Jon Brodkin
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“What is the FCC hiding?” Chairman Pai still won’t release net neutrality server logs
The Federal Communications Commission has once again refused a New York Times request for records that the Times believes might shed light on Russian interference in the net neutrality repeal proceeding. The Times made a Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) request in June 2017 for FCC server logs and sued the FCC in September 2018 over the agency's ongoing refusal to release the records. The court case is still pending, but the Times had also appealed directly to the FCC to reverse its FoIA decision.
Chairman Pai wants to raise rural broadband speeds from 10Mbps to 25Mbps
The Federal Communications Commission is planning to raise the rural broadband standard from 10Mbps to 25Mbps in a move that would require faster Internet speeds in certain government-subsidized networks. The FCC's Connect America Fund (CAF) distributes more than $1.5 billion a year to AT&T, CenturyLink, and other carriers to bring broadband to sparsely populated areas. Carriers that use CAF money to build networks must provide speeds of at least 10Mbps for downloads and 1Mbps for uploads. The minimum speed requirement was last raised in Dec 2014.
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Chairman Pai isn’t saying whether ISPs deliver the broadband speeds you pay for
Nearly two years have passed since the Federal Communications Commission reported on whether broadband customers are getting the Internet speeds they pay for. In 2011, the Obama-era FCC began measuring broadband speeds in nearly 7,000 consumer homes as part of the then-new Measuring Broadband America program. Each year from 2011 to 2016, the FCC released an annual report comparing the actual speeds customers received to the advertised speeds customers were promised by Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, AT&T, and other large Internet service providers (ISPs).
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AT&T CEO: State net neutrality and privacy laws are a “total disaster”
AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson urged Congress to pass network neutrality and consumer data privacy laws that would prevent states from issuing their own stricter laws. "There are a number of states that are now passing their own legislation around privacy and, by the way, net neutrality," Stephenson said.
Verizon won’t speed up 5G buildout despite FCC preempting local fees
Verizon Wireless says it will not move faster on building its 5G cellular network despite a Federal Communications Commission decision that erased $2 billion dollars' worth of fees for the purpose of spurring faster 5G deployment. The FCC's controversial decision in Sept angered both large and small municipalities because it limits the amount they can charge carriers for deployment of wireless equipment such as small cells on public rights-of-way.
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Attorneys General of Texas, Arkansas, and Nebraska help FCC kill net neutrality and preempt state laws
The Federal Communications Commission's repeal of network neutrality rules has received support from the Republican attorneys general of TX, AR, and NE. The three states filed a brief Oct 19 in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, urging judges to reject a lawsuit filed against the FCC by 22 other states.
Verizon declares success, says Florida network is back up after hurricane
Verizon Wireless service is back up and running "essentially everywhere" throughout the area hit by Hurricane Michael, the company said. "Verizon engineers and fiber crews have been working around the clock after unprecedented damage to our fiber infrastructure caused by the most intense storm in history to make landfall in the Panhandle," Verizon's announcement said.
Comcast complains it will make less money under California net neutrality law
California's network neutrality law will cause "significant lost revenues" for Comcast, the nation's largest cable company said in a court filing. Comcast described the net neutrality law's potential impact on its ability to charge online service providers and network operators for network interconnection.
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Robocallers “evolved” to sidestep new call blocking rules, AGs tell FCC
The Federal Communications Commission should let phone companies get more aggressive in blocking robocalls, 35 state attorneys general told the commission Oct 9. The FCC in 2017 authorized voice service providers to block more types of calls in which the Caller ID has been spoofed or in which the number on the Caller ID is invalid. But the FCC did not go far enough, and robocallers have "evolved" to evade the new rules, the 35 attorneys general wrote in an FCC filing.
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Chairman Pai's 5G plans make it harder for small ISPs to deploy broadband
The Federal Communications Commission is changing the rules for an upcoming spectrum auction in a way that will make it harder for small carriers to buy spectrum for deploying rural broadband. The change—requested by T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon—will help the big carriers deploy nationwide 5G networks, according to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal.