August 2020

Daily Digest 8/5/2020 (Appropriations)

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Wed, 08/05/2020

$61 billion in funding for the FCC to expand availability of broadband to unserved areas

Broadband Policy, Deployment, and Access: Lessons for New York State

University of Virginia Professor Christopher Ali spoke about rural broadband with the Reimagine New York Commission. The rural-urban digital divide is primarily one of infrastructure. At least 22.3% of rural Americans, or 15.8 million people, lack access to broadband infrastructure and are therefore cut off from the internet.

Thinking of buying a 5G smartphone? Finding your carrier’s flavor of 5G requires a taste for investigation

5G wireless is no longer vaporware, but a lot of haze still surrounds the forms of 5G each nationwide carrier sells.

NSA Warns Cellphone Location Data Could Pose National-Security Threat

The National Security Agency issued new guidance for military and intelligence-community personnel, warning about the risks of cellphone location tracking through apps, wireless networks, and Bluetooth technology.

Mike O’Rielly’s Free Speech Fall

Michael O’Rielly has done yeoman work as a member of the Federal Communications Commission, but the White House abruptly pulled his renomination for another five-year term. The decision speaks better of Commissioner O’Rielly than of the President. Commissioner O’Rielly was scuttled for remarks about regulating speech.