Rural Broadband, the Headless Horseman!
Why the Headless Horseman? The more complex issues are outlined below, but the simple answer is that there has never been more interest in extending broadband into rural America than there is today with so little being accomplished on the ground. What is being accomplished is happening in small areas where there is a combination of local leadership and planning. Everyone wants to help but there is no coordination among the numerous efforts underway.

It does not make sense with all the efforts aimed at solving the digital divide and digital poverty broadband issue that the pace is so slow and only in sporadic areas. In the past two years, Congress has introduced twenty-five different bills in the House of Representatives, all of which attempt to address the rural broadband issue. In the Senate, to date, only one bill has been introduced. The FCC has made rural broadband a priority and has funding available, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Farm Bureau, and others have grants and loans available for rural broadband and some in Congress are asking the President to put rural broadband on the list of infrastructure funding requests that will be coming up soon.

Most recently, the FCC has decided that wireless broadband does not “count” as true broadband but it still defines broadband speeds of 25 Mbps down and only 3 Mbps up. These speeds are consistent with wireless broadband networks and cable Internet over which data speeds in the downward direction are faster than data speeds from the device back to the network. However, the model for fiber deployment is that the customer receives the same data speeds in both directions, so wireless is not “broadband” according to the FCC. It is not clear why the FCC is maintaining that wireless is not “broadband” while the data speeds quoted are more in line with wireless than fiber deployments.
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FCC Tightens Emergency Alert Messaging – Wireless Week
Jan 31 12:40 … software updates necessary to enhance emergency alerting.” I thank the commission for its work on this important issue for the benefit of carriers, public safety officials and consumers alike, said CCA President and CEO Steven Berry. I would caution the FCC not to adopt rules before the technology …

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5G, or not 5G? That is the question – Augusta Free Press
Jan 31 00:10 The slow start of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety network is an example of the government trying to build a 4G network, that is a small fraction of the size needed for 5G, and the deployment has gone very slowly, said Reed, who has served as an advisor to the FCC and 30+ organizations including …

How likely is nationalized 5G? – Virginia Tech News
Jan 30 20:15 The slow start of FirstNet, the nationwide public safety network is an example of the government trying to build a 4G network, that is a small fraction of the size needed for 5G, and the deployment has gone very slowly, Reed also noted. We can’t afford for this to happen with 5G. It would be very harmful …

Telecom Companies, FCC Oppose Government Control Of 5G Wireless Network – WBAA
Jan 30 18:10 There are reports that the White House is considering government control of next-generation or 5G mobile broadband networks. Supporters say government control would address security concerns related to China, but opponents include telecom providers and the chairman of the Federal …

Kansas Highway Patrol connects to public safety broadband network – KMBZ
Jan 30 08:40 The Kansas Highway Patrol has finished connecting to a new platform that they say will greatly improve communication between troopers and other first responders. The Patrol is the first public safety agency in Kansas to have FirstNet, the country’s first and only nationwide public safety broadband …

Trump White House mulls nationalizing 5G… an idea going down like ‘a balloon made out of a Ford … – The Register
Jan 30 03:55 A former head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) the US government wing that oversees such policies was less diplomatic. “This sounds like an intern project,” said Larry Strickling at an internet policy conference in Washington DC on Monday morning.

US Government Pushes Back On Scale Back Of Whois Information – ISBuzz News
Feb  1 06:40 News broke yesterday that the New NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) chief has pushed back on the planned efforts to scale back Whois information, in order to comply with the incoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Tim Chen, CEO at DomainTools …

Houston area emergency phone alerts getting longer, more local and bilingual – Community Impact Newspaper
Feb  1 00:35 Harris, Fort Bend, Montgomery and Galveston counties applauded the Federal Communications Commission’s vote Tuesday to modify requirements for the Wireless Emergency Alerts system. WEA warnings are sent by public safety officials through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s …

Hawaii’s false missile alert sent by a worker who thought an attack was imminent, FCC says – Salt Lake Tribune
Jan 31 17:40 Hawaii’s alert software allows users to send live alerts and test alerts using the same interface, said James Wiley, an attorney adviser at the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau. To send an alert, emergency management employees select a pre-written message from a drop-down menu …

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New companies needed to maintain small satellite market growth – SpaceNews
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FCC Approves Enhanced Geo-Targeting for Emergency Alerts – HSToday
Jan 31 07:40 National public safety organisations including APCO, Big City Emergency Managers, International Association of Emergency Managers, National Emergency Management Association, the United States Conference of Mayors, and the National Emergency Number Association have also stated their …

Growing Awareness About Wireless Broadband In Public Safety Market Know About Influencing … – satPRnews
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FCC Sets New WEA Guidelines – Radio World
Jan 30 16:15 The commission also added to the meeting a last-minute presentation by the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau. It provided a preliminary report from its investigation into the false alert that occurred on Jan. 13. The FCC will now require wireless providers to deliver WEA alerts in a more …

FCC ‘Broadband Advisory Panel’ Faces Accusations Of Cronyism – Techdirt Corporate Intelligence
Jan 30 15:02 Last year we noted how the FCC had been hyping the creation of a new “Broadband Deployment Advisory Panel” purportedly tasked with coming up with solutions to the nation’s broadband problem. Unfortunately, reports just as quickly began to circulate that this panel was little more than a who’s who of entrenched telecom operators with a vested interest in protecting the status quo. What’s more, the panel featured few representatives from the countless towns and…

New FCC Rules Will Require Wireless Companies To Deliver Emergency Alerts More Accurately – Slashdot
Jan 30 12:30 The Federal Communications Commission voted Tuesday to update the country’s wireless emergency alert system, aiming to ensure that local officials only sound alarms on Americans’ smartphones when those citizens are truly in harm’s way. From a report: The system, implemented in 2012, allows first responders around the country to dispatch short, loud, text-message-like bulletins to warn mobile users about inclement weather, abducted children or criminals at large. But public-safety leaders long ha

Senate to hold hearing on Hawaii false missile alert – Reuters
Jan 25 08:00 The Federal Communications Commission’s bureau chief overseeing public safety will testify at the hearing as will a senior vice president at a wireless …