Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Gary Peters, D-Mich., have introduced legislation to expand the pool of communications service providers who could apply for Federal government funding to remove and replace network equipment made by firms the government judges to be “untrusted,” such as China-based Huawei and ZTE. […]

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. […]

While the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced last week that it awarded the final $10 million under its $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program authorized by the CARES Act, FCC Chairman Ajit Pail talked today about the success of the program, and expressed hope that lawmakers authorize similar programs in the future that will allow the commission to distribute funding quickly. […]

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said today he believes Congress should take action to make broadband service affordable for tens of millions of Americans with low incomes and those who have been left unemployed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. […]

The legislative effort to update the Federal government’s spectrum management processes got one step closer to becoming law when a bipartisan group of four House members introduced a bill identical to the version added to the Senate’s annual defense bill earlier this month. […]

The Federal government has worked to expand access to broadband across the U.S. through large investments in the sector and can continue expanding access in rural areas by improving data and broadband access maps. […]

The Departments of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Homeland Security (DHS) announced that they are continuing to work very closely together on bringing medical supplies to veterans and their doctors amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]

CenturyLink has extended its Keep Americans Connected Pledge that was launched by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai on March 13. […]

Following a May 2017 disruption in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), the Government Accountability Office (GAO) made numerous cybersecurity recommendations that the agency still has not implemented. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 18 waived gift rules for its Rural Health Care (RHC) and E-Rate programs to allow broadband service providers to support telehealth and remote learning capabilities during the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. […]

The National Association of Counties (NACo) released a report on its TestIT app, which found that over half of U.S.’ counties are experiencing the Federal minimum of broadband standards. […]

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) will hold its next Technological Advisory Council (TAC) meeting on March 24 at the FCC headquarters. […]

At least one low-cost phone model of the type used to access voice and broadband services provided to low-income Americans through the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Lifeline Program has been found to be pre-installed with foreign malware, according to research released by Malwarebytes on Jan. 9. […]

The recent approval by the House of Representatives of two bills to improve the Federal government’s efforts to assemble and maintain accurate nationwide broadband service maps is adding weight to an ongoing push by the Federal Communications Commission to do the same in order to direct funding and other regulatory help to bringing more broadband options to underserved areas. […]

The House voted Dec. 16 to approve legislation that would provide $1 billion to smaller-sized private sector communications service providers to remove from their networks equipment purchased from China-based equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, and replace that gear with equipment that does not pose a threat to U.S. national security. […]

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has announced the appointment of chairs for four working groups that will support the work of the FCC’ new Task Force for Reviewing the Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture.  […]

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is poised to take action next week on a range of tech-related legislation including bills dealing with making available spectrum for 5G wireless services, and further action to rein in robocalling. […]

The Federal Communications Commission voted today to bar the use of Universal Service Fund (USF) money to pay for equipment and services supplied by China-based communications equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, and more broadly any other firms that “pose a national security threat” to the U.S. […]

The Federal Communications Commission announced appointments to its Precision Ag Connectivity Task Force that will work on strategies to advance broadband communications deployment on agricultural land and promote precision agriculture. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has hired Francisco Salguero – now deputy CIO at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) – as the FCC’s next CIO, Salguero confirmed on Nov. 20 at ATARC’s Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) event. […]

Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., introduced a bill in the House on Nov. 8 that would direct the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact regulations requiring public inspection files to be available online in a machine-readable format. […]

Two bills introduced in the House aim to improve the accuracy of the oft-maligned Federal Communications Commission (FCC) broadband availability map by changing reporting requirements and allowing community groups access to funds to do their own reporting. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is making a number of changes to the rules and provisions for its Rural Health Care telehealth program after a surge in participation, with the new regulations being released in the Federal Register today. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is making some management moves to further its rural broadband mission, among other efforts. […]

To successfully defend 5G networks from cybersecurity threats, the United States needs to rethink the cybersecurity posture and approach of its cellular networks, and not just in the terms of the threat from Chinese companies in the supply chain, according to a Brookings Institution paper from Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and David Simpson, former chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau at the FCC. […]

Under a new agreement with state attorneys general, the nation’s largest wireless service providers cell carriers will soon deploy technologies to block and label robocalls for consumers. Josh Stein, attorney general of the State of North Carolina, announced the agreement today. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking comment on a report, order, and further notice of proposed rulemaking dealing with the accuracy and usefulness of its Digital Opportunity Data Collection (DODC) that aims to more accurately determine residential and small business locations in the U.S. that do not have access to broadband services. […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on August 1 voted to approve reports, orders, and notices of propose rulemaking that taken together aim to improve mapping the availability of “fixed” broadband service – the type generally provided by cable and phone companies – in the U.S. […]

The FCC on August 1 voted to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on a range of proposals that would establish a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund funded with up to $20.4 billion to subsidize the further buildout of broadband services to rural areas of the U.S.  that don’t have widely available high-speed broadband service. […]

Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on July 31, introduced a bill to combat illegal robocalls. […]