1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2019

May 2019

Annual Report Details FirstNet Progress on Public Safety’s Network

In our latest Annual Report to Congress, the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) outlines the significant progress made in fiscal year (FY) 2018 to deliver on Congress’s vision of creating a truly nationwide, interoperable broadband public safety network.  It was a landmark year for public safety, as the FirstNet network deployment began ahead of schedule following the decisions of all US states and territories and the District of Columbia to participate in the deployment of the nationwide public safety broadband network.

T-Mobile Under Pressure to Sweeten Sprint Package for DOJ Nod

T-Mobile suffered a significant setback in its bid for regulatory approval of its takeover of Sprint after failing to win over the Department of Justice (DOJ) with a remedy package, putting pressure on the companies to offer more concessions.

San Jose announces plan to extend public Wi-Fi

San Jose (CA) and AT&T announced a new project to outfit the city’s streetlights and public parks with public Wi-Fi routers and earthquake sensors. The city plans to outfit 550 streetlights with LED lights, and install 670 smart-lighting controllers, 15 digital infrastructure nodes and 100 Wi-Fi extenders from AT&T. San Jose already offers public Wi-Fi in some parts of its downtown, but the Wi-Fi extenders will improve public safety and expand access to internet in public parks. 

The Limitations of Poor Broadband Internet Access for Telemedicine Use in Rural America: An Observational Study

Fewer than 10% of US physicians practice in rural communities, where 25% of Americans live. Yet, rural Americans may need more health care as they become increasingly older and sicker relative to their urban counterparts. Telemedicine has been proposed as a solution to improve access to care. Federal and state policymakers have enacted policies to expand telemedicine use among publicly and commercially insured beneficiaries. However, whether Americans with the poorest access to care have the necessary broadband Internet capability to fully benefit from telemedicine is unknown.

Answering the Call for Rural Broadband

There is simply no business case for investment in many rural areas without more effective public-private partnerships. That is why recent efforts in Washington to target funding and bridge broadband gaps in rural America are so important.  Rather than creating new programs out of whole cloth, we encourage Congress to look to existing federal programs with proven track records, like the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund, as it considers how to distribute additional direct funding resources.

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