By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 3-8-22 A pair of powerful Democratic senators has asked the Biden Administration to use the $48 billion in broadband infrastructure spending overseen by the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration as a way to restore net neutrality rules, at least for those government-funded network buildouts. That’s according [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-28-22 In the wake of the Department of Homeland Security’s warning about cyber-threats related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Federal Communications Commission has launched a proceeding to examine potential threats to the global internet routing system, including any equity issues that might implicate. The FCC commissioners unanimously adopted [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-25-22 The head of the Consumer Technology Association said Friday (Feb. 25) that it stood in solidarity with Ukraine and was fully behind the Biden Administration's export controls on communications equipment. “The invasion of Ukraine is a tragic and illegal assault on the people and independent nation of Ukraine [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-24-22 High-tech communications technology exported to Russia is one of the categories subject to controls under newly imposed U.S. sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden announced the sanctions Thursday (Feb. 24) in a speech to the nation. The White House said the sanctions would impose [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-24-22 The Department of Commerce is urging states to use some of their collective $42.5 billion in broadband infrastructure subsidy funds to help build the workforce needed to build out fiber-based broadband and close the digital divide. That was one of the recommendations in a new report on information [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-22-22 The Federal Communications Commission is launching an inquiry into how it can “prevent internet providers from engaging in digital discrimination.” The agency was under a directive from Congress related to the tens of billions of dollars being handed out for broadband deployment and adoption in the Biden administration‘s [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-16-22 In a letter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a trio of senators called on the agency to flex its metaverse muscle to make sure children are protected from potential manipulation. “While some platforms state their VR devices should not be [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-16-22 Alan Davidson, head of the National Telecommunications & Information Association (NTIA), told Congress Wednesday that closing the digital divide was priority number one for the Biden Administration’s chief communications policy arm. That is according to his prepared testimony for a House Communications Subcommittee NTIA oversight hearing February 16. [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-16-22 In another shot across the bow at Big Tech, Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) have teamed up on a new bill to protect children online, citing “Big Tech’s repeated failures to protect children & teens from serious dangers on their platforms.” The Kids Online Safety [...]
By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 2-15-22 The FCC and National Telecommunications & Information Administration have announced a new initiative to improve their coordination of spectrum management, including holding formal, monthly meetings between the agency heads and letting the agencies observe the other’s spectrum advisory arms. That comes after the two agencies have sparred over [...]