1. Monthly archive
  2. June 2023

June 2023

Chairwoman Rosenworcel Launches Privacy and Data Protection Task Force

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel established the new Privacy and Data Protection Task Force. This FCC staff working group will coordinate across the agency on the rulemaking, enforcement, and public awareness needs in the privacy and data protection sectors. This will include data breaches – such as those involving telecommunications providers and related to cyber intrusions – and supply chain vulnerabilities involving third-party vendors that service regulated communications providers. FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A.

Remarks of Alan Davidson: Affordable Connectivity Program Week of Action Event

Today kicks off the Biden-Harris Administration’s Affordable Connectivity Program Week of Action. We have more than 300 organizations from across the country committed to raising awareness about ACP. The Internet is now the essential tool for communications in our modern world. It is essential for access to work. Access to education. Access to healthcare.

Treasury Department Announces Awards in Montana and North Dakota to Expand Connectivity

The US Department of the Treasury approved $119.9 million in federal funds for broadband infrastructure projects in Montana and $68.3 million for multi-purpose community facility projects in North Dakota under the American Rescue Plan Act's (ARPA) Capital Projects Fund (CPF):

Fiber’s Thin and Flexible Plan

As the production of fiber continues to increase, so do improvements to its physical properties. Service providers are buying more quantities of bendable fiber and looking towards the next generation of 200-micron fiber which will provide increased density and likely reduce material usage. “If you break it down, you’ll see that [North America] fiber demand has tripled since 2015,” said Greg Williams, Business Unit Director, Fiber Cable Systems, Prysmian Group. “And it’s doubled since 2018.

Altafiber to Buy Assets of Bridgewired

Altafiber, formerly Cincinnati Bell, has agreed to acquire the broadband infrastructure assets of Bridgewired, a Ohio-based company that operates a fiber optic network delivering gigabit Internet speeds to locations in portions of Warren County, Greene County, and Clinton County.

DISH Clears One FCC 5G Buildout Hurdle, But Still Faces Future Deadlines

DISH says it is providing 5G service to 70% of the US population and has launched more than 15,000 5G sites and therefore has met a key Federal Communications Commission buildout milestone related to its acquisition of Boost Mobile. DISH faces additional buildout requirements two years from now, however, and some question whether the company will be able to meet those requirements, citing funding and timing constraints. The company says that it has continued to add functionality and markets to its voice over new radio (V

The three challenges of AI regulation

The drumbeat of artificial intelligence (AI) corporate chieftains calling for government regulation of their activities is mounting. As Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin (D-IL) observed, it is “historic” to have “people representing large corporations… come before us and plead with us to regulate them.” There are three challenges for AI oversight: dealing with the velocity of AI developments, parsing the components of what to regulate, and determining

Aerial fiber is likely to play big role in BEAD deployments

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will announce the allotment of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) funds to the US states and territories in June 2023. And NTIA has indicated it wants areas that are unserved with broadband to receive the funds first. Jonathan Chambers, a partner with the fiber construction company Conexon, says that in terms of deploying fiber to unserved rural areas, deployments are going to be mostly aerial deployments as opposed to trenched deployments.

Is the government’s ACP ‘Week of Action’ a doomed effort?

The US Department of Education, Federal Communications Commission, non-profit group Civic Nation, and broadband operators joined hands to launch a “Week of Action” designed to boost sign-ups for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

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