President Joe Biden’s administration proposed $100 billion in broadband spending Wednesday as part of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal. That level of spending and Biden’s calls for legislation to improve broadband pricing transparency and affordability mirror Democratic lawmakers' Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-1783/S-745) and Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act (HR-1848), as expected (see 2103160001). Reaction to the plan divided along party lines.
President Joe Biden’s administration proposed $100 billion in broadband spending Wednesday as part of the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan infrastructure proposal. That level of spending and Biden’s calls for legislation to improve broadband pricing transparency and affordability mirror Democratic lawmakers' Accessible, Affordable Internet for All Act (HR-1783/S-745) and Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s America Act (HR-1848), as expected (see 2103160001). Reaction to the plan divided along party lines.
A bipartisan group of former U.S. national security officials asked the Biden administration to support a bill that would establish a State Department office to coordinate export controls, standards setting and other critical technology issues with other democratic nations. The Democracy Technology Partnership Act, introduced in the Senate earlier this month, would help the U.S. better respond to Chinese efforts to dominate global technology sectors and lead in emerging technologies, the former officials said in a March 30 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Russian national Oleg Vladislavovich Nikitin, general director of St. Petersburg, Russia-based energy company KS Engineering, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia to conspiracy to skirt export controls, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia announced in a press release. Nikitin, admitted to attempting to sell a power turbine to a Russian company attempting to use it on an Arctic deepwater drilling platform -- a process banned by the Commerce Department without a license. An unnamed Russian government-controlled business contracted with Nikitin to buy the turbine from a U.S. manufacturer for $17.3 million. Nikitin, along with two others, was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, attempting to carry out the transaction for the turbine.
“It’s time to be more ambitious nationwide” on minimum broadband speeds, FCC acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday at a livestreamed California Public Utilities Commission workshop. Fiber is “future-proof,” and “we don’t have to wait ... any longer” for the private sector, said California Assembly Member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D), who's co-sponsoring a bill to fund and revamp the California Advanced Services Fund (CASF) this year.
The U.S. renewed the national emergency authorizing sanctions against South Sudan, the White House said March 29. The White House said South Sudan continues to be “marked by activities that threaten the peace, security, or stability” of the country and surrounding region. The emergency was extended for one year beyond April 3.
National CineMedia appoints Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi, also ex-Disney, to its board, replacing Lee Roy Mitchell, leaving "to focus on personal ventures" ... “Indoor intelligence” company Inpixon names to its board of advisers former NXP Semiconductors CEO Richard Clemmer, a co-investor in Game Your Game, an app-based sports performance analytics firm in which Inpixon plans to buy a controlling interest ... Houghton Mifflin Harcourt taps Rapid7's Greg Collins, also ex-Intuit, as senior vice president-platform, newly created role, and promotes Selva Vinothe Mahimaidas to chief information security officer ... CDW adds Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to its board; Steven Alesio, Barry Allen and Benjamin Chereskin retiring from the board when their terms expire in May ... Identity protection company Okta hires Accel’s Kendall Collins as chief marketing officer to succeed Ryan Carlson, stepping down to work on “an emerging project” inside the company ... Software-as-a-service provider Clearwater Analytics names Guidewire Chairman Marcus Ryu to its board ... MPA promotes Andrea Dumicic to vice president-U.S. royalty distribution; Julie Anglin to vice president-Latin America policy; Arlen Valdivia to senior director-state government affairs; and Teodora Dimitrov to director-international royalty distribution ... Amazon hires Julia Lawless from Financial Services Forum as senior manager-policy communications.
National Lifeline Association members faced "push back" from those reviewing applications for the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, attorneys for NaLA told the Wireline Bureau, per a posting Friday in docket 20-445 (see 2102260058). Members are being told they "cannot seek an alternative verification process because they do not have a preexisting low-income program and can use the National Verifier instead," attorneys said. Members say having a preexisting program wasn't required to receive approval for an alternative verification process, and NaLA's attorneys asked the commission to provide clarification to application reviewers. An attorney for NaLA couldn't be reached for further comment.
National Lifeline Association members faced "push back" from those reviewing applications for the FCC's $3.2 billion emergency broadband benefit program, attorneys for NaLA told the Wireline Bureau, per a posting Friday in docket 20-445 (see 2102260058). Members are being told they "cannot seek an alternative verification process because they do not have a preexisting low-income program and can use the National Verifier instead," attorneys said. Members say having a preexisting program wasn't required to receive approval for an alternative verification process, and NaLA's attorneys asked the commission to provide clarification to application reviewers. An attorney for NaLA couldn't be reached for further comment.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg backed lawmakers' concerns Thursday about the FCC’s November vote to reallocate 5.9 GHz for Wi-Fi and cellular vehicle-to-everything (see 2011180043). He pointed during a House Infrastructure Committee hearing to coming talks within President Joe Biden's administration about an equitable way to address the issue. Lobbyists we spoke with said they expect a formal interagency review soon.