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The FCC Wants You The Federal Communications Commission is looking for a few good men and women to serve on its newly announced Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. The council, unveiled today by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, will investigate how the country can accelerate broadband deployment and close the digital divide. The advisory committee will address subjects such as reforming the FCC's pole attachment rules; finding "unreasonable regulatory barriers" to high-speed Internet access and how to encourage local government participation. For example, a top priority will be to draft a "model code" for local franchising, zoning, permitting and rights-of-way, the FCC says. "Building, upgrading, and deploying broadband networks isn't easy, and red tape often can make the task harder than it needs to be," said Pai in a statement. "Similarly, many localities that have a strong interest in promoting a digital economy within their borders may not have the resources or expertise to develop and implement deployment-friendly policies. Consumers ultimately pay the price in terms of less access to next-generation services." FCC staff member Brian Hurley was named the committee's Designated Federal Officer; colleague Paul D'Ari is Deputy Designated Federal Officer. Individuals or organizations wishing to be considered for committee membership must apply by Feb. 15. Ultimately, the advisory group is expected to include a "diverse set of stakeholders" drawn from candidates representing consumers and community groups, the communications industry and the spectrum of government, including Tribal officials, according to the FCC. The committee -- expected to last for two years -- plans to hold its first meeting this spring. Related posts:
— Alison Diana, Editor, UBB2020. Follow us on Twitter @UBB2020 |
In a flurry of activity throughout the week, Donald (DJ) LaVoy, Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development at the US Department of Agriculture, and his team spent about $145.8 million in the non-urban or suburban areas of seven states.
Calix reported revenue of $120.19 million – up 4% – in Q4 2019, putting a bounce in the step of company president and CEO Carl Russo and a shine to Calix's ongoing transition from hardware vendor to a provider of platforms enabled by cloud, APIs and subscriber experience.
Looking to curtail e-waste and improve the bottom line, BT will require customers to return routers and set-top boxes, although subscribers will not have to pay a fee when they receive regular broadband equipment.
The industry standards organization is looking to ease operator pain from residential WiFi, while it also sees initiatives in connected home and other projects bear fruit.
Deploying DOCSIS 3.1 across its entire footprint gave Rogers Communications the ability to offer speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s,
contributing to a broadband segement that generated about 60% of the Canadian operator's $3.05 billion (US) in Q4 cable earnings.
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