Bloomberg
FCC Investigates Broadband Providers Over Coverage Claims
The Federal Communications Commission is investigating whether broadband-service providers exaggerated their level of coverage to authorities preparing to distribute billions of dollars in subsidies. At issue are claims by carriers that they already provide high-speed internet service to rural and other underserved areas where it’s not actually available. The Biden administration is awarding $42.5 billion to increase access in these locations. Areas served and unserved are being marked on a map compiled by the FCC.
FCC Investigates Broadband Providers Over Coverage Claims (Bloomberg)
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Thu, 02/16/2023 - 17:34Facebook Hit With $1 Million Fine Tied to User-Privacy Lawsuit (Bloomberg)
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 11:14Verizon, T-Mobile Overstate Claims With $43 Billion at Stake
Tiny Gerlach, NV, looks like the ideal place to receive some of the $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funding targeted to provide internet access to underserved areas. There’s just one catch: The town of 161, gateway to the state’s Black Rock Desert, already has broadband access, according to a government map showing that T-Mobile US Inc. provides service there.
Twitter Draws EU Ire for Sending Incomplete Disinformation Report (Bloomberg)
Submitted by benton on Thu, 02/09/2023 - 06:26West Des Moines’ $60 Million Plan to Span the Broadband Gap
Nearly 1,000 miles of fiber-optic conduit is being laid in West Des Moines (IA), bringing lightning-fast internet to every home and business, thanks to a $60 million municipal bond and a novel public-private partnership. Laying fiber lines is costly, messy work: Companies offering fiber service must drill and install conduit on every street in the service area before beginning to offer service and recoup costs. In 2020, West Des Moines entered a partnership with Google Fiber.
EU Weighs Proposal to Charge Data-Heavy Streamers for Internet Upgrades (Bloomberg)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 01/31/2023 - 06:16Big Tech Antitrust Push in Congress Is Blunted by GOP-Led House (Bloomberg)
Submitted by dclay@benton.org on Mon, 01/30/2023 - 14:23An Iowa Town’s $60 Million Plan to Span the Broadband Gap
In 2020, West Des Moines (IA) entered a partnership with Google Fiber, the super-fast internet service that Alphabet offers in several US cities. But unlike previous cities that have participated in the decade-old initiative, West Des Moines is building the fiber conduit network itself, in exchange for Google Fiber promising to lay its fiber lines in front of every home and business in the city — not just in areas the company believes will be profitable.