Ars Technica

Ajit Pai tries to kill San Francisco’s attempt to spur broadband competition

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on whether to preempt a San Francisco city ordinance that was designed to promote broadband competition in multi-unit buildings. San Francisco's Article 52, approved in December 2016, lets Internet service providers use the existing wiring inside multi-unit residential and commercial properties even if the wiri

Starry aims to bring its $50, 200Mbps broadband to 25 more US states

Starry, a wireless home Internet provider, says it has acquired enough spectrum to offer service to 40 million households in more than 25 US states. The company sells 200Mbps Internet service for $50 a month, but it doesn't reveal how many subscribers it has.  To expand its network, Starry spent $48.5 million on spectrum licenses in the Federal Communications Commission's recent 24GHz auction. 

AT&T cuts another 1,800 jobs as it finishes fiber-Internet buildout

AT&T has informed employees of plans to cut another 1,800 jobs from its wireline division. AT&T declared more than 1,800 jobs nationwide as "surplus," meaning they are slated to be eliminated in Aug or Sept, said the Communications Workers of America (CWA). AT&T said that most affected union workers will be able to stay at the company in other positions. 

Verizon avoided a decade’s worth of taxes—a new law could make it pay up

Verizon has avoided paying local taxes on telecommunication equipment in many New Jersey municipalities over the past decade, but a proposed state law would force the company to pay back taxes for all the payments it didn't make.

Chairman Pai works to cap funding for rural and poor people, gets GOP backing

The Federal Communications Commission has preliminarily voted to cap spending on the FCC's Universal Service programs, which deploy broadband to poor people and to rural and other underserved areas. The recent approval of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is a preliminary step—the FCC will take public comment on Chairman Ajit Pai's plan for three months before moving to a final vote. The FCC technically won't begin the public-comment period until after the NPRM is published in the Federal Register, but the FCC proceeding's docket is online.