Wireless Telecommunications

The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) leads 5G risk management efforts so the US can fully benefit from all the advantages 5G connectivity promises to bring. In support of CISA’s operational priority to secure 5G, as outlined in the CISA Strategic Intent, the CISA 5G Strategy establishes five strategic initiatives that stem from the four lines of effort defined in the National Strategy to Secure 5G.

On July 30, 2020, numerous Members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajti Pai to request that the FCC extend the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window by 180 days — until Feb 1, 2021 — while not delaying further necessary proceedings associated with the auction in order that it stay on track.

Verizon has partnered with the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Gov Greg Abbott’s (R-TX) Operation Connectivity initiative to provide up to 18.9 million students in Texas and 15 neighboring states with a simple and quick way to access critical distance learning technologies.

AT&T and T-Mobile are fighting a Federal Communications Commission plan to require drive tests that would verify whether the mobile carriers' coverage claims are accurate. The carriers' objections came in response to the FCC seeking comment on a plan to improve the nation's inadequate broadband maps.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai urging him to give tribes more time to apply for broadband licenses in the 2.5 GHz Band. “We are concerned that the FCC’s failure to provide adequate time for tribes to take full advantage of the 2.5 GHz Rural Tribal Priority Window means fewer tribes will be connected to lifesaving internet service,” Charimen Pallone and Doyle wrote.

Verizon is adding some perks to its wireless plans, but some things aren't changing: Verizon still restricts 5G service to its most expensive unlimited-data plans. If you want to save money by getting a limited-data plan, you'll have to make do with 4G only—which, admittedly, is not a big problem for most people given how sparse Verizon's 5G network is. AT&T still enforces a similar restriction, including 5G only in its unlimited-data plans while selling limited-data plans without 5G.

The Federal Communications Commission begins its latest annual statutorily-mandated assessment of its progress in closing the digital divide. In the 2020 Broadband Deployment Report, the FCC concluded that for the third consecutive year such advanced telecommunications capabilities are being timely deployed. While the 2020 Report acknowledged there is still work to be done to fully close the digital divide, more Americans than ever before now have access to the benefits of broadband as the FCC’s policies have created a regulatory environment to stimulate broadband investment and deployment.

Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, is currently experiencing firsthand the consequences of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC's) 2018 preemption of local governments’ authority to regulate 5G infrastructure in their cities.

Apple kicked the popular Fortnite video game off its App Store after the gaming company released a payment system that sidestepped Apple’s. Fortnite maker Epic Games released a feature that lets users choose how they want to pay for in-app purchases — either through the App Store or Play Store, or from Epic directly, which saves up to 20 percent.  Apple takes a cut of in-app sales — usually 30 percent — in a practice that has faced significant backlash from