1. Monthly archive
  2. February 2020

February 2020

Chairman Pai Proposes Updating TV White Space Rules

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed providing additional opportunities for unlicensed white space devices to deliver wireless broadband services in rural areas. Such devices operate in portions of the broadcast television bands (channels 2-35) and spectrum not being used for authorized services. Specifically, Chairman Pai is proposing to permit higher transmit power and higher antennas for fixed white space devices in rural areas.

FCC Reaches $31 Million Rural Health Care Program Settlement with TeleQuality

The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau announced a $31 million settlement with TeleQuality Communications for violating competitive bidding and rate rules and overbilling the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program. The settlement requires TeleQuality to provide the Universal Service Fund with $31 million worth of repayments and forfeitures of payment claims as a sanction. Over a four-year period, from 2015-2018, the company admits to using fabricated sales quotes as urban rates and failing to use FCC-required methods for determining rural rates.

Housing Search in the Age of Big Data: Smarter Cities or the Same Old Blind Spots?

Housing scholars stress the importance of the information environment in shaping housing search behavior and outcomes. Rental listings have increasingly moved online over the past two decades and, in turn, online platforms like Craigslist are now central to the search process. Do these technology platforms serve as information equalizers or do they reflect traditional information inequalities that correlate with neighborhood sociodemographics?

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