1. Monthly archive
  2. August 2020

August 2020

President Trump Trying to Control the FCC is a 'Disaster,' Says Sen Ron Wyden

Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) says President Donald Trump’s recent handling of Federal Communications Commission nominations is a “disaster.” The Trump administration withdrew the nomination of FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, shortly after O’Rielly criticized an executive order demanding that the agency unilaterally revise Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Sen Wyden, one of the coauthors of Section 230, said the move called the agency’s independence into question.

Making Lifeline a Snap For Eligible Households

Although Lifeline eligibility is now linked directly to the Department of Agriculture's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) program, Lifeline has adopted none of the technology advances designed to make it both consumer and provider-friendly.  If the Lifeline program is to play a bigger role in addressing the well-documented internet usage gaps for low-income Americans, the program must be modernized. In a modernized Lifeline program, eligible households would apply

House Passes Appropriations Minibus

The House passed, on a 217 to 197 vote, a package of fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills. The package consists of six bills that fund federal departments including Defense, Commerce, Justice, Energy, Treasury Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021. The $1.3 trillion package, H.R.

Connect Americans Now Joined by 46 Organizations in Calling for Congress to Address the Digital Divide in COVID-19 Relief Package

Connect Americans Now (CAN) sent a letter to Congressional leaders, co-signed by 46 organizations, calling on lawmakers to provide funding to eliminate the digital divide for all Americans as part of the next COVID-19 relief package.

States eager to expand broadband, wary of CARES Act deadline

Fearful of losing federal pandemic dollars, officials from states across the country are rushing to finish projects by the end of 2020 aimed at expanding broadband internet into underserved areas. To comply with the current CARES Act rules, states must have the broadband projects, which can typically take months if not years of planning and construction, up and running by Dec. 30. Efforts are underway in Congress to provide greater flexibility in the funding.

The US is now playing by China's internet rules

President Trump's crackdown on TikTok suggests that the US government is starting to see the internet more like China does — as a network that countries can and should control within their borders. Today's global internet has split into 

T-Mobile Launches World’s First Nationwide Standalone 5G Network

T-Mobile is the first operator in the world to launch a commercial nationwide standalone 5G network, and with this move, the carrier is expanding 5G coverage by 30 percent, now covering nearly 250 million people in more than 7,500 cities and towns across 1.3 million square miles. Standalone architecture is the future of wireless connectivity, bringing 5G closer to reaching its true potential with faster speeds, lower latency and massive connectivity.

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