February 2018

Sponsor 

Broadband Communities Summit 2018

Date 
Mon, 04/30/2018 - 12:00 to Thu, 05/03/2018 - 20:30

As the leading conference on broadband technologies for communities, the Broadband Communities Summit attracts broadband system operators, network builders and deployers of all kinds. Many of the country’s major property owners and real estate developers attend the Summit each year, along with independent telcos and cable companies, municipal and state officials, community leaders and economic development professionals.



Democratic state attorneys general sue to preserve net neutrality rules

Twenty-two Democratic state attorneys general launched a lawsuit aimed at preserving network neutrality on Feb 20, the same day the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) published its rule striking the regulations in the Federal Register. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who is leading the suit along with other state attorneys generals, had previously filed a lawsuit, but they are refiling their case now that the order is eligible for legal challenge, following its official publication.

What the President’s Infrastructure Plan Will Do to Expand Rural Broadband Access

[Press release] The week of Feb 12, the President released the details of his infrastructure plan which will provide Federal funding to help repair and modernize rural infrastructure, including broadband. The President’s plan dedicates $50 billion to rural infrastructure, accounting for 25 percent of all Federal spending in the plan.

'Closing The Digital Divide': Connecting The Least Connected In Texas

The Texas-Mexico border is one of the least connected in the US.  A map from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas shows border counties bathed in bright red, meaning less than 60 percent have home access. It’s a distinction shared by the Mississippi Delta and Appalachia, other parts of the country with pernicious poverty. But that may change.

There’s something strange going on amid the satellite Internet rush

As Feb 22's SpaceX launch of two test satellites vividly demonstrated, several companies are moving ahead with ambitious plans to design, build, and fly hardware capable of delivering broadband Internet from space. However, as intense as the battle for broadband may be in orbit, the fight is also heating up on the ground. In particular, there is a controversy quietly simmering at the Federal Communications Commission. In a somewhat bizarre situation, the founder and chairman of one company seeking to deliver broadband services, OneWeb, has founded a second company to compete with himself.

FCC Chairman Pai receives NRA gun award for courage

In lieu of delivering advertised remarks dubbed "American Pai: The Courageous Chairman of the FCC," Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai received the National Rifle Association's (NRA) “Charlton Heston Courage Under Fire Award” at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The NRA-sponsored award was given to Chairman Pai in recognition of months of heavy criticism over his successful push to repeal the agency’s network neutrality rules. Chairman Pai led the push to repeal the rules, which were overwhelmingly supported by the public.