The stay-at-home orders that were widespread in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a surge in data traffic for regional operator US Cellular. The company reported that data traffic on its network increased 20% to 25%. 

Despite the decreased traffic to its stores because of the pandemic – US Cellular estimates traffic to stores was down 35% —the company’s key metrics remained resilient in the second quarter. US Cellular reported total operating revenues of $973 million for the quarter, which is about the same as it reported in second quarter 2019. Service revenues were $753 million, which is down 1% compared to the same period in 2019. The regional operator managed to gain 12,000 postpaid net adds for the quarter. Part of this increase was attributed to connected devices. The operator said it added 9,000 connected devices for the quarter, which was likely due to people buying hotspots and routers as the demand for remote connectivity increased because of the pandemic. Postpaid smartphone churn for the company was 0.71% and overall churn was 0.89%.

A push from an advocacy group for children in Ohio’s Appalachian region and two former governors has led Gov Mike DeWine’s (R-OH) administration to decide to expand broadband services to students without requiring school districts match 50% of their allocations. When the DeWine administration initially launched its plan to use a $50 million grant from federal CARES Act funds to purchase Wi-Fi hot spots and internet-enabled devices late in July, officials set a 50% match contribution for school districts to access the money. The Appalachian Children’s Coalition, an advocacy organization made up of educational and mental health professionals from southeast Ohio, wrote a letter to DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted. Recognizing the strain a match would place on underresourced, rural school districts, DeWine and Husted agreed.

The rule that prevented a studio from buying up a major theater chain is now gone—opening up the possibility that your local cinema could go whole hog and become a true Disneyplex before you know it. A federal judge agreed to the Department of Justice's petition to vacate the Paramount Consent Decrees, a landmark 1948 ruling that forbade vertical integration in the film sector and ended the Hollywood studio system. In isolation, the decision could raise some concerns. In a world where theaters are decimated thanks to a pandemic and consolidation among media firms is already rampant, the future for independent theaters looks grim.

With due respect to Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O’Rielly, conservatives interested in reform understand full well the purpose of the First Amendment (“Mike O’Rielly’s Free Speech Fall,” Review & Outlook, Aug. 5). We simply don’t believe that gigantic and massively powerful social-media platforms deserve special statutory protection, as is laid out in Section 230. Section 230 carves out unique immunities for platforms, privileges that aren’t afforded to publishers such as The Wall Street Journal. No conservative who believes in the rule of law should embrace such a principle. Neither should Mr. O’Rielly, and neither should the Journal.

[Brent Bozell is President of the Media Research Center]

Charter Communications has won support from an unlikely roster of organizations as it seeks permission to increase fees for customers that use a lot of data. The Boys & Girls Club of Harlem, for example. The New York youth organization is among scores of civic and local-business groups that have received charitable donations from the company, and have reciprocated by filing statements on Charter’s behalf with the Federal Communications Commission. Others include a non-profit theater in Honolulu, civil rights organizers in Los Angeles, an African America museum in South Dallas, and a car dealership in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Charter’s petition to the FCC asks for freedom to charge subscribers more for high data consumption, as well as to demand fees from online video providers such as Netflix. The company agreed in 2016 not to do that for at least seven years when it won the FCC’s approval for a $55 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable Inc.

Enterprise Florida, the state’s main business development group, wrote to call for “full and fair consideration” of Charter’s request. In the filing, President Jamal Sowell cited 8,000 Charter workers in Florida, and grants from the company of $57,500 to groups including non-profits working on digital literacy. Enterprise Florida’s chairman is Gov Ron DeSantis (R-FL). Charter gave his political action committee, Friends of Ron DeSantis, contributions of $25,000 on June 13, 2019, and $25,000 on Dec. 11, 2019, according to Florida state’s online records. Competitors and consumer groups have urged the FCC to reject Charter’s request.