President Trump State of the Union Touches on Tech Issues
President Donald Trump's Feb 4 State of the Union speech gave only a few lines to tech and broadband issues, though he did talk more about the trade deals that tech companies have applauded.
February 2020
FBI Director Argues Private Companies Shouldn’t Decide Encryption Debate at House Judiciary Committee Hearing (nextgov)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 02/05/2020 - 17:23AT&T’s low-band 5G now live in 13 more cities including Boston, St. Louis, Atlantic City, Dayton, and Wichita (Vox)
Submitted by Robbie McBeath on Wed, 02/05/2020 - 15:49
Agriculture + Broadband = Fighting Climate Change
Advanced broadband is a high-tech phenomenon of today. Farming is a practice that stretches back ten thousand years. Together, they can help fight the continuing impact of climate change. Today’s high-tech farming depends on data – from remote sensors, from tractors, irrigation equipment, nutrient application machinery, and harvesters that communicate.
FCC Sets Process for $691 Million Investment in Puerto Rico & USVI Networks
The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau established the procedures for its investment of up to $691.2 million over the next ten years to support the deployment of advanced, hardened broadband and voice networks to all locations in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Gov. Pritzker (D-IL) Announces $50 Million First Round of Matching Funds in Statewide Broadband Expansion
Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) announced that Illinois releasing $50 million in funding for the first round of matching grants of Connect Illinois, the state's $420 million statewide broadband expansion. Applicants are required to provide at least 50% of non-state funding, effectively doubling the size of the nation's largest state competitive grant program to expand high-speed internet. Applicants are anticipated to include internet service providers, rural cooperatives, nonprofits and local governments.
FCC Reports Broadband Unavailable to 21.3 Million Americans, BroadbandNow Study Indicates 42 Million Do Not Have Access
BroadbandNow Research manually checked broadband availability of more than 11,000 addresses using Federal Communications Commission Form 477 data and estimates that 42 million Americans do not have the ability to purchase broadband internet. The FCC's Broadband Deployment Report states that 21.3 million Americans, or 6.5 percent of the population, lack access to broadband internet, including wired and fixed wireless connections. Here’s what we did and how BroadbandNow arrived at this estimate: