FCC announces winners of $313m from Rural Digital Opportunity Fund

The FCC has announced the latest winning bidders of a $313 million pot from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.

The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund aims to fund new broadband deployments in areas across the US with limited or no connectivity.

Now in its eighth round, the fund has provided over $5 billion in funding to date for new deployments across 47 states—bringing broadband to over 2.8 million locations.

The winning bidders from the latest round...

25 March 2022 | Broadband

US carriers want $5.6B from the FCC for axing Huawei and ZTE

Carriers in the US are seeking $5.6 billion in reimbursements following the FCC’s decision to axe Huawei and ZTE from national telecoms networks.

The FCC voted unanimously in 2019 to ban carriers from using the Universal Service Fund to subsidise purchasing equipment from companies deemed a national security threat. Huawei and ZTE were the first two firms to be classed as such threats.

In 2020, former President Donald Trump signed the Secure and Trusted...

7 February 2022 | Legislation & Government

FAA eases 5G C-band restrictions but airlines warn of imminent chaos

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has cleared around 45 percent of US commercial planes for low-visibility landings at some airports where 5G C-band will be deployed but airlines have warned that a “catastrophic” aviation crisis is now imminent.

Last week, the FAA issued more than 1,400 warnings to pilots that onboard aviation systems could be disrupted by 5G C-band operations. On Sunday, the agency approved two radio altimeter models that are installed in a wide...

18 January 2022 | 5G

Airlines warn upcoming 5G deployment will interfere with radio altimeters

Airline industry executives have ramped up their warnings that an upcoming type of 5G service will interfere with radio altimeters.

Radio altimeters measure the altitude above the terrain beneath an aircraft by timing how long it takes a beam of radio waves to travel to ground, reflect, and return to the craft. They are, of course, a key safety feature.

In February, the FCC completed a “C-band” (3.7–3.98 GHz) auction and issued licenses to several wireless network...

17 December 2021 | 5G

Jessica Rosenworcel is officially the FCC’s first chairwoman

The Senate has officially declared Jessica Rosenworcel as the Federal Communications Commission’s first chairwoman.

President Biden’s nominee has served as the acting chair of the FCC since January 2021 following the resignation of her predecessor, Ajit Pai.

The Senate voted 68 to 31 to confirm Rosenworcel as chairwoman which also grants her an additional five-year term.

“It is a tremendous honor to be confirmed and designated as the first permanent...

8 December 2021 | 5G

FCC: Verizon can acquire TracFone subject to ‘demanding conditions’

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted Verizon approval to acquire TracFone, but it will be subject to “demanding conditions”.

Verizon announced its intention to acquire TracFone Wireless for $6.25B back in September 2020.

TracFone is the largest reseller of wireless services in the US and has around 21 million subscribers. The proposed deal naturally caught the eye of regulators.

One of the major concerns is that Verizon could hike prices...

23 November 2021 | Legislation & Government

FCC bans China Telecom from operating US services

The FCC has actioned a Trump-era recommendation to ban China Telecom from operating services in the United States.

China Telecom Americas is based in Virginia and sells mobile services which target Chinese Americans, tourists, and businesses.

In April last year, the Trump administration’s Justice Department recommended that the FCC revoked China Telecom Americas authorisations to provide international telecoms services to and from the US. The department went on to note...

27 October 2021 | China Telecom

LightBox releases a US broadband map while the FCC fixes its own

The FCC’s more accurate US national broadband map is expected to be a year away, but LightBox is providing one in the meantime.

A previous map of broadband availability used by the FCC was criticised as being inaccurate and greatly overestimating both the coverage and speeds available to Americans.

The inaccuracies – hindering critical decisions like funding allocations – were due to a reliance on data from ISPs themselves who were incentivised to overstate their...

9 September 2021 | Broadband

FCC hopes its OpenRAN showcase will encourage operators ‘to invest in network security’

FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has announced the US telecoms regulator will host an OpenRAN showcase next month.

OpenRAN is one of the industry’s most exciting new trends. The interoperable equipment provides greater flexibility to carriers and helps them to avoid vendor lock-in.

Governments are increasingly becoming cheerleaders of OpenRAN due to the security benefits of having many vendors in a network. This is especially true in many Western countries...

28 May 2021 | Legislation & Government

FCC allocates spectrum for US commercial space industry, including today’s Crew-2 launch

The FCC has allocated spectrum to support the growing number of US commercial space launches, including today’s Crew-2 mission.

SpaceX’s Crew-2 launch will send four astronauts – National Aeronautical Space Administration’s Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, Akihiko Hoshide from the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Thomas Pesquet from the European Space Agency – into orbit.

Weather-permitting, the launch is scheduled for 10.49am BST (5.49am EDT) at...

23 April 2021 | Legislation & Government