Tennessee lawmakers sent a wireless small-cells bill to the governor Wednesday after state senators voted 42-1 to pass an amended HB-2279. Hawaii state senators voted 24-0 Tuesday for the House small-cells bill (HB-2651), which goes back to the other chamber to concur with amendments. Tennessee state Sen. Bill Ketron (R), the bill's sponsor, said lawmakers listened to cities’ concerns and made more than 50 changes to the bill. The session was livestreamed Wednesday. While voting yes, Sen. Lee Harris (D) said he worried about taking control from local governments when they work with big telecom carriers. “I’m inclined to support this bill,” said Harris, “but it does give me pause that we would intervene in these negotiations and set a price,” which seems to put a “thumb on the scale,” he said. Ketron said lawmakers increased maximum pole-collocation fees to a “reasonable” $100 annually from $35. Some cities wanted to charge $2,500, but “this is not made to be an opportunity to cash in on poles because that would be passed on to all the users through their rate fees, and I know my [wireless bill is] already high enough,” he said. Tennessee passage follows local governments declaring several early 2018 victories defeating or getting concessions to industry bills (see 1804100036).
Vizio added a flagship category to its TV line to take on OLED, and it’s courting cord cutters on the value side by steering them to free TV, executives demonstrated at the company’s 2018 product launch in New York Tuesday.
Vizio added a flagship category to its TV line to take on OLED, and it’s courting cord cutters on the value side by steering them to free TV, executives demonstrated at the company’s 2018 product launch in New York Tuesday.
C Spire and AT&T are fighting over a Mississippi state contract for wireline voice and data services. AT&T, previously the state’s provider, is challenging the state IT agency’s December selection of C Spire. The smaller carrier said it will provide speeds up to 106 Gbps for about $123.8 million, $32.8 million less than AT&T’s approximately $156.6 million. “Even though spending less for better service is a clear win for the state, AT&T is now working to block the agreement,” C Spire CEO Hu Meena said in a Tuesday statement. The Department of Information Technology Services paused the process to resolve the protest, Meena said. AT&T defended its protest. “As a part of the normal contracting and bid process, we filed our concerns with the Department of Information Technology Services regarding the recent statewide technology” request for proposal, an AT&T spokeswoman said. “While our bid fully met the specific, clearly identified requirements outlined in the RFP, we believe the selected bid does not.”
C Spire and AT&T are fighting over a Mississippi state contract for wireline voice and data services. AT&T, previously the state’s provider, is challenging the state IT agency’s December selection of C Spire. The smaller carrier said it will provide speeds up to 106 Gbps for about $123.8 million, $32.8 million less than AT&T’s approximately $156.6 million. “Even though spending less for better service is a clear win for the state, AT&T is now working to block the agreement,” C Spire CEO Hu Meena said in a Tuesday statement. The Department of Information Technology Services paused the process to resolve the protest, Meena said. AT&T defended its protest. “As a part of the normal contracting and bid process, we filed our concerns with the Department of Information Technology Services regarding the recent statewide technology” request for proposal, an AT&T spokeswoman said. “While our bid fully met the specific, clearly identified requirements outlined in the RFP, we believe the selected bid does not.”
The Vermont Public Utility Commission won't consider how to regulate VoIP in docket 18-0443 while Comcast’s challenge to the PUC's Feb. 7 ruling in docket 7316 -- that interconnected VoIP is a telecom service under federal law -- remains pending, the PUC said in a Monday order. Consolidated Communications supported and Vermont staff didn't oppose the stay (see 1803210038).
The Vermont Public Utility Commission won't consider how to regulate VoIP in docket 18-0443 while Comcast’s challenge to the PUC's Feb. 7 ruling in docket 7316 -- that interconnected VoIP is a telecom service under federal law -- remains pending, the PUC said in a Monday order. Consolidated Communications supported and Vermont staff didn't oppose the stay (see 1803210038).
President Donald Trump tweeted in support of Sinclair Monday after the company was widely criticized for requiring anchors to read a script condemning fake news. “So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased,” Trump tweeted. “Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.”
President Donald Trump tweeted in support of Sinclair Monday after the company was widely criticized for requiring anchors to read a script condemning fake news. “So funny to watch Fake News Networks, among the most dishonest groups of people I have ever dealt with, criticize Sinclair Broadcasting for being biased,” Trump tweeted. “Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC, which is a total joke.”
Proposed tariffs against China could disrupt strong momentum in the U.S economy, said Nariman Behravesh, IHS Markit chief economist, at Tuesday's 2018 Automotive Forum sponsored by J.D. Power and the National Automobile Dealers Association. Echoing comments he made last year that the global economy compared to 2016 was brighter but more uncertain, Behravesh said the outlook in 2018 is “even brighter and it’s even more uncertain,” he said.