Council For Citizens Against Government Waste America's #1 Taxpayer Watchdog

Congress must promptly address consumer data privacy.

In 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) entered into force, creating a partnership between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that progressively eliminated tariffs and all duties and quantitative restrictions, except for a limited number of agriculture products, traded with Canada, that were eliminated by 2008.

In the latest turn of events in the saga of how best to repurpose the c-band spectrum, Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Rep. Greg Gianforte have sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai urging the agency to conduct a public auction of the spectrum, as opposed to turning over the spectrum to foreign satellite companies for a private auction.

I was recently given a new watch by my husband.  He was excited about the watch because of all the great things it was going to do for me.  Even though I work on technology issues, the only real purpose of a watch in my mind is to tell time.  This is where I ran into trouble.

This watch is what is known as a connected device.  It will tell me when I have a text message or phone call coming in and will monitor my heart rate and count how many steps I take in a day.  What it won’t do until I connect it to my smart phone is tell me what time it is, and therein lies the problem.

As private sector companies continue to build next generation (5G) wireless networks, a controversy over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) auction of the 24 GHz frequency is brewing.  Spectrum Auction 102 was completed on May 29, 2019, auctioning approximately 2,900 licenses in the 24.25 and 25.25 GHz bands and generating more than $2 billion.  This auction opens a critical bandwidth of spectrum necessary to provide 5G connectivity in dense urban areas using millimeter wave high-band spectrum.

Each year, April 26 marks the celebration of World IP Day, when the importance of intellectual property rights and the achievements gained from its protection are recognized.  According to the Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) intellectual property (IP) contributes $6.6 trillion to America’s GDP.  In 2019, the World IP Day celebration focuses on sports and the IP that enables past, present, and future athletes to compete and meet their goals.

With all the focus on creating a nationwide fifth generation (5G) network, questions often arise about why it is important for the U.S. to lead in 5G development, the benefits of moving to 5G, and why is there a continual push for more spectrum to be made available for 5G.