SpaceX's Starlink has begun accepting preorders in some parts of the U.S., per its website. For some addresses in the Washington, D.C., area, the site said the company is targeting coverage in mid- to late 2021 and quoted $499 for hardware and $99 for monthly service, with a preorder price of $99 due upfront.
Nebraska should repeal dark fiber restrictions so public power utilities can lease infrastructure for broadband, urged state Sen. Tom Brandt (R) at the unicameral legislature’s Transportation and Telecom Committee’s livestreamed meeting Tuesday. The panel heard testimony on many broadband bills this week, as legislators grapple with how best to respond to rural gaps highlighted by COVID-19. Brandt, sponsoring LB-460, said utilities are “not in the commercial broadband business, nor wish to get into this business.” The League of Nebraska Municipalities said it would help spread broadband, but the Nebraska Internet Television Association opposed it as unfair to telecom providers. The committee also heard testimony on LB-600 to expand broadband financing options for public power districts and electric cooperatives. The panel later that day planned to consider LB-498 to require the Public Service Commission to test and map broadband, LB-656 to authorize municipal broadband, LB-338 to restore invalidated PSC rules letting local rural residents assess their own broadband needs and choose their own eligible telecom carrier, and LB-398 to increase state broadband speed standards to 100 Mbps symmetrical from 25 Mbps download and 3 Mbps upload today. Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) testified Monday on his proposal (LB-388) to spend $40 million over two years for broadband expansion. Also that day, the committee mulled LB-456 to provide $10 million in annual broadband grants and loans, LB-604 to set up a competitive grant program for 50 Mbps symmetrical broadband, LB-455 to clarify broadband pole attachment rules and LB-520 to align state wireless siting and collocation rules with FCC regulations.
Maryland legislators plan to consider an exemption for news media from a proposed digital ad tax if it becomes law. The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee scheduled a hearing Feb. 17 at 1 p.m. on SB-787, introduced Friday by Sen. Bill Ferguson (D). Del. Eric Luedtke (D) introduced companion HB-1200 Monday. The exemption would address the state press association’s concerns about the digital tax bill, said Rebecca Snyder, Maryland, Delaware and District of Columbia Press Association executive director. Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed the tax bill passed in March (see 2003180047). Snyder expects the House to vote this week on overriding it, she said.
The Mississippi Senate unanimously passed two broadband bills Wednesday. Senators voted 49-0 for SB-2559, authorizing the Public Service Commission to sign agreements with the FCC and NTIA on data collection and mapping, and SB-2798, allowing energy companies to lease dark fiber to ISPs. The bills now go to the House.
Authorized agents can help people tap California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) rights, but challenges remain, Consumer Reports said Thursday. CCPA lets consumers choose a third-party agent to make data requests on their behalf. This holds promise, but “additional rulemaking and industry norms are needed to make authorized agents effective at scale for California’s 40 million residents,” CR said. CR agents issued opt-out requests on consumers’ behalf to 21 companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Equifax, Intuit, Oracle and Starbucks, it said. Twelve companies confirmed they stopped selling at least some data in response to opt-outs, five claimed not to sell consumer data, three provided no confirmation and one requested nonstandard information the agents lacked, CR said. Average response time was seven business days, the group said. “CR’s authorized agents often met confusing web forms and ambiguous communications.”
Though COVID-19 community spread “exposed the vulnerability of dense urban clusters,” those same so-called “microcities” as engines of tech and economic growth “will remain unchallenged,” reported ABI Research Thursday. The estimated 13,000 microcities globally “will remain hotbeds for urban technology innovation,” said analyst Dominique Bonte. Smart cameras, digital signage, private Wi-Fi networks and 5G connectivity typify the “common technologies deployed” across most microcities, she said. “They allow addressing specific challenges related to people flow management, access and security, overall customer experience, and environmental impact while generating cost savings through maximizing operational efficiencies.”
Fans in Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium with iPhone 12s can take part in Verizon’s 5G interactive experiences in the NFL app, launching at the Super Bowl Sunday, the carrier said. That includes the first 5G stadium in Fortnite's Creative mode, it said. Users can engage with seven different camera angles while in the stadium. Fans watching at home with an iPhone 12 can access five camera angles and project augmented reality overlays of NFL statistics, Verizon said Monday. Verizon said the virtual stadium was designed to highlight the “power of 5G for gaming.” And "reimagining live events is one of the best use cases" for fifth-generation wireless, said Diego Scotti, chief marketing officer at the carrier. It invested over $80 million to support the Super Bowl events.
Comcast is pausing -- but not halting -- rollout of its 1.2 TB data plan across a variety of Eastern and Northeastern states (see 2011230037), it said Wednesday. The rollout set to happen in March is being delayed to give customers "additional time to become familiar with the new plan," Comcast emailed. It said the soonest that customers who exceed 1.2 TB of data could see overage charges is the August bill. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro (D) said he negotiated with Comcast to delay implementation of the overage charges and a waiver of the early termination fee for customers who opt out this year.
The Wisconsin Public Service Commission revoked Viasat’s designation as an eligible telecom carrier for failing to provide Lifeline service. The PSC required revocation, which can be reversed, of a February 2019 order granting ETC status to Viasat so the company could receive Connect America Fund Phase II support, said Monday's order. The commission earlier revoked designation of six other ETCs that failed to provide Lifeline service. Viasat is “working with the PSC to address what we believe was a misapplication of relevant requirements," a company spokesperson emailed Tuesday.
Local government groups supported a proposed California pilot to require investor-owned utilities to install fiber when rebuilding facilities after a wildfire or other natural disaster. “With AT&T’s announcement that it will no longer offer DSL service, and has no plans to build upgraded infrastructure in areas that are without alternative offerings (such as fiber), IOU installed conduit may be the only opportunity for these residents to have access to adequate broadband connectivity,” Rural County Representatives of California commented Monday in docket 20-09-001 at the California Public Utilities Commission. Also backing the proposed pilot, Next Century Cities said the CPUC should consult localities, teachers and librarians on how to use a $1 million. CTIA raised “serious concerns” with the proposed pilot, saying it would “interfere with competition in contravention of California and federal laws requiring the Commission to safeguard competitive neutrality in the communications marketplace.” Energy ratepayers shouldn’t finance such construction, CTIA said: “Communications companies, as significant energy ratepayers, should not be required to fund the overbuilding of their networks.”