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November 2020

Should the US Change How It Doles Out Airwaves for 5G?

America needs faster, more accessible mobile internet service—and the US military controls many airwaves that are well-suited to that task. How should the Pentagon share? Some want to tap the traditional US model and auction the spectrum to the highest bidder. Others say a new approach is called for: Let the government continue to own the spectrum rights while letting private companies rent it out, allowing more users to tap the spectrum at once.

How President-Elect Biden’s FCC could fix America’s internet

Even though Joe Biden’s victory is assured, the future of the Federal Communications Commission hangs in the balance. Getting broadband internet in as many homes as possible during the pandemic is many Democrats’ most urgent goal, and one they feel the Trump administration failed to accomplish. “Because the Trump FCC failed to meaningfully address the digital divide, tens of millions of Americans still lack high-speed internet,” said Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA).

To Help Close Digital Divide for Nearly 17 Million Students, AT&T Offers Discounted Wireless Data Plans with Free Wi-Fi Hotspots and Makes $10 Million Commitment to Help Underserved Communities

AT&T is offering discounted unlimited wireless data plans and content filtering services to more than 135,000 public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities across the country for a limited time. Offer details include:

FCC Releases Form 477 Data on Broadband Deployment as of Dec. 31, 2019

The Federal Communications Commission released data showing that the digital divide is closing. At the end of 2019, the number of Americans living in areas without access to terrestrial fixed broadband with speeds of at least 25/3 Mbps—the Commission’s benchmark for high-speed broadband—fell to 14.5 million, a 46% decrease from the end of 2016. Services at higher speeds saw even more significant deployment, with the number of Americans living in areas without broadband speeds of at least 250/25 Mbps falling by 77% since the end of 2016.

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