1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2015

November 2015

FCC Revises Auction Data, Dates, Few Prices

The Federal Communications Commission’s Incentive Auction Task Force released revised baseline data and prices for the reverse auction as well as revised filing window dates.

Among the revisions are the coverage area and population served for a small number of stations, and adjustments to population data for stations that are affected by these corrections. It is also updating the constraint files that will be used in the repacking process to reflect these corrections and adjustments. The commission said the revised data will be used to determine feasible channel assignments for each station. These revisions, it said, serve the commission’s statutory mandate to “make all reasonable efforts” to preserve each station’s coverage area and population served. The Task Force is also releasing revised reverse auction opening bid prices that it says have been recalculated to reflect the corrected baseline and constraint files.

Democrats scheduled debates on days when no one will watch

The Democratic National Committee, which organizes the party's primary debates, has faced accusations of scheduling them on dates that will receive poor viewership in an attempt to protect frontrunner Hillary Clinton.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has denied these claims. There are other hints Clinton wanted less exposure, including reports that her campaign privately lobbied the DNC for fewer debates. But when you just look at the debate schedule, it's hard to deny its absurdity — especially when you take a look back at political debates of years past.

FCC: We aren’t banning DD-WRT on Wi-Fi routers

The Federal Communications Commission is trying to convince people that it isn't banning third-party router firmware such as DD-WRT despite issuing guidance that sounded an awful lot like a ban.

Districts Still Struggling to Equip Schools With High-Speed Internet

Affordable Internet service and cost-effective access to related infrastructure remain major hurdles for schools, although access to fiber-optic cables and faster wireless networks is improving, according to a new survey of school district leaders.

"While progress is happening, policymakers and educators will need to keep their eyes focused on continued investments in robust, reliable education networks... to enable digital learning and address issues of digital equity," Keith Krueger, the CEO of the Consortium for School Networking, writes in the group's third annual "E-rate and Infrastructure" report. The findings come at a time of increased scrutiny of schools' broadband access, given the connectivity goals set forth by President Barack Obama in 2013. To help meet those targets, the Federal Communications Commission last year approved an additional $1.5 billion per year in spending on the E-rate program, which subsidizes telecommunications services for schools and libraries through fees on consumers' telephone bills.

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