Devices

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules prohibiting communications equipment deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to national security from being authorized for importation or sale in the United States. This is the latest step by the FCC to protect our nation’s communications networks.

Using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development, working in concert with the Mass Broadband Institute (MBI), launched two programs in September — Digital Equity Partnerships Program and Municipal Digital Equity Planning. “Digital inclusion really cuts across every aspect of society, whether its social connectivity, being able to get into the workforce and stay in the workforce, civic participation, health care access..., educational opportunities...

The Federal Communication Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology conditionally approved 13 proposed automated frequency coordination (AFC) database systems to finalize development for operations in the 6 GHz band and prepare for the testing phase. This automated frequency coordination (AFC) system manages spectrum access for 6 GHz band standard-power unlicensed devices. The FCC’s recent rule changes expanded unlicensed use in the 5.925-6.425 GHz and 6.525- 6.875 GHz portions of the 6 GHz band to allow standard-power devices under the control of an AFC.

British communications regulator Ofcom said it had started the process to scrap legislation compelling BT, the former state-owned monopoly, to provide dedicated landlines for the devices at affordable prices.

Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD) said the state’s Office of Statewide Broadband will spend up to $30 million on laptops for about 150,000 households. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, which contains the broadband office, plans to partner with local governments and community groups to distribute the devices to “underserved” households, according to Gov. Hogan.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules to bolster the operational readiness and security of the nation’s public alert and warning systems, the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. These systems warn the public about emergencies through alerts on their televisions, radios, and wireless phones. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted, the FCC proposes to:

Scientists from universities in Sweden and Denmark transmitted nearly double an internet’s worth of data through a fiber optic cable in one second using a laser-powered chip — a world record. The chip achieved dizzying speeds by using a single laser and a specialized light-creating device to transmit data over fiber optic cables. The number of data researchers sent, roughly 1.84 petabytes, far exceeds the roughly 1 petabyte of data transmitted over the entire internet every second (A petabyte of data is roughly a million gigabytes).

Identifying problems with Wi-Fi can be difficult, and people often just turn Wi-Fi off on their devices and instead use their cellular data connection.

The availability of faster Comcast uploads has a catch—users can only get the higher upstream speeds by purchasing xFi Complete, which adds $25 to monthly broadband costs. According to the company, "As markets launch, Xfinity Internet customers who subscribe to xFi Complete will have their upload speeds increased between 5 and 10 times faster." Additionally, Comcast is deploying the speed upgrade in the Northeast US over the next couple of months. Plans with 10Mbps upload speeds will get up to 100Mbps upload speeds once the new tiers roll out in your region—if you pay for xFi Complete.

Something is missing from our lives, and from our technology. The goal of consumer tech development used to be pretty simple: design and build something of value to people, giving them a reason to buy it. There has been a sea change in the entire model for innovation and the incentives that drive it. Why settle for a single profit-taking transaction for the company when you can instead design a product that will extract a monetizable data stream from every buyer, returning revenue to the company for years?