By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News, 10-22-21 The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday that it will make $1.15 billion in federal loans and grants available to expand high-speed Internet access in rural communities across the country through its ReConnect Program, part of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.... To be eligible for ReConnect Program [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 Computer companies are pushing back on a proposal by broadcasters to extend the user fees broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite companies pay the Federal Communications Commission to Big Tech companies that benefit from unlicensed spectrum the FCC oversees. The Consumer Technology Association responded to the National Association of [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 The Senate has passed the bipartisan State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Fiscal Recovery, Infrastructure and Disaster Relief Flexibility Act, which could free up potentially hundreds of billions more for broadband buildouts, and without any additional legislation. States got $1.9 trillion in Congress's COVID-19 rescue legislation earlier this year, [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-21-21 The FTC has concluded that ISPs are collecting and sharing more data about their customers than those customers are aware of, including Internet traffic and real-time location data, while "failing to offer consumers meaningful choices about how this data can be used." FTC Chair Lina Khan said the [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-20-21 The House has passed four communications-related bills including one that would expand the ban on suspect tech. All four passed out of the House Energy & Commerce Committee last summer by voice vote, meaning none were controversial. They all must still be passed by the Senate to make [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-19-21 The Biden White House has released a fact sheet on its efforts to advance equity and opportunity, including educational opportunities for Black people. But neither in that pages-long e-mail to reporters nor in a new executive order from the president on further advancing equity (the White House Initiative [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-18-21 As advertised last week, Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), joined by a bipartisan chorus of others, including Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), have introduced a bill that would crack down on Big Tech. The tech industry immediately fired back against the bill. The American Innovation and [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-18-21 Federal Communications Commission member Nathan Simington said he doesn’t favor the agency setting standards for wireless receivers, but is arguing the industry needs to do so. The Republican commissioner has clearly been getting pushback on his push for wireless receiver standards, which he argues are necessary given how [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-15-21 Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Mike Johnson (R-La.) have teamed up to call on Big Tech to create a rating board for apps and adopt ratings comparable to those for video games, movies, and music. While there have been ratings boards for movies, music, and video games for [...]

By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 10-15-21 Sens. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) signaled this week they will be introducing an antitrust-centric bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, that would prevent tech platforms from favoring their own products or services, including by disadvantaging their rivals by biasing search results in favor [...]