AT&T continues to grow its subscriber base, adding a net 708,000 postpaid phone customers in Q3, the company reported Thursday. AT&T was the first of the big three wireless carriers to report. The company also said its 5G mid-band spectrum now covers 100 million POPs, with 130 million expected year-end. AT&T’s stock price rose 7.72% Thursday to close at $16.74, the company's best day on Wall Street in two years.
The FTC voted 3-1 Thursday to explore issuing rules combating fake online reviews. Commissioner Christine Wilson dissented, saying the FTC’s “avalanche” of rulemakings risks the agency becoming more of a legislature than a law enforcer.
Cleanup of existing orbital debris could be complicated by lack of clear international norms on how to handle small objects, space law experts told us. Many said clean-up efforts will almost surely focus on big objects in space since technology to deal with small debris is still under development.
California will shift to a connections-based state USF contribution method and adopt one-touch, make-ready (OTMR) rules for pole attachments, utility commissioners decided at a livestreamed meeting Thursday. Also, the California Public Utilities Commission denied -- at least for now -- eligible telecom carrier designation for Starlink, needed for federal Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) support.
NTIA intends to open a planned request for comment as part of its work to move forward on a national spectrum strategy (see 2209190061) “sooner rather than later,” but there’s no specific timeline, Senior Spectrum Adviser Scott Harris said Wednesday during a Georgetown University Center for Business and Public Policy event. House Communications Subcommittee Chief GOP Counsel Kate O’Connor, meanwhile, urged the Senate Commerce Committee to advance the House-passed Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624) and faulted the House Commerce Committee's recent oversight of interagency spectrum policy infighting.
The FTC likely needs to intervene on multiple fronts to protect children against increasingly blurred lines between social media advertising and organic content, Chair Lina Khan said Wednesday.
Carriers are deploying stand-alone 5G, but there are challenges carriers are struggling with in early deployments, speakers said Wednesday during a TelecomTV virtual summit. So far, there have been only about 30 deployments of stand-alone 5G worldwide, said Robert Curran, Appledore consulting analyst. That’s “not that large of a number, but it is a start,” he said.
At a Consortium for Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) conference Wednesday.
Regulators and lawmakers need to create a more friendly regulatory environment for broadcasters if they want to preserve local journalism and continue living in a democracy, said Hearst Television President Jordan Wertlieb and E.W. Scripps CEO Adam Symson at NAB New York Wednesday. Panels at the event also touched on cybercrime, the advertising market and ATSC 3.0.
The California Public Utilities Commission risks litigation if it exerts too much authority over VoIP, warned industry in comments received by the agency Monday. Commissioners voted 5-0 Aug. 26 to open a rulemaking (docket R.22-08-008) on changes to licensing requirements and other obligations for internet-based voice (see 2208250029 and 2208190030). Consumer advocates and small businesses supported state VoIP requirements.