With a broad boost from U.S. Reps. Anna G. Eshoo and Jackie Speier (D-Palo Alto, Hillsborough), a large coalition of Western cities and counties are waging a legal showdown with a shuttered federal government in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals over control of 5G wireless installations. Eshoo's bill, H.R. 530 -- called the Accelerating Wireless Broadband Development by Empowering Local Communities Act of 2019, "essentially resets the clock on the FCC's new rules by erasing what the federal government has implemented in the under-the-wire maneuver." Eshoo noted "5G is essential for our country's communications network and economy, but it must be deployed responsibly and equitably."
Autonomous vehicle expert says 5G make driverless cars safer
Dean Bushey, the general manager of self-driving car company Voyage, said that 5G technology will help make autonomous vehicles safer. "Right now, anything over a hundred milliseconds of latency is going to cause our cars to disrupt. So anytime we can get lower latency, higher ban...
US Census Bureau finds stark rural-urban broadband divide
The latest American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau reinforces how stark the digital divide is between urban and rural areas. Among counties where fewer than 60% of homes lacked broadband internet subscriptions, 88% were mostly or completely rural. Lack of access was al...
Georgia senators seek 5G wireless legislation
To make way for faster wireless internet, Georgia lawmakers are pushing for statewide rules governing where and how cellphone companies can install their equipment on public land. A Senate study committee voted unanimously to pursue statewide regulations to promote 5G wireless tec...
Nominee for Mills Cabinet sees broadband access as key to Maine economy
Gov.-elect Janet Mills nominated Heather Johnson, the woman charged with expanding broadband access in Maine, to be her economic development commissioner on Thursday. Johnson, who has a background in public- and private-sector economic development and communications, now heads the...
New Hampshire towns might start making their own broadband
The town of Bristol has voter permission to spend $98,500, and hopefully another $33,000 next year, combined with a $132,000 grant from the Northern Border Regional Commission, to build three miles of fiber backbone through its main business district. The system, which will enter ...
Finland is trying to compete with China and the US in the race for 5G
Finnish telecom company Nokia is gaining momentum in the mobile communications market as a key player making 5G equipment and software. The company’s efforts have helped put Finland on the map in the worldwide race to develop and implement 5G wireless technology. "They (Noki...