Wireless Telecommunications

T-Mobile has laid off a number of employees within its Metro by T-Mobile prepaid business. The extent of the layoffs is unclear. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union expects more layoffs after the merger is completed.

In the last quarter of every even numbered year, the Federal Communications Commission must publish a Communications Marketplace Report that, among other things, assesses the state of competition in the communications marketplace, including competition to deliver voice, video, audio, and data services among providers of telecommunications, providers of commercial mobile service, multichannel video programming distributors, broadcast stations, providers of satellite communications, Internet service providers, and other providers of communications services. In assessing the state of competiti

Apparently, the Federal Communications Commission is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in fines from the country’s top cellphone carriers after officials found the companies failed to safeguard information about customers’ real-time locations. The FCC informed AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon of pending notices of apparent liability. Such notices aren’t final, and the companies can still argue they aren’t liable or should pay less. It would ultimately fall on the Justice Department to collect any penalties.

Reps. Billy Long (R-MO) and Susan Brooks (R-IN) are siding with the wireless industry and asking Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to reserve a portion of the 6 GHz airwaves for auctioning off spectrum for licensed use.

The Federal Communications Commission began collecting information from telecommunications carriers on the use of Huawei and ZTE equipment and services in their networks. This follows the FCC’s adoption of a rule barring the use of Universal Service funds to purchase equipment and services from companies posing a national security threat. The FCC has proposed requiring carriers receiving Universal Service funds to remove and replace existing equipment and services from such companies.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s tech task force is gearing up to take on 5G wireless, said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The bipartisan mix of lawmakers will be “looking at some of these intricacies that affect spectrum and 5G deployment, security of the network and applications that are available to make life more convenient and accessible for consumers,” she said. Sen Blackburn also nudged Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to make a call about whether to allow satellite firm Ligado Networks to light up wireless service.

Sen. John Neely Kennedy has yet to go directly to President Donald Trump with his outrage over the Federal Communications Commission’s planned approach for auctioning the 5G-friendly C-band airwaves — but “I will,” he said. “There’s no big rush,” Sen Kennedy said. “The FCC is going to do what the FCC is going to do [Feb 28]. But what counts is what we do.

What gets left out of the conversation about 5G is that the service will likely be rolled out the same way as in technologies past — predominantly in wealthier areas.

As part of implementation of the Federal Communications Commission’s plan to support mobile and fixed service in high-cost areas of Alaska (Alaska Plan), the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau proposes and seeks comment on a population distribution methodology for estimating the number of Alaskans who receive mobile service within census blocks in remote areas. The Bureau proposes to use this methodology to determine whether mobile service providers participating in the Alaska Plan have met their performance commitments through deployment in eligible census blocks.