Jack Corrigan

Instead of forcing cities to reinvent the wheel with every new project, federal agencies can bring them to the table to share what works and what doesn’t work in areas like cybersecurity and privacy, said Sokwoo Rhee, the associate director of the cyber-physical program at the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST).

Federal regulators may have opted to toss network neutrality rules in Dec, but opponents of the repeal are looking to extend the fight for a free and open internet well into the new year. One of the most outspoken supporters of net neutrality on Capitol Hill, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) is spearheading an effort to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s “misguided and partisan” decision using the Congressional Review Act. The day of the commission’s vote, he announced plans to introduce a joint resolution that would undo the repeal and reinstate open internet rules.

Puerto Rico's post-Maria communications effort could serve as a disaster-response playbook for other governments. Three months after Maria made landfall, rolled back regulations, experimental technologies and portable satellite terminals have helped the government and private-sector restore communications across more than 85 percent of the island. 

AT&T will no longer protest a Census Bureau contract to provide mobile devices for workers for the 2020 Census, according to an official from a congressional watchdog agency.

The head of the Federal Trade Commission hailed her agency’s ability to protect online competition ahead of a likely regulatory rollback that would make the agency responsible for maintaining a free and open internet.  The FTC was responsible for policing the internet before the 2015 expansion of net neutrality regulations, and if Pai’s order passes, the agency will re-inherit that authority. “The FTC’s ability to protect consumers and promote competition in the broadband industry isn’t something new and far-fetched,” Acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen said.