January 2020

Op-Ed: Iowa and New Hampshire highlight the crisis of local news — and its national importance (Hill, The)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Mon, 01/27/2020 - 14:06

FCC Authorizes Full Commercial Deployment In 3.5 GHz Band, Advancing American 5G Leadership

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the FCC has certified four Spectrum Access System (SAS) Administrators, paving the way for full commercial operations in the 3.5 GHz band. In 2019, the FCC approved these SAS Administrators for initial commercial deployments. Jan 27’s action allows for full commercial use of this critical mid-band spectrum for broadband connectivity and 5G.

Verizon brings 5G to the Super Bowl—for part of the stadium, anyway (Ars Technica)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Mon, 01/27/2020 - 13:49

Most Americans support right to have some personal info removed from online searches

Americans prefer to keep certain information about themselves outside the purview of online searches. Given the option, 74% of US adults say it is more important to be able to “keep things about themselves from being searchable online,” while 23% say it is more important to be able to “discover potentially useful information about others.”

Leaked Documents Expose the Secretive Market for Your Web Browsing Data

Avast, an antivirus program used by hundreds of millions of people around the world, is selling highly sensitive web browsing data to many of the world's biggest companies.

Analysis: These scientists are trying to help Congress get smarter about tech

The Government Accountability Office's Science and Technology Assessment and Analytics group, created in 2019, is ramping up its work: It wants to double its current ranks of about 70 people providing technical assessments to Congress on topics such as artificial intelligence in health care or 5G wireless. “At such a time as this, you can't avoid” tech issues, said Tim Persons, GAO's top scientist tasked with leading the group. "There's so much disruption going on and so much potential for good in solving our complex adaptive systems problems of the day.