Verizon is expanding its 5G Home and Ultra Wideband footprints this month. On January 14, 5G Home, Verizon’s 5G fixed wireless offer, will be available in parts of Arlington, TX; Miami; Anaheim, CA; San Francisco, and St. Louis. On January…
By: Carl Weinschenk
FCC Seeks Comments on Next Round of $250 Million COVID-19 Telehealth Program
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has issued a request for comments on administering Round 2 of the COVID-19 Telehealth Program. The $249.95 million the program will receive from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 is more than the $200 million…
FCC Seeks Comments on $3.2 Billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program
The FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau has issued a request for comments on administering the $3.2 billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program. The program was created by Congress in the The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The goal is to help provide…
Electric Co-ops Form Broadband Association
In what they say is a first, five electric cooperatives in three states have formed an association of broadband co-ops aimed at bolstering services in underserved rural areas. The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Broadband Cooperatives (VMDABC) is structurally…
T-Mobile Acquisition of Brookings Municipal Utilities Assets Expands Midwest Footprint
T-Mobile and Brookings Municipal Utilities have reached a definitive agreement under which the carrier will acquire BMU’s Sprint-branded wireless operating assets. The network provides wireless and data services to about 14,000 customers in South Dakota and Iowa. No financial details…
Verizon 5G MEC Adds Two New Markets As Carrier Looks to Help Develop Use Cases
The Verizon 5G MEC (mobile edge computing) platform is now in 10 markets, with rollouts completed in Denver and Seattle. The company refers to the service as 5G Edge with AWS Wavelength, or simply 5G Edge. Verizon 5G Edge was…
Verizon Fios Forward Low-Income Program for Broadband Access Extended
Verizon has extended its Fios Forward program to existing customers. The program, which provides assistance to customers who qualify for the FCC-managed Lifeline assistance program, is available for as little as $19.99 a month plus tax. The service provides users…
Christmas Smartphone Activations Dominated by Apple
The myriad challenges presented by COVID-19 led to a 23% reduction in the number of smartphones activated on Christmas day this year compared to 2019, according to data about Christmas smartphone activations from Flurry Analytics. Plenty of activations did occur,…
CWA Shows Frontier Some Love in RDOF Funding Debate
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has asked the FCC to reject efforts by West Virginia legislators to block Frontier Communications’ successful bid for Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) funding. Frontier won $247 million to serve almost 79,000 locations in…
T-Mobile Brings Wi-Fi to Transit Buses
The Red Rose Transit Authority (RRTA), which provides bus service to the Lancaster, PA area, has added T-Mobile Wi-Fi connectivity. The free service, which is built on both 5G and LTE, is being provided on RRTA’s entire fleet in the…
AT&T, Purdue Establish 5G Testbed
AT&T and the Purdue College of Engineering have created a 5G research and development testbed focusing on a new approach to security that harnesses 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) and quantum cryptography Quantum cryptography uses the strange properties of quantum mechanics…
SpaceX Gets Another Starlink Satellite Broadband Trial
Allen Township, a suburb of Marysville, Ohio will host a pilot of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband system, making it the latest Starlink satellite broadband trial customer — a small but growing group. The pilot trial is the largest in the…
