August 2018

President Trump says tech giants could be an ‘antitrust situation.’ His Justice Department’s antitrust lawyer isn’t so sure. (Vox)

Submitted by benton on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 14:33

Corning Report on Small Cell Fees

Corning filed a report at the Federal Communications Commission on August 29, 2018, entitled “Assessing the Impact of Removing Regulatory Barriers on Next Generation Wireless and Wireline Broadband Infrastructure Investment: Annex 2, 5G Attachment and Application Fee Scenarios.” Corning said this report supplements previous reports it has submitted and finds that reducing small cell attachment and application fees could reduce deployment costs by $2.1 billion over five years, or $7,900 per small cell built.

Senator Markey and Rep. Eshoo Query FCC Regarding Verizon Throttling of Santa Clara County Fire Department During Deadly California Wildfires

Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA-18) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission demanding an explanation for reports that Verizon throttled the Santa Clara County Fire Department’s ‘unlimited’ data plan during the Mendocino Complex Fire. In their letter, the lawmakers ask what steps the FCC is taking to address such critical threats to public safety in the wake its decision to repeal strong net neutrality rules.

NYC's alt-weekly Village Voice ceases operations (Wrap, The)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 13:18

Charter Says Minimum Wage Raise Is Complete (Broadcasting&Cable)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 13:17

FirstNet debuts in Orem (UT) bolsters emergency communication at Summerfest (First Responder Network Authority)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 13:17

Regulating Google search is a dumb idea that could actually happen

The conspiracy theory about Google’s search algorithms falls in line with others propagated by President Donald Trump (Obama’s birth certificate, the deep state, etc.) in that they are paranoid and largely fact-free, yet very hard to completely refute. Even when they are squarely refuted–as when Obama produced his birth certificate–they often live on. But since Google will never, ever, make public its search algorithm–nothing is more proprietary than that–speculation that it’s biased against conservatives will live on and on.

Balloons and Drones in Telecom: Consultancy Advises Partnerships with Web Giants

Analytics and consulting firm GlobalData is recommending that telecommunication companies and webscale companies work together to develop communications services based on balloons and drones. Using atmospheric satellite balloons and drones in telecom could support emergency communications and could provide coverage in unserved areas, GlobalData said. Some US carriers, including AT&T, have used or are looking at using drones in telecom to act as cellsites during service outages when traditional cellsite infrastructure is damaged.

Opinion: Why California's Privacy Law Won't Hurt Facebook or Google (Wired)

Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Fri, 08/31/2018 - 12:54

The odds that Sprint and T-Mobile will merge are improving, say analysts (Fierce)