Reporting

While the buzz around 5G is often focused on smartphones (and the technology’s promise of lag-free gaming and streaming), the cellular technology stands to hypercharge industries far beyond entertainment. With its high bandwidth, low latency (i.e., the ability to transfer lots of data with minimal delay), and high reliability, 5G is faster and more dependable than 4G, and so robust that it can replace wired connections—bringing everything from factory robots to fleets of autonomous vehicles online. Also poised for big change is agriculture.

2020 looks like it will be your year to get 5G—but only in the sense of having that signal on your phone, not in the sense of knowing quite what it’s supposed to be or using it to its full potential. A new report from the network analysis firm Opensignal advises that while this revamp of mobile broadband is poised to reach far more of the US, it will do so in ways that may leave both carriers and their customers feeling some wireless whiplash.

CenturyLink has agreed to pay a $6.1 million penalty after Washington state regulators found that the company failed to disclose fees that raised actual prices well above the advertised rates. CenturyLink must also stop charging a so-called "Internet Cost Recovery Fee" in the state, although customers may end up paying the fee until their contracts expire unless they take action to switch plans. CenturyLink charged its Internet Cost Recovery Fee to 650,000 Washingtonians. The attorney general's office said that "CenturyLink is required to...

Social media platforms will continue to be held harmless for third-party content on their web sites according to the compromise on the US Mexico Canada Agreement trade deal announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). 

KentuckyWired, a 3,000-mile state-owned fiber network project, is now providing high-speed Internet to its first site, which is the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) in Owenton (KY). Eventually, all state offices and institutions and other properties such as state parks will be connected to KentuckyWired. Deck Decker, interim director of the Kentucky Communications Network Authority, said these sites, once they connect, will have speeds that are five times faster than what they currently have. KentuckyWired’s construction is nearing completion.

The federal government is working on guidelines to help people keep wireless carrier coverage during emergencies, but California lawmakers worry the agency is prioritizing hurricanes over wildfires. Without proper guidance, lawmakers fear victims of wildfires could be left further disadvantaged and without necessary tools of communication during disasters. The Federal Communications Commission is indicating it does not plan to include information specific to the wildfires that have devastated thousands of Californians. Some California lawmakers, lead by Rep.

The bipartisan leaders of the House Science Committee have requested government investigators examine why federal agencies disagree so starkly about the risks 5G communications technology poses to weather forecasting. In a letter to the comptroller general, House Science Committee Chairman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. Frank D.

On Oct 29, various Members of Congress from Texas wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to express concern about potential loopholes with Universal Service Fund (USF) Schools and Libraries Program (E-Rate) that have allowed Federal dollars to be used to overbuild existing broadband networks in Texas. They urged the FCC to reform E-Rate that ensures finite Federal resources are being used efficiently to close the digital divide without overbuilding existing networks, especially networks already constructed with USF or other Federal support.

On Aug 2, Reps Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Mike Doyle (D-PA), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Kathy Castor (D-FL), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) wrote to the Federal Communications Commission to urge the agency delay any future hard launch of the Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier (National Verifier) in a state until the FCC establishes connections to Medicaid or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) databases for Lifeline eligibility verification in that state.

On Aug 7, 2019, House Commerce Committee members Billy Long (R-MO), Fred Upton (R-MI), John Shimkus (R-IL), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to commend the FCC on its progress of the Facilitate American's Superiority in 5G Technology (the 5G FAST Plan). They particularly supported efforts to make mid-band spectrum available for 5G connectivity.