AnalysisThe US government has added another $600m to the pot of money that is supposed to expand broadband internet access to rural areas of America. But it remains far from clear how effective the program will be. This time the US Department of Agriculture is the federal agency in charge of the money, with the funds added to a must- …

AnalysisOne year ago today, the FCC passed a controversial measure that undermined its own rules, passed just two years earlier, over net neutrality. That anniversary has sparked a series of articles, interviews and tweets today from policymakers that highlight a critical fact: The issue remains so toxic that sober analysis and …

Just how much do you hate Comcast? Enough to spend $1m of your own money to escape its clutches? That was the question facing the small town of Charlemont, Massachusetts, which boasts just 1,300 residents and which, back in 2015, decided it wanted to install its own municipal broadband fiber network. Fast forward three years …

AnalysisISPs should be paid to provide slower internet speeds to poor people. That's the extraordinary upshot of a meeting between an ISP industry group and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US. In a letter [PDF] recording a meeting between the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) and the legal …

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been criticized as "arbitrary and reckless" for pushing a plan to change how text messages are regulated without looking at the impact it may have. More than 20 organizations have written [PDF] to the American regulator on Wednesday asking it to delay or reconsider its plan to …

The rules over what companies selling internet access to folks are allowed to do are heading to America's law courts yet again. Yep, it's net neutrality round three – and with all the legal briefs now filed, we have dug through the competing arguments to try to discern which way it will go. The Washington DC Court of Appeals …

AnalysisThere's a new battle brewing in Washington DC and for once it's not between Democrats and Republicans, but over who gets to decide the policies for a new trillion-dollar market: The internet in space. This morning, America's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the release of tens of thousands of mini-satellites …

America's broadband and telly regulator, the FCC, today approved a vast expansion in satellite networks around Earth. This effectively gives the green light to the launch of tens of thousands of mini-satellites that will operate in low orbit and mesh together to form next-generation communications networks. The federal …

If you ever had any doubt that the triumvirate of FCC Commissioners – the Pai Men – who decide America's federal telecoms policy are always right, it was confirmed Friday. On Thursday, the mayor of Silicon Valley capital's San Jose, Sam Liccardo, penned an editorial in the New York Times cussing the FCC for passing policies …

Six lawsuits filed against controversial new 5G rules drawn up by America's communications watchdog have been bundled into one, and will be heard at the Tenth Circuit of Appeals. A lottery held late last week selected the appeals court that covers the middle of the country – Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, etc – and the appellants, …

The US Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to the net neutrality rules that were introduced in 2015, and which have since been rescinded. The decision [PDF] removes one piece of a jigsaw of legal cases working their way through the law courts that challenge both the 2015 rules – introduced during the Obama …

A mostly-unused slice of radio spectrum set aside for connected cars in 1999 could soon be shared with Wi-Fi, with the Federal Communications Commission seeking comment on the future of the 5.9 GHz band. On Monday, the FCC presented the results of tests conducted by Cisco, Qualcomm, KEA Tech, Broadcom, and CAV technologies to …

CommentIt has long been a sad truth that Washington DC lives within its own distorted universe, but even by DC standards a recent speech by federal regulator Michael O'Rielly is a wonder to behold. O'Rielly is one of four current commissioners on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and on occasion is known for his sharp …

The US state of California has agreed to put its controversial net neutrality law on hold pending a legal challenge against it from the federal government. Cali governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 822 (SB-822) into law on the last day of September – the last day he was able to before leaving office. The federal government …

Once in a generation, a technology comes along that changes everything: how we work, communicate, trade, live. And based on a year of seemingly endless coverage, you could be forgiven for believing that "5G", the next advance in wireless technology, is it. It will make the internet-of-things a reality; it will fix internet …

What's harder: putting a pipe of cables in the ground, or launching a satellite into space? Well, when it comes to the screwed-up world of internet access in the United States, it seems that space is the better option. Next month, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is due to vote on no less than nine issues related …

It was supposed to be a moment of victory: the FCC had tracked down two people responsible for making tens of millions of robocalls in America, and is planning to fine them $82m and $37.5m respectively. "This is the Commission’s first major enforcement action against a company that apparently commandeered consumers’ phone …

If you were to pick a moment in which America's telecoms regulator disappeared down the rabbit hole at its monthly meeting, it would probably be when the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Ajit Pai provided a full "up is down" statement. "I salute Commissioner Carr for his leadership in developing this …