1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2019

May 2019

NOAA chief warns 24 GHz 5G would hamper weather forecasting

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acting Chief Neil Jacobs told the House Subcommittee on the Environment that 5G deployments using 24 GHz spectrum could negatively impact weather forecasting. Use of 24 GHz spectrum for mobile 5G could reduce the accuracy of weather forecasts by 30%, sending us back in time to the 1980s. Meteorologists use sensors to detect faint radio frequency signals emitted by atmospheric conditions. Meteorological satellites monitor various frequencies to collect data and predict weather.

Good News for Electric Cooperatives as State Legislatures Correct Obstructive Laws

Legislative changes are helping electric cooperatives continue to expand high-quality Internet access in rural parts of America. At least three state governments have bills in the works that empower cooperatives to provide high-speed Internet service in their service territories. Gov Brian Kemp (R-GA) recently signed into law SB 2 and SB 17, which clarify that both electric and telephone cooperatives are able to provide broadband service. Gov Larry Hogan (R-MD) has just approved SB 634 which similarly underscores how electric cooperatives can use their easements to provide broadband.

Rural America still struggling for access to high-speed internet service

As anticipation grows for 5G technology to be rolled out in big cities, nearly 15 million people in rural pockets across the country are still waiting for reliable high-speed internet. In the southeast, some states like Alabama are desperate to get their rural areas up to speed.

Sen Hawley Introduces Do Not Track Act

Sen Josh Hawley (R-MO) announced he will introduce the Do Not Track Act to give control over personal data back to users. The legislation: 

FCC Commissioner Carr Announces Support for T-Mobile-Sprint Transaction

I support the combination of T-Mobile and Sprint because Americans across the country will see more competition and an accelerated buildout of fast, 5G services. The proposed transaction will strengthen competition in the US wireless market and provide mobile and in-home broadband access to communities that demand better coverage and more choices. Today’s commitments to bring 5G to rural America are verifiable and enforceable. The proposed transaction’s investment in rural 5G will help close the digital divide—this FCC’s top priority.

Inside Andrew Yang's (Anti-Tech) Campaign

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is both of the tech world and one of its harshest critics. Viewed from a great distance, Yang’s candidacy has a lot in common with the two political comets that streaked across the 2016 presidential campaign: Donald Trump on the right and Bernie Sanders on the left. Yang runs essentially the same playbook: embracing economic grievance, hammering the tech giants and other darlings of the ‘new economy,’ selling his case directly to the working American.

Chairman Pai Statement on T-Mobile/Sprint Transaction

Two of the Federal Communications Commission’s top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives.

When we say we’ll do something, we mean it!: T-Mobile CEO Lays Out Merger Concessions

As we’ve made our case for the New T-Mobile, we’ve been listening to the Federal Communications Commission and many others. We submitted a set of commitments to the FCC around the New T-Mobile to address what we’ve heard. Ultimately, the commitments are about our shared goal to put the US at the forefront of 5G innovation, driving massive economic growth, helping bridge the Digital Divide, creating more competition, and of course, giving consumers and businesses more for less.

Huawei and the Homefront

Some lawmakers say the federal government should help small US wireless providers rip out and replace their existing Chinese network equipment. The Rural Wireless Association puts the collective price tag at $1 billion. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said he would raise the issue with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and push for a solution in the Senate Appropriations Committee. “We need to provide support to those small and rural communities who have already installed some of this equipment and will need help in covering the costs of removing and replacing it,” he said.

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