Who owns, controls, or influences media and telecommunications outlets.
Ownership
Broadband provider deploys fiber service with a wrinkle—the users themselves own each network
A recent article about Silicon Valley residents who formed a co-op Internet service provider might have people wondering what it would take to get the same thing in their hometowns. The most obvious obstacle is the price—in Los Altos Hills, California, residents have had to pay anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000 upfront for a fiber-to-the-home Internet connection. But the company that built the Los Altos Hills network says its model isn't just for wealthy people. "This is not the 1 percent solution, as people derisively call it to my face," Next Level Networks CEO David Barron said.
FCC Grants 900 MHz Broadband Segment Applications
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted nine 900 MHz broadband segment license applications to PDV Spectrum Holding Company in Missouri and Kansas. On May 13, 2020, the Commission realigned the 900 MHz band to make available six megahertz of low-band spectrum for the development of critical wireless broadband technologies and services, while reserving the remaining four megahertz of spectrum for continued narrowband operations.
Twitter’s potential collapse could wipe out vast records of recent human history
Almost from the time the first tweet was posted in 2006, Twitter has played an important role in world events. The platform has been used to record everything from the Arab Spring to the ongoing war in Ukraine. It's also captured our public conversations for years. But experts are worried that these rich seams of media and conversation could be lost forever if Elon Musk tanks the company.
SpaceX just bought a big ad campaign on Twitter for Starlink
Elon Musk’s aerospace business SpaceX has ordered one of the larger advertising packages available from Twitter, the social media business he just acquired in a $44 billion deal and where he is now serving as CEO.
Northleaf Capital Partners buys controlling interest in Mercury Broadband
Northleaf Capital Partners acquired a controlling interest in Mercury Broadband and will invest up to $230 million over the next several years to support the provider’s expansion plans. Mercury Broadband, also known as Mercury Wireless, won Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) money to cover some of the costs of deploying a combination of fixed wireless and fiber broadband to unserved and underserved rural areas of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. Northleaf, a “global private markets investment firm,” raised $21 billion in private equity, private cre
Musk backs Republicans ahead of midterms
Elon Musk waded into uncharted political waters when he urged “independent-minded voters” to cast their ballots for Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections, making the kind of explicit endorsement his fellow tech CEOs have avoided in the past. “To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,” Musk wrote on Twitter. The tweet garnered over 43,000 retweets and over 279,000 likes after it was posted.
Cable One doubles down on fiber with $50 million Ziply investment
Cable One stuck invested $50 million to acquire a minority stake in northwestern US operator Ziply Fiber, part of the $450 million new funding Ziply received. WaveDivision Capital and Searchlight Capital Partners were among the other investors who contributed. Cable One handed Ziply an initial $22.2 million in November 2022 and expects to dole out the remaining $27.8 million before the end of September 2023. The investment netted Cable One less than a 10% equity interest in Ziply. The move is Cable One’s latest in the fiber realm.
Musk personally led call with civil rights groups to address hate speech on Twitter
Twitter CEO Elon Musk led a call with civil rights groups in an effort to assure them that he would curtail hate speech — and stop the spread of misinformation ahead of the midterm elections. Musk said that Twitter employees responsible for election integrity who had been locked out of their moderation tools during the company’s acquisition will have their access reinstated soon. Musk also said that users banned by the platform — including former President Donald Trump — will remain off the site “for at least a few more weeks.” The gathering was part of Musk’s effort to set up a “content mo
Civil-Society Groups Call on Twitter’s Top-20 Advertisers to Demand that Elon Musk Fulfill His Promise to Safeguard Their Brands and Protect Users
More than 40 civil-society groups called on Twitter’s top-20 advertisers to inform Elon Musk that they will suspend all advertising on the platform if he follows through on plans to undermine the social network’s community standards and content moderation.
Senator Murphy (D-CT) Requests Review of Foreign Stake in Acquisition of Twitter, Inc.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) sent a letter to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) requesting an immediate investigation into the potential national security concerns arising from the recent takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk and a number of foreign private investors, including members of the Saudi Arabian royal family and the kingdom of Qatar. Senator Murphy called attention to Saudi Arabia’s repression of free speech and political dissent inside and outside of the Kingdom’s borders, including the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.