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  2. April 2017

April 2017

AT&T to boost 5G coverage by buying telecom for $1.25 billion

AT&T has reached a deal to buy the telecommunications company Straight Path Communications for about $1.25 billion in stock, the companies announced April 10. The deal is expected to help AT&T better position itself for deploying 5G capabilities, as Spectrum is one of the largest holders of wireless spectrum that has been approved for use in next-generation networks. Straight Path shareholders will get $95.63 per share in the deal, which is worth about $1.6 billion. The merger will be subject to Federal Communications Commission review, and the companies say that they expect the deal to close within a year. In January, the company also bought FiberTower, another large holder of spectrum licenses.

Charter sued for selling personal customer data without consent

Charter Communications has been hit with a class action suit in St. Louis (MO) for selling subscribers’ personally identifiable information. A subscriber said that between 2011 and 2013, Charter sold information such as names and addresses to unknown companies without customer consent. The plaintiffs are alleging that Charter violated Missouri’s Merchandising Practices Act. The subscriber claims he was not provided with a copy of Charter’s privacy policy, which is required under that law. The complaint also said Charter failed to obtain written consent to sell the information or provide an opt-out provision.

Notably, when Comcast, Verizon and AT&T each put out statements two weeks ago swearing to not sell private customer data in the wake of the Republican Congress’ decision to dispense of Obama-era privacy protections, the nation’s No. 2 cable operator was quiet.

CenturyLink Gets GSA VoIP Contract

CenturyLink has snagged a potential $6 million-plus contract to provide Voice over Internet Protocol services to the General Services Administration. The contract is actually for $1.3 million for the first year, with four, one-year options In December, the telecom and broadband provider secured an $11.4 million contract (three years at $3.8 million per year) to provide VoIP service to the state offices of US senators. The contract could actually total $26 million if the government picks up the four, one-year options, for that contract.

FCC Announces The Rechartering Of The Communications Security, Reliability, And Interoperability Council For A Sixth Two-Year Term And Solicits Nominations For Membership

The Federal Communications Commission announces the re-chartering of the Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC or Council), which will provide advice and recommendations to the Commission to improve the security, reliability, and interoperability of the nation’s communications systems. By this Public Notice, we seek nominations for membership on and a Chairperson for this Committee. The Commission intends to establish the CSRIC for a period of two (2) years, with an expected starting date in the early summer of 2017.

Rep Cramer open to releasing his internet browsing history

Rep Kevin Cramer (R-ND) says he’s willing to release his internet browsing history. Rep Cramer, who voted in favor of repealing an Obama-era rule that would have prevented service providers from selling customers' information without their permission, told a North Dakota radio show that he'd be willing to release his own browsing history. "Oh, of course. Yes, absolutely. No problem," Rep Cramer said in response to a question. Rep Cramer did not clarify if he would be willing to release his data in a way that would make it identifiable to him, or if he would be willing to release it anonymously, akin to how many internet companies like Facebook and Google sell user data to advertisers. Cramer said that the information internet service providers would gain from consumers is “not worth a lot of commercial value," anyway.

Federal Communications Commission
April 24, 2017
1:00 - 2:00 PM EST
https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2017/04/consumer-information-sess...’s-consumer-help-center-can-do-you

The FCC's Consumer Governmental Affairs Bureau will be hosting a webinar for consumers about the FCC' Consumer Help Center (CHC). The CHC has several consumer education features that allow consumers to search for consumer guides, access the Consumer Complaint Center and view complaint data via the Consumer Data Center. This webinar will provide detailed information about the CHC's features and give instructions on how to navigate each section of the website. This information is valuable to consumers because it will explain various ways that consumers can address their current or future telecommunications concerns and issues. The webinar will also cover how to file an informal complaint related to access for people with disabilities.

Registration is not required for this event. It will be streamed live at www.fcc.gov/live with open captions. During the event, participants may submit comments and questions by emailing livequestions@fcc.gov or via Twitter using the hashtag #FCCLive.


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