The FCC authorized $311 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction support for 48 providers, the agency said Monday. Long-form applicants must submit a letter of credit for each state in which they received authorization and an opinion letter from outside legal counsel by 6 p.m. EDT Aug. 9. “This is a significant down payment on broadband deployment,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC offered 197 winning bidders, including Cox, Frontier, LTD Broadband and Starlink, the opportunity to default on bids for areas already served without penalties after groups raised concerns (see 2012210026). A list of areas where winning bidders opted not to pursue buildout was also released. The areas will “immediately become available for other broadband funding opportunities” and defaulting bidders are “subject to enforcement penalties as warranted.” The Wireline Bureau denied petitions to waive the June 7 deadline to receive eligible telecom carrier designation from AB Indiana for its bids in Florida, and LTD Broadband for California, Kansas and Oklahoma. Both “failed to engage in good faith efforts to pursue and obtain” the designation, the order said, and the bureau plans to release a public notice finding both providers in default. Free Press Research Director Derek Turner said in a statement it’s "encouraging that Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel wants to get this right" and the FCC "seems determined to do the due diligence" that then-Chairman Ajit Pai "skipped to ensure that federal money actually connects real people ... to affordable services.”
The FCC authorized $311 million in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction support for 48 providers, the agency said Monday. Long-form applicants must submit a letter of credit for each state in which they received authorization and an opinion letter from outside legal counsel by 6 p.m. EDT Aug. 9. “This is a significant down payment on broadband deployment,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The FCC offered 197 winning bidders, including Cox, Frontier, LTD Broadband and Starlink, the opportunity to default on bids for areas already served without penalties after groups raised concerns (see 2012210026). A list of areas where winning bidders opted not to pursue buildout was also released. The areas will “immediately become available for other broadband funding opportunities” and defaulting bidders are “subject to enforcement penalties as warranted.” The Wireline Bureau denied petitions to waive the June 7 deadline to receive eligible telecom carrier designation from AB Indiana for its bids in Florida, and LTD Broadband for California, Kansas and Oklahoma. Both “failed to engage in good faith efforts to pursue and obtain” the designation, the order said, and the bureau plans to release a public notice finding both providers in default. Free Press Research Director Derek Turner said in a statement it’s "encouraging that Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel wants to get this right" and the FCC "seems determined to do the due diligence" that then-Chairman Ajit Pai "skipped to ensure that federal money actually connects real people ... to affordable services.”
It's not just congressional Democrats upset about wireless industry lobbying and other efforts to keep a lower lid on customer surcharges for mental-health services related to hotlines, we found. State legislators are also irked, they said in recent interviews. Federal lawmakers continue to be upset, they said.
As Democratic senators raised concerns on Verizon's buying Tracfone, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said Wednesday during a quarterly call the deal remains on track to close late this year. Vestberg said Verizon is returning to near pre-pandemic activity at its stores and on its 5G urban network. The company was the first of the major carriers to report Q2 earnings.
As Democratic senators raised concerns on Verizon's buying Tracfone, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said Wednesday during a quarterly call the deal remains on track to close late this year. Vestberg said Verizon is returning to near pre-pandemic activity at its stores and on its 5G urban network. The company was the first of the major carriers to report Q2 earnings.
President Joe Biden will nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ’s Antitrust Division, the White House announced Tuesday. Congressional Democrats and consumer advocates called Kanter the right pick to strengthen antitrust enforcement against Big Tech. Some questioned the potential for Kanter to recuse himself in DOJ’s antitrust case against Google.
FTC scrutiny for the tech industry’s smaller and serial acquisitions will increase if commissioners rescind a 1995 policy statement Wednesday, as expected, antitrust attorneys told us. The commission convenes Wednesday for its second meeting under Chair Lina Khan (see 2107120065). It will vote whether to rescind the policy statement on prior notice and prior approval remedies in transactions.
President Joe Biden will nominate Jonathan Kanter to lead DOJ’s Antitrust Division, the White House announced Tuesday. Congressional Democrats and consumer advocates called Kanter the right pick to strengthen antitrust enforcement against Big Tech. Some questioned the potential for Kanter to recuse himself in DOJ’s antitrust case against Google.
Nokia supports open radio access networks for 5G, President Pekka Lundmark told FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Nokia also backs “a broader U.S. strategy that extends support to 5G use case and app development acceleration and foundational 6G R&D in addition to Open RAN,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-63. Nokia also updated Rosenworcel on the global semiconductor shortage, saying “prioritization for the automotive sector has created additional scarcity for fabrication runs, thereby raising longer term risks for disruption to U.S. 5G plans.”
Nokia supports open radio access networks for 5G, President Pekka Lundmark told FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Nokia also backs “a broader U.S. strategy that extends support to 5G use case and app development acceleration and foundational 6G R&D in addition to Open RAN,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-63. Nokia also updated Rosenworcel on the global semiconductor shortage, saying “prioritization for the automotive sector has created additional scarcity for fabrication runs, thereby raising longer term risks for disruption to U.S. 5G plans.”