Fierce

Dish Network is re-upping its calls for the Federal Communications Commission to update spectrum holding policies, saying the agency’s current spectrum procedures have enabled incumbents like T-Mobile to amass too much low-band spectrum to the detriment of new competitors and regional carriers. Dish EVP of External & Legislative Affairs Jeff Blum and other Dish lawyers met with FCC representatives to discuss the current competitive landscape and importance of spectrum availability in giving new entrants a chance to compete. Dish pointed to comments from AT&T, Public Knowledge, and O

Clemson Rural Health—a unit of Clemson University’s College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences—is linking up with Seattle-based CRO Precia Group to bring more clinical trials to underserved rural populations. Precia, which was formed in 2020, usually focuses on addressing gender bias in clinical trials, particularly to increase the number of women participating in research studies. Ron Gimbel, the director of Clemson Rural Health, said the ultimate goal is to improve health outcomes through inclusive and decentralized clinical research.

The Federal Communications Commission is suggesting raising the national fixed broadband speed benchmark to 100/20 Megabits per second (Mbps) from its current definition of 25/3 Mbps.

Hughes Network Systems, an EchoStar company, launched its third geosynchronous satellite — Jupiter 3 — in July 2023. The company recently announced new satellite internet plans for the lower 48 US states, leveraging the higher capacity of Jupiter 3. Hughes claims Jupiter 3 is the world’s largest commercial communications satellite, and it enables Hughes to deliver download speeds up to 100 Megabits per second.

Consolidated Communications filed a letter to shareholders, asking them to vote for the company’s proposed acquisition by Searchlight Capital Partners and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI).

The Federal Communications Commission is currently accepting comments in regard to the minimum speed requirements for broadband. The CEOs of Google Fiber, ALLO Fiber and Ting Internet sent a letter to the FCC, urging it to update its definition of broadband to symmetrical upload and download speeds of 100 Mbps. The FCC currently defines broadband as having download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps.

The US Broadband Summit brought together top leaders from across the country to talk about state efforts related to the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. Three major topics emerged from the summit — both at public sessions as well as the buzz in the hallways.

As the Federal Communications Commission gets ready to vote on pole attachment reforms, industry groups and internet service providers submitted a fresh round of comments weighing in on what changes need to be made. The FCC has had an open proceeding on pole attachments since 2017, but it has yet to adopt new rules.