As the FCC on Wednesday opened its annual inquiry into whether high-speed internet is being deployed to all Americans fast enough, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel dissented, asserting that the national minimum of 25 Mbps is too slow. In her dissenting statement to the FCC’s 14th Broadband Deployment Report Notice of Inquiry, Rosenworcel said it “fundamentally errs”…

Ericsson is boosting 5G investments in the United States, with plans to open a new R&D center and produce 5G radios in the country later this year. The strategic moves will enable Ericsson to operate closer to customers and meet operator’s growing appetite for 5G products, the Swedish telecom equipment giant said Friday. “The United…

AT&T has increased its spectrum holdings in Mexico, adding 80 MHz of spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band during the country’s recent government-led auction. Telefonica, the only other bidder in the auction, came away with the remaining 40 MHz of the total 120 MHz on the table. AT&T agreed to pay $76 million for the…

The Open Network Automation Platform on Tuesday issued its second software release, named “Beijing,” with a goal of making deployment of the platform easier. The latest release targeted improvements for the group’s “seven dimensions of deployability:” manageability, performance, resiliency, scalability, security, stability and usability. Beijing incorporates TM Forum’s Open APIs — which carry MEF-defined payloads…

All systems appear to be a go for AT&T’s mega $85 billion deal with Time Warner.  A federal judge on Tuesday rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s bid to block the merger, marking an antitrust decision that paves the way for a potential Comcast-Fox deal. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon read the decision this…

In a further attempt to secure regulatory approval for its proposed acquisition of Tribune Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Tuesday that it has deals lined up to sell 23 TV stations to several buyers. The deals, for which terms were not disclosed, are expected close at the same time as the Tribune transaction, which Sinclair…

New York City’s CTO quit the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee last week, the second member to do so this year. Miguel Gamiño Jr. asserted that the committee has skewed its proposed recommendations to fall in line with industry priorities. Formed by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai at the beginning of 2017, the BDAC is an…

AT&T on Sunday detailed its plans to use open hardware designs as the carrier virtualizes its network on the road to 5G. The company said it will deploy more than 60,000 “white box” routers in cell towers across the U.S. over the next several years — a transition from traditional proprietary routers to open hardware…

The American Cable Association, a trade group representing hundreds of smaller and mid-sized independent service providers, is seeking to support the FCC in the agency’s court battle challenging its rollback of net neutrality rules. On Friday, ACA filed a motion to intervene in the case with the U.S. Court of Appeals of the 9th Circuit.…

Comba Telecom said it bolstered its public safety Bi-directional Amplifier product line to enhance the clarity and reliability of in-building wireless communication for first responders. The latest version of Comba’s 700/800MHz CriticalPoint BDA line is on display this week at the International Wireless Communications Expo in Orlando. New features include support for FirstNet’s LTE Band…

Advanced RF Technologies this week demonstrated new and upgraded features for its public safety connectivity equipment at the International Wireless Communications Expo in Orlando. The company made major updates to its FiRe product, which features a DAS head end and repeater combination built into one device. An ADRF spokesperson said that by building the components…

Zayo Group closed its acquisition of Spread Networks, which operates a low-latency fiber route between Chicago and New York, and launched a new standalone business segment concentrated on low-latency networks. Zayo said the new business unit, Spread Networks by Zayo, will leverage Spread’s brand name recognition, unique network and established customer support services. The service…

AT&T on Tuesday announced a pair of steps in the carrier’s ongoing edge computing efforts. The company launched the first project at its previously announced edge test zone in Palo Alto, Calif., and joined a new open source project focused on edge cloud infrastructure. AT&T Foundry’s edge computing test zone, first announced last year, is…

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy this week issued an executive order requiring all internet service providers that want to contract with the state to adhere to principles of net neutrality. The order, signed Monday is in response to the FCC’s December decision to overturn net neutrality rules, a move that was met with industry praise,…

The FCC Tuesday took the final steps to launch its Connect America Fund Phase II auction in July, which will dole out nearly $2 billion over 10 years to help expand broadband in unserved rural areas of the county. The FCC set a March 30 deadline for interested service providers to submit an application to…

American Cable Association President and CEO Matthew Polka on Tuesday laid out four principals to help close the digital divide, telling Congress that it should first encourage private investment for future fixed and mobile broadband deployments. Polka’s testimony before the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology comes one day after reports surfaced…

Altice USA struck back at Starz this week, urging the FCC to dismiss Starz’s emergency petition for injunctive relief. Altice contends the petition was untimely and has no basis in law, fact, or policy. “It [Starz’s FCC petition] is simply a transparent attempt by Starz to manipulate a regulatory process reserved for emergency situations to…

As its carriage dispute with Altice USA wages on, Starz has filed two petitions with the FCC urging the commission to direct the cable operator to immediately restore 16 Starz channels for customers in the New York area. Starz programming went dark Jan. 1 for Altice’s Optimum subscribers in the New York area, after the…

AT&T wrapped up open-source 10 Gbps XGS-PON field trials, the operator announced Tuesday, advancing its efforts to virtualize access functions over the last mile network. The trials, first announced in June, took place in Atlanta and Dallas and tested multi-gigabit, high-speed internet traffic, according to AT&T. The tested network used Open Source Access Manager Hardware…

The FCC paused its review of Sinclair Broadcasting’s $3.9 billion purchase of Tribune Media, as the broadcasting giant considers divestures that would help the deal get the greenlight from regulators. The commission last week said it would put its informal 180-day “shot clock” for the merger on hold until Sinclair files divestiture applications and the…

TiVo hit Comcast with two new lawsuits alleging that a host of features on the cable giant’s X1 platform infringe on Rovi patents. The latest suits, filed Jan. 10 in federal district courts in California and Massachusetts, assert that Comcast’s X1 platform infringes on patented tech that allows users to pause shows on one device…

Charter Communications last week urged regulators to limit geographic licensing of 3.5 GHz spectrum to areas “no larger than counties” as it prepares to enter the wireless market later this year. The cable giant added in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission that it will employ an “inside-out” strategy, shifting from indoor to outdoor…

Charter Communications last week provided more insight into its wireless strategy as the operator urged the FCC to limit geographic licensing of 3.5 GHz spectrum to areas “no larger than counties.” Charter said in comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission that as it prepares to enter the wireless market later this year, the cable…

The judge overseeing the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against AT&T and Time Warner’s merger has denied Walt Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox’s request for a strengthened protective order on sensitive information. Fox and Disney handed over confidential data to the Justice Department, which is using it to build the case against AT&T’s proposed $85 billion…