John Eggerton

Senate Bill Could Free Up Billions More Broadband Bucks

The Senate has passed the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, which could free up potentially hundreds of billions more for 

Broadband is Missing from Biden-Harris Equity Fact Sheet

The Biden Administration has released a fact sheet on its efforts to advance equity and opportunity, including educational opportunities for Black people. But neither in that pages-long email to reporters nor in a new executive order from President Biden on further advancing equity is broadband even mentioned in the equity equation.

FCC Defends Decision to Free Vehicle-to-Vehicle Spectrum for WiFi

The Federal Communications Commission, backed by the Department of Justice, told the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that it was reasonable for the FCC to reclaim a swath of 5.9 GHz licensed vehicular communications spectrum for unlicensed WiFi and it had the authority to do so.

West Des Moines Is Growing Municipal Broadband Battleground

Cable broadband operators are concerned that localities could start putting a thumb on the scale for Google Fiber when it comes to broadband service, and they want the Federal Communications Commission to nip that notion in the bud. The current battleground over the extent to which municipalities can build out broadband is West Des Moines (IA). Incumbent provider Mediacom Communications wants the FCC to require the city to stop construction on Google Fiber‘s network, stop marketing service to residents and reconfigure the network and contract.

CenturyLink Settles Second Level 3 Deal Term Violation

CenturyLink, since renamed Lumen, has agreed to pay the Department of Justice (DOJ) $275,000 to settle the department's complaint stemming from the company's violation of the terms of its acquisition of Level 3 Communications. According to the DOJ, it is the second such violation by CenturyLink. The DOJ will file a civil contempt claim in DC federal court and at the same time ask the court to accept the settlement, which resolves the claim. “CenturyLink is a repeat offender,” said acting Assistant Attorney General Richard Powers of the Antitrust Division.

FCC Opposes Private Suits Over Alleged Wireless Buildout Rule Violations

Federal Communications Commission attorneys have told a US district court that the agency does not think individuals can sue over alleged violations of various FCC rules regarding wireless transmissions or infrastructure. This comes as the FCC is working to promote the buildout of 5G, which has been a national priority under both Republican and Democratic administrations. The US District Court for the District of Hawaii asked the FCC for input on the issue of private rights of action and whether, in the case of alleged violations of RF emission regulations and ones regarding antenna height

Court Won't Stay FCC 5.9 GHz Decision

The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit won't stay the Federal Communications Commission's decision to free up the spectrum that had been licensed for vehicle-to-vehicle communications for unlicensed Wi-Fi.

Verizon and Public Interest Groups Agree on TracFone Deal Conditions

Public-interest groups have agreed to drop their challenge to Verizon's proposed $6.9 billion purchase of TracFone Wireless after the company agreed with their conditions. Public Knowledge, Access Humboldt, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, the California Center for Rural Policy, and Communications Workers of America submitted a letter to the Federal Communications Commission August 11 withdrawing their objections to the deal, contingent on the Federal Communications C

Infrastructure Bill Allows FCC and NTIA to Define 'Reliable' Broadband

While the Senate infrastructure bill lacks an explicit focus on affordability or competition as part of the definition of broadband availability, its language may allow for determinations of "reliable" broadband that could include more than just sufficient speeds and quality.

Broadcasters oppose higher fees and funding broadband data collection

Broadcasters are pressing the Federal Communications Commission to change course and not force TV and radio stations to pay for a portion of FCC broadband data collection, from which they do not claim to benefit.

NCTA: American Rescue Plan Funds Should Not Favor Government Nets

While cable broadband operators are okay with most of the Treasury Department's framework for handing out billions of dollars in broadband deployment and adoption funds via the American Rescue Plan, prioritizing government owned or operated networks remains a point of contention. When the Treasury sought public input on the framework, NCTA-The Internet and Television Association said there could be limited circumstances to allow them--where there is insuffici

Permanent FCC Chair Remains a Big X Factor for President Biden

The head-scratching inside the Beltway continues as the wait for a fifth Beatle... um, er... Federal Communications Commissioner — and for whoever is to be named the agency’s permanent chair — continues.

Chairwoman Rosenworcel says net neutrality rules should be the law of the land

Acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel would not comment on the degree to which the president's failure to name a third Democratic commissioner has prevented it from taking action on some big issues — like restoring network neutrality rules — but she suggested the agency has been hard at work on other things and was still supportive of making net neutrality rules the law of the land.

