February 2021

Facebook said it would spend at least $1 billion to license material from news publishers over the next three years, a pledge that comes as tech giants face scrutiny from governments around the world over paying for news content that appears on their platforms. The spending plans are in addition to $600 million that Facebook paid since 2018 in deals with publishers like the Guardian, Financial Times and others to populate its Facebook News product in some countries.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted an additional 21 spectrum licenses in the 2.5 GHz band to help connect rural Tribal communities across the country. To date, the agency has granted 205 licenses in the 2.5 GHz band to help address rural Tribal connectivity needs. These licenses provide for exclusive use of up to 117.5 megahertz of 2.5 GHz band spectrum that Tribes can use to connect their rural communities to wireless broadband and other advanced services.