Agenda

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Friday, October 25, 2019.

Apparently, T-Mobile's bid to acquire Spring has received a third “yes” vote at the Federal Communications Commission.  All three Republicans on the five-member agency have voted for the deal, setting in motion procedures that would require agency action by Oct. 9, or Oct. 16 if an extension is requested by a commissioner. Neither agency Democrat has cast a vote, and both have called for delay.

The Federal Communications Commission (Commission) intends to establish a Federal Advisory Committee, known as the ‘‘Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States." The FCC intends to establish the charter on or before December 19, 2019, providing the Task Force with authorization to operate for two years. In consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, and in collaboration with public and private stakeholders in the agriculture and technology fields, the purpose of the Task Force is to:

Only four states meet or exceed the federal minimum of 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) for broadband connectivity — and Pennsylvania isn't one of them. Sascha Meinrath, telecommunications chair at Penn State University, unveiled the results of a 2018 study analyzing over 250 million speed tests from across the U.S during a Pennsylvania state Senate Communications and Technology Committee public hearing. Effectively, more than half of Pennsylvanians do not have access to the minimum broadband connection. While the state Senate Committee hearing addressed concerns over un- and underserved comm

At present, 34 states (and the District of Columbia) have introduced some kind of open internet legislation.

The essential point at the Nevada Broadband Workshop in Reno was this: Communities that want broadband should produce a plan that’s as comprehensive as possible. Hosted by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) BroadbandUSA program, the workshop guided attendees through various aspects of broadband planning for smaller communities. Even if the cost for a project seems exorbitant, a plan can still be made.

Sen Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has been leading private meetings in Washington with tech industry leaders and civil society groups as part of the Senate Judiciary tech task force inquiry into social media and internet companies.