October 2017

Apple Is Designing iPhones, iPads That Would Drop Qualcomm Components

Apple, locked in an intensifying legal fight with Qualcomm, is is designing iPhones and iPads for next year that would jettison the chipmaker’s components. Apple is considering building the devices only with modem chips from Intel and possibly MediaTek because Qualcomm has withheld software critical to testing its chips in iPhone and iPad prototypes.

As Apple and Facebook Chiefs Visit, Xi Jinping Vows Deeper Reform

Just days after being likened to a king by President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping of China reiterated his commitment to reform while holding court before a group of wealthy and influential business leaders from his country and the United States.

Australia counts the cost of broadband blunders

In some upside-down logic from the land of down under, Australian consumers have been able to upgrade their broadband internet access to the latest fibre-optic lines, only to receive slower speeds than over ageing copper wires. Such experiences are the absurd result of a grandiose government plan to bankroll what was supposed to be the world’s most advanced broadband network, called NBN.

FCC Fines Securus $1.7M, Resolving Investigation Over Submitting Misleading Information To Agency

The Federal Communications Commission announced it has reached a $1.7 million consent decree with Securus Technologies resolving an investigation into whether Securus provided inaccurate and misleading information to the FCC regarding the company’s transfer of control to Platinum Equity, LLC.  As part of the consent decree, Securus will implement a strict compliance plan.

Sen Mark Warner: Tech Millionaire Who Became Tech’s Critic in Congress

This week, Sen Mark Warner (D-VA), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, will push for new answers. Executives from Facebook, Google and Twitter are set to testify at congressional hearings on Oct 31 and Nov 1 about the election and the power of their platforms Lawmakers are increasingly taking a critical tone with Silicon Valley, with Sen Warner among the harshest. He has already pushed a bill requiring the companies to disclose who paid for digital political ads, the biggest legislative effort so far to regulate the companies. Sen Warner’s position is a sharp reversal.

Chinese Internet Regulators Target Social Media Use

Instant-messaging apps, video streaming and other new content platforms in China will face closer scrutiny under new rules issued by the country’s internet regulators. In a statement Oct 30, the Cyberspace Administration of China said messaging apps and other new forms of information dissemination can be used to engage in illegal behavior.

Google’s Dominance in Washington Faces a Reckoning

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, made a big bet on Hillary Clinton winning the 2016 presidential election. Employees donated $1.6 million to her campaign, about 80% more than the amount given by workers at any other corporation, and Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt helped set up companies to analyze political data for the campaign. Schmidt even wore a badge labeled “STAFF” at Mrs. Clinton’s election-night bash. His support of the losing side didn’t go unnoticed among the victors.

FCC Clears CenturyLink-Level 3 Combination

CenturyLink and Level 3 Communications' proposed merger cleared its last government hurdle nearly a year after the two telecommunications companies announced their combination. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal after similar nods by state regulators and the Department of Justice earlier in 2017. Worth $25 billion when it was announced in 2016, the deal’s close was delayed for weeks as regulators took their time to review its competitive effects.

FCC Unanimously Approves Emergency Assistance To Restore Connectivity In Hurricane-Affected Schools And Libraries

The Federal Communications Commission has unanimously approved emergency assistance to restore connectivity in schools and libraries affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria through the agency’s E-rate program.