On October 2, AEI hosted an expert panel to discuss how price controls might affect broadband affordability and ways to ensure broadband is affordable for all Americans. The panel featured New Street Research’s Jonathan Chaplin, Duke University’s Michelle P.
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau seeks additional comment on the proposed eligible services list (ESL) for the schools and libraries universal service support mechanism (more commonly known as the E-Rate program) for funding year (FY) 2024. On September 12, 2023, the Bureau released a Public Notice seeking comment on the proposed ESL for FY 2024. Subsequently, on October 19, 2023, the FCC adopted a Declaratory Ruling regarding Wi-Fi on school buses.
The United Kingdom's current net neutrality rules are set out in legislation. Any changes to the rules in future would be a matter for Government and Parliament. Ofcom is responsible for monitoring and ensuring compliance with the rules and providing guidance on how ISPs should follow them. In 2021 Ofcom started a review of net neutrality. The review has found that, in general, it has worked well and supported consumer choice as well as enabling content providers to deliver their content and services to consumers.
The European Union’s digital enforcer downplayed a push from phone companies to have large technology companies like Netflix and Alphabet help pay for internet infrastructure, while outlining a broader vision for the overhaul of the telecommunications sector. Operators like Orange and Telefonica wanted major streaming sites to help foot the bill to roll out faster 5G networks and fiber.
In a letter to the Federal Communications Commission, Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) asked the FCC to take action on a long-standing proceeding which could change the way broadband providers access utility poles. Capito said she continues to hear “problems and delays” associated with broadband providers getting access to utility poles.
Recent telecommunications conferences have yielded one consistent disconnect – between wireless carriers seeking details about future spectrum allocations and government representatives offering vague assurances of better bandwidth to come. Consider the quizzing of Scott Blake Harris, senior spectrum advisor and director of national spectrum strategy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, at ForumGlobal's 12th Americas Spectrum Management Conference in Washington on October 10.
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