed towards the dawning of a new era.  Adding more capacity going forward is top of mind for most service providers. But now that service providers, businesses and other organizations know that their employees can work from home (WFH) how many will return to the office space once the coronavirus restrictions loosen up across the board?

Homeschooling students amid the coronavirus pandemic significantly amplifies economic inequities between households. Household income and a family's employment status can determine whether a student has the resources to learn remotely. Income significantly affects access to broadband and data plans, the foundations of keeping up with schoolwork when classes are cancelled.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stunned Oakland schools and city leaders with a $10 million donation to a campaign aimed at providing computers and internet access to all students in the Oakland Unified School District. Dorsey's donation came after a group of city officials including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and district Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel held an online news conference announcing the effort.

It took less than a week at the end of February for the top 10 Amazon search terms in multiple countries to fill up with products related to COVID-19. You can track the spread of the pandemic by what we shopped for: the items peaked first in Italy, followed by Spain, France, Canada, and the US. The UK and Germany lag slightly behind. “It’s an incredible transition in the space of five days,” says Rael Cline, Nozzle’s CEO. The ripple effects have been seen across retail supply chains.

Every year, BroadbandNow delves into the world of municipal broadband with a report on which states have made it illegal for towns and cities and counties to set up their own ISPs, or make it really difficult.  The report for 2020, written by telecom analyst Kendra Chamberlain, has a silver lining, though.

Life has moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, and access to the internet has shone a new light on America's inequality crisis. Nearly 15% of American households do not have a home internet subscription, including dial-up, broadband or a cellular data plan, according to US Census estimates from 2018.