Wireless Internet

On January 10, a group of lawmakers wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to express concern about the FCC's decision to revoke SpaceX’s Starlink 2020 Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) award. In her February 6 response, Chairwoman Rosenworcel explained that RDOF featured a two-part application process, and that in the second phase of the process, winning bidders from the first phase were required to share technical and financial information with the FCC.

“This is one of the least visited places on planet Earth and I got to open the door,” Matty Jordan, a construction specialist at New Zealand’s Scott Base in Antarctica, wrote in the caption to the video he posted to Instagram and TikTok in October 2023. In the video, he guides viewers through an empty, echoing hut, pointing out where the men of Ernest Shackleton’s 1907 expedition lived and worked—the socks still hung up to dry and the provisions still stacked neatly in place, preserved by the cold. Jordan, who started making TikToks to keep family and friends up to date with his life in Ant

The big AT&T network outage was a productivity catastrophe for commuters across the country, but remote workers were totally fine. Without

Here’s what to expect at the Federal Communications Commission's March Open Meeting.

EarthLink has acquired QX.net, a fixed wireless access provider specializing in business customers in Kentucky. QX.net has operated in the state since 1997. According to EarthLink, it built the state’s largest dedicated wireless internet network. The provider offers internet, voice, data center and SD-WAN services to businesses in different industries. Earthlink plans to expand in other markets in Kentucky. QX.net employees will be retained, EarthLink said. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration made a monstrous mess of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program maps when they decided to allow licensed fixed wireless to be counted as reliable broadband. This has a huge ramification for the BEAD grants. It has made maps into hodgepodges of served and unserved homes.

The message that emerged from Comcast Converge was that everything the company does—mobile, video, sports streaming, security and, of course, broadband—relies on the performance of its network infrastructure. By extension (given the fact that no one has plugged anything into a router to connect to the internet in ages), that means Wi-Fi. The way Comcast is thinking about convergence is probably best exemplified with this statistic: The first NFL playoff game which was exclusively streamed on its Peacock service in January accounted for a whopping 30 percent of all US internet traffic.

The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) and the Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum (WWLF) announced the launch of Telecom Trailblazers, an initiative to encourage STEM learning, teach young women about digital infrastructure and inspire them to pursue careers in telecommunications. Telecom Trailblazers’ programming will be carried out in partnership with IGNITE Worldwide, a non-profit dedicated to achieving gender equity in STEM by connecting girls with STEM opportunities during the school day.

The FirstNet Authority and its network partner, AT&T announced a major investment in the future of public safety communications. The FirstNet Authority’s 10-year, $8 billion investment initiative will evolve and expand FirstNet—America’s public safety network. The FirstNet Authority plans to invest $6.3 billion through its network contract with AT&T and anticipates an additional $2 billion for ongoing investments in coverage enhancements for public safety, which is currently under discussion by the parties.

In these comments to the Federal Communications Commission, the American Library Association affirms support for including Wi-Fi hotspots and services in the E-rate program, ALA urges the FCC to: