1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2021

November 2021

Spectrum saving startup targets private wireless

Spectrum is the resource carriers spend billions to acquire and billions more to deploy, so clearly there is value in using it efficiently. Tech startup GenXComm recently raised a $20 million with the goal of hiring new talent to develop its private wireless business. Investors including Intel Capital, BMWi Ventures and Motive Communications are backing the company as it markets its solutions to carriers, with a particular focus on helping them deploy private networks. “We are able to do backhaul and access in the same frequency”, explained GenXComm co-founder and CTO Hardik Jain.

Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Competition and Consumer Choice Online

Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced bipartisan legislation to make it more difficult for dominant online platforms to make acquisitions that harm competition and eliminate consumer choice. The Platform Competition and Opportunity Act will halt further harmful consolidation by:

Senators Introduce Legislation to Bypass Authoritarian Internet Crackdowns

Sens Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced the Protecting Against Tyrants by Restoring Internet Access and Yielding Vital Interconnectivity in Designated Areas (PATRIA Y VIDA) Act to build a strategy to protect internet freedom worldwide and strengthen support for technologies that allow users to evade foreign government-backed censorship and restrictions.

FCC Pauses Lifeline Minimum Service Standard Increase and Voice-Only Services Phase-Out

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau paused the scheduled phase-out in Lifeline support for voice-only services and the scheduled increase in the mobile broadband data capacity minimum service standards for the Lifeline program. As directed by the FCC in the 2016 Lifeline Order, support for services that meet only the voice minimum service standard is scheduled to be eliminated in most areas on December 1, 2021.

As 5G wireless arrives, older phones are about to become roadkill

Wireless customers nationwide can look forward to a big upgrade in service in 2022 — and possibly some major headaches as millions of older phones become obsolete. The wireless industry’s transition to super-fast, more reliable 5G networks will be finalized over the next 12 months. To free up bandwidth for the switch, older 3G networks are being shut down. The big catch for consumers: As many as 10 million 3G cellphones now in circulation will be useless.

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