FCC Gets Federal Direction on Handling Bogus, Mass Comments

The Administrative Conference of the US (ACUS) has recommended federal agencies take a number of steps to address the issues of mass computer generated and falsely attributed comments. In this case, it is recommending that agencies like the Federal Communications Commission, who must give members of the public the opportunity to weigh in on proposed rules for the agency's consideration, find better ways to manage what can be a flood of comments in the digital age. Among the recommendations are calls for agencies to "welcome" the filing of mass, "identical or substantively identical" comment

Cable Companies: FCC Must Give New Entrants Fair Shot at 12 GHz

Cable broadband operators are telling the Federal Communications Commission that if it opens up the 12 GHz band for sharing between direct broadcast satellite (DBS) and terrestrial 5G, it should not be influenced by incumbent users.

Cable providers push back against Biden's new broadband need map

Cable broadband operators represented by NCTA - the Internet & Television Association are no fans of the Biden Administration's new "Indicators of Broadband Need" mapping tool recently unveiled by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA). NCTA reiterated its longstanding support of federal efforts to create broadband mapping tools, but said that the NTIA's new map takes from unreliable and inaccurate data sources.

National Association of Broadcasters Argues FCC is Free to Charge Big Tech

The National Association of Broadcasters said a recent appeals court decision has established the precedent for commission authority to levy regulatory fees on Big Tech.

Rural CBRS Wireless Broadband Pilot Project Unveiled

The state of South Carolina has teamed up with educational broadcasters, 5G tech suppliers, and others to launch a residential wireless broadband pilot project using COVID-19 aid funding.

National Association of Broadcasters on TV White Spaces: No More Microsoft Hand-Outs for 'Failing Experiment'

The National Association of Broadcasters took the gloves off in a recent meeting with Federal Communications Commission engineering staffers over TV white spaces (TVWS) -- the use of small slices of spectrum set aside for broadcasting for unlicensed uses like wireless broadband -- calling it a failing experiment. Microsoft has been pushing the FCC to allow unlicensed devices operating in the TV band to do so closer to existing TV channels, but NAB told the engineering staffers that Microsoft's proposal on how to determine if a channel is available for unlicensed use is disingenuous and in s

White House Paints Depressing Portrait of US Broadband

The White House released state-by-state arguments (in the form of "fact sheets") for why the President's almost $2 trillion infrastructure plan (American Jobs Plan) is necessary including painting a glass-half-empty of broadband availability, including speed and competition and price in the definition of broadband issues that need $100 billion in subsidy money to address. For example, for New York, the White House talks about almost a third of New Yorkers who live where "there is only one broadband provider" offering at least "minimally acceptable speeds." And even where broadband is availa

FCC Signals Potential Different Outcome for Net Neutrality Remand

As expected, the Federal Communications Commission has asked the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to hold off on hearing a challenge to its response to the court's remand of its Restoring Internet Freedom net neutrality deregulation order, suggesting that challenge could ultimately be moot depending on how the new FCC deals with multiple petitions to reconsider that response. "Only one of the three Commissioners who voted for the Remand Order remains on the Commission, while two of the remaining Commissioners dissented, and one of those dissenters has since become the Acting Chairwoma

Tom Wheeler: ISPs Wanted Internet Oversight to Get 'Lost' at FTC

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said broadband providers pushed for reclassification of internet access as a Title I service so that authority over their service could get put in the Federal Trade Commission and "lost" among all that agency's other responsibilities, which is what he said the Trump administration ended up doing.

NCTA Warns Against E-Rate Overbuilding

Cable broadband operators want the Federal Communications Commission to confine its emergency E-rate Universal Service Fund broadband subsidies, where possible, to existing providers rather than spending on new infrastructure deployments, and to provide a streamlined application process.

ISPs Prepare for Flood of Broadband Billions

The Federal Communications Commission is creating the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program with $3.2 billion allocated by Congress. Not surprisingly, broadband service providers are focused on making sure they can access as much of that money as possible. That means leveling the playing field with current participants in the FCC’s Lifeline program. Ninety percent of Lifeline participants are wireless carriers, NCTA–The Internet & Television Association VP and general counsel Steve Morris told the FCC at a roundtable on the new subsidy.