Reporting

To hear well-known Wall Street analyst Craig Moffett tell it, Verizon spent a mind-boggling $52 billion on C-band spectrum which “isn’t very good” and fixing its 5G coverage problem is going to require even more money—“lots of money.” That was one of the hottest and most publicized take-aways from Verizon’s Q2 earnings call. While Moffett described Verizon’s overall wireless Q2 results as “fair,” the gist of his report focused on “Verizon’s C-band problem,” one that he said will take a whole lot of densification to rectify.

We're in the thick of the process to distribute $42.5 billion of government funds to companies that will ultimately win Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funds. Carol Mattey, a former deputy bureau chief with the Federal Communications Commission who now works as a broadband consultant said a handful of states, that are early in the game, are allowing pre-qualification applications for BEAD grants. Some of the states doing this include Missouri, 

US senators wrote to Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Jessica Rosenworcel, Chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), urging them to closely scrutinize T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of UScellular. Since T-Mobile acquired Sprint in 2020, just three carriers have dominated the national mobile wireless service market.

The Artificial Intelligence Polling Institute asked nearly 1,000 respondents to rate the sometimes conflicting views that Trump allies and the man himself have expressed on AI. What they found might give pause to open-source acolytes and out-there accelerationists alike — and, perhaps unexpectedly, to the Republicans who are ready to line up behind Trump’s desire to 

In a ruling that quickly caused shock waves in the U.S. telecommunications industry, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, 9-7, that the Universal Service Fund (USF) is unconstitutional as currently administered. The Court explained its ruling by saying that the USF is a “misbegotten tax” that violates Article I, § 1 of the Constitution, which states that all legislative powers are given to Congress, which is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Osage senior citizens no longer have to pay for internet access, which means they can more easily enjoy online language classes, telehealth appointments and digital tribal news from the comfort of their own homes. To qualify for the new program through Osage Broadband, participants must be enrolled Osage members and have an active account. They must also live within the tribe’s reservation and be at least 55 years old.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D-CA) is all but certain to become the Democratic presidential candidate. If elected, Harris would be a president with roots in California’s Bay Area—the heart of the tech industry. Despite her ties to this region, Harris is largely a cipher when it comes to tech policy.

Sen Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott (D-MD), and Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke about plans to expand internet connectivity in Baltimore. The Enoch Pratt Free Library currently has about 2,000 hotspots in circulation. According to Meghan McCorkell, Enoch Pratt Free Library’s chief of marketing, communications and strategy, about 969 people are waiting for a hotspot.

After the Fifth Circuit ruled, 9-7, that the Universal Service Fund is unconstitutional as currently administered, we've seen the following responses.

T Mobile said it entered into a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture (JV) with the investment firm KKR to acquire Metronet as the company aims to increase its fiber solution offer to U.S. consumers. The wireless broadband provider expects to invest around $4.9 billion to acquire a 50% equity stake in the joint venture and 100% of Metronet’s residential fiber retail operations and customers. The JV will also acquire Oak Hill Capital’s existing stake.