Telecommunications

Private Sector Solution to Digital Literacy
As students return to school this fall, they are finding that their teachers are using technology tools, such as online curriculums and textbooks, and assigning online homework more frequently. Today, virtually all schools and libraries are...

Keeping Internet Access Free of Taxes
On November 1, 2014, the moratorium banning discriminatory taxes on the Internet and taxes on Internet access imposed by the Internet Tax Freedom Act in 1998 will expire. At the time the legislation was initially enacted, the Internet had...

E-Rate Program Reform To Take Center Stage at FCC
On Friday, July 19, 2013, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be meeting to discuss, among other items, reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF)’ E-Rate program, which was highlighted in the July

Halting Wireless Tax Increases
The June 2013 early release report on wireless substitution by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates that the percentage of adults and children living in households with wireless only telephone service has b

Unchanging Laws in a Marketplace of Change
The Center for Disease Control released a June 2013 report showing the number of households using only wireless telephone services is on the rise. This trend reinforces the need to update existing telecommunications

The High Taxation of Wireless Service
The adoption of wireless communications has grown from 48.7 million subscribers in 1997 to 321.7 million subscribers in 2012. Despite the increased use of this innovative technology, the wireless industry is one of the most

Spectrum Auction Winners or Losers
The federal government is once again picking winners and losers.

Next Steps for Net Neutrality
With the recent announcement by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski of his impending departure, the new commission chair will take charge of what has been called in The Atlantic Wire as “one of the more powerful...

Congress Requests GAO Investigation into Broadband Overbuild
On February 13, 2013, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a hearing on the broadband stimulus programs managed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).

911 Funds Should Support 911 Functions
The 911 system is a valuable emergency communications tool available nationwide, and supported, in part, through fees typically designated as either 911 funds or enhanced 911 (E-911) fees.

BTOP Program Overbuilds Fiber in Colorado
On February 7, 2013, KUSA-Channel 9 News in Denver, Colorado investigated issues related to the administration of a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant within the state of Colorado, which is reportedly using the funding to build...