1. Monthly archive
  2. October 2018

October 2018

How the FCC Suppressed Minority Broadcast Ownership, and How the FCC can Undo the Damage it Caused

Although newer technologies have captured the public’s imagination and purse, the Federal Communications Commission continues to regard free over-the-air broadcasting as the lifeline for millions of Americans. Certainly, the deliberate exclusion of people of color from ownership of the airwaves would be profoundly anti-competitive. What could be a more inefficient deployment of resources than having the entrepreneurial, managerial, and creative wealth of one-third of the country unable to find expression in the nation’s most influential industries?

Tennessee is spending $45 million to expand broadband internet. But is it enough?

Tennessee's Broadband Accessibility Act funnels $45 million to communities across the state that don't have broadband access. In addition to passing the accessibility act in 2017, the Tennessee legislature in 2018 loosened regulations to allow internet providers to partner with public utilities. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development received 66 applications in 2017 for the accessibility act's first round of funding. Each year for three years, $10 million in grants and $5 million in tax credits are available to private businesses.

Five Digital Inclusion Trends in the United States

Here's five important trends that are driving broadband access and digital inclusion in the United States. Underlying these trends is the drive to streamline regulation and create the incentive for broadband infrastructure investment.

Chairman Pai Statement on Broadband Investment Increasing in 2017

Since my first day on the job, this agency has been focused on cutting through the regulatory red tape and increasing broadband investment, most importantly in rural America where the digital divide remains all too real. Today’s report confirms that the FCC’s policies to promote broadband deployment are working. After Internet service providers reduced new investments in 2015 and 2016 under the prior Administration’s regulatory approach, broadband investment increased in 2017 by $1.5 billion over the previous year.

National Association of Manufacturers: FCC Got Net Neutrality Right

The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) and US Chamber of Commerce are standing strongly behind the Federal Communications Commission's deregulation of internet access in the 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order.

ISPs Sue Vermont Over Net Neutrality Moves

The American Cable Association, NCTA-The Internet & Television Association, USTelecom and CTIA filed suit Oct 18 in a federal district court in Vermont against a law and executive order that attempt to regulate internet access and restore net neutrality rules rolled back by the Federal Communications Commission. "As the FCC has repeatedly recognized, internet traffic flows freely between states, making it difficult or impossible for a provider to distinguish traffic moving within Vermont from traffic that crosses state borders.

Competitive Carriers Association report: AIRWAVES Act Could Yield at Least $1.5 Billion for Rural Wireless

The Competitive Carriers Association report “Assessment of the Economic Impact of The Airwaves Act" estimates that at least $1.5 billion could be raised for rural wireless in upcoming auctions of spectrum in the 24 GHz and 28 GHz bands, with additional funding to come from other auctions. The bill, sponsored by Sen Cory Gardner (R-CO), would require the Federal Communications Commission to complete auctions during each of the next three calendar years and to dedicate 10% of auction proceeds toward rural wireless. According to them, the issue is that the 28 GHz spectrum auction will not cove

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