The Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a request for information (RFI) searching for 5G technologies to support space data transport. […]
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology agreed at a Feb. 17 hearing that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the “equity gap” in broadband access, and called for both expanding service access in rural areas of the United States, and creating more affordable service access in urban areas of the country. […]
The House Energy and Commerce Committee completed its portion of the budget reconciliation process, voting late on Feb. 12 to transmit the final part of the legislative language it was considering. […]
The Federal Communications Commission is seeking public comment on how to best distribute $3.2 billion of funding approved by Congress late last month as part of combined FY 2021 government funding and COVID-19 relief legislation to help low-income Americans access internet services. […]
After months with no movement and a weekend full of deal-making, Congress is expected to pass a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package as part of a broader Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) omnibus spending bill. The relief includes a new round of Payment Protection Program (PPP) funding, money for broadband deployment and emergency use, and money to remove banned Huawei and ZTE equipment. […]
The $908 billion emergency COVID relief package debuted Dec. 14 by a bipartisan group of senators proposed another big round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) work for the Small Business Administration (SBA), along with a $10 billion lifeline for broadband connectivity and distance learning programs. […]
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) issued a Dec. 8 report on the agency’s progress moving its telecom services contracts from legacy Networx agreements to Enterprise Information Solutions (EIS) contracts. […]
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., along with 16 House colleagues in a Dec. 7 letter, called on Senate and House appropriators to prioritize funding for broadband infrastructure projects and reject proposed cuts included in the Senate version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 funding bill. […]
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation signed off on three broadband bills during a Nov. 18 business meeting. […]
The House on Nov. 17 approved by voice vote a bill that would provide $750 million of Federal funding grants to support the deployment of Open Radio Access Network (RAN) 5G wireless networks in the U.S. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) needs to gather additional data on how its program that helps ensure universal access to broadband service in rural, remote, and other areas of the country is working, and data to help drive decisions on effective use of available funds, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report said. […]
Federal and local government officials are licking their chops over a wide variety of new services – and improvements on existing ones – that 5G wireless infrastructure and services will allow them to bring to citizens, but also cautioned that a lot of work remains to be done on the to get to those goals. […]
The Federal Communications Commission on Oct. 27 voted to approve action to “reduce regulatory barriers to 5G deployment by further streamlining the state and local government review process for modifications to existing wireless infrastructure that involve excavation and deployment beyond existing site boundaries.” […]
Count Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., as a “no” vote at this point on at least one aspect of the Defense Department’s (DoD) request for information (RFI) issued last month that solicits public input on a range of issues involving the Pentagon’s plans to deploy 5G wireless services. […]
Weeks after the Department of Defense (DoD) asked industry for information regarding how the department could “own and operate 5G networks for domestic operations,” several top Republican senators sent a letter to the White House this week urging the President to “remain on the free-market path” in the 5G wireless race. […]
Bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate last week aims to reduce executive branch power over telecommunications and the internet by preventing the president from using emergency powers to shut those services down. […]
In the September 2020 President’s Management Agenda (PMA) updates, two Federal agencies focused on rural broadband expansion reported they are meeting key milestones. […]
FirstNet Authority Board Chair Tip Osterthaler selected Richard Carrizzo to lead as vice chair of the board effective yesterday. […]
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) today released its strategy to “ensure the security and resilience of 5G technology” in the United States. […]
Fifteen Democratic Senators penned a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on August 20, pushing Chairman Ajit Pai to increase funding for and improve transparency about rural healthcare operations. […]
Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., introduced the Connecting Minority Communities Act on Aug. 4. The legislation would codify the existing Minority Broadband Initiative at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in a new Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives (MBI). […]
President Donald Trump signed an executive order August 3 to make COVID-19 era changes to telehealth – such as telehealth coverage in Medicare programs and investments in telecommunications infrastructure – permanent after the pandemic ends. […]
Starting August 13, a new Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council rule will ban Federal agencies from buying products or utilizing services from China-based tech companies such as Huawei and ZTE. A July 23 memo from the Department of Defense (DoD) outlines contracting responsibilities as agencies adjust to the transition. […]
The Marine Corps is partnering with Verizon to launch a “living lab” at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar to explore ways the military and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies can use 5G to transform operations in areas ranging from communications to base security. […]
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is starting its first mid-band 5G spectrum auction today, marking a key step toward opening up 5G spectrum for the commercial marketplace. […]
The American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) released a white paper titled “5G Capabilities: Enabling Services and Innovation in the U.S. Federal Government” to build an understanding of 5G and use cases in the Federal government. […]
In its latest move to clamp down on China-based Huawei’s influence in the United States, the Trump administration is imposing visa restrictions on employees of certain Chinese technology companies. […]
The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that its National Broadband Availability Map (NBAM) now has 20 participating states. In a July 10 statement, NTIA confirmed that Wyoming and Washington State have been added to the NBAM. […]
The United Kingdom will ban the use of equipment made by China-based Huawei from 5G wireless networks in the country beginning in 2027, the government said today. […]
A rule change prohibiting Federal use of telecommunications services and equipment from companies that pose national security risks – such as China-based Huawei and ZTE – will cost $11 billion to implement and $2 billion each subsequent year, according to a July 14 Federal Register announcement from the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration (GSA), and NASA. […]