Telecom

House Passes Bill That Would Lead to TikTok Ban if Chinese Owner Doesn't Sell. Senate Path Unclear

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app TikTok if its China-based owner doesn't sell, as lawmakers acted on concerns that the company's current ownership structure is a national... Read More

Fake Images Made to Show Trump With Black Supporters Highlight Concerns Around AI and Elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — At first glance, images circulating online showing former President Donald Trump surrounded by groups of Black people... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — At first glance, images circulating online showing former President Donald Trump surrounded by groups of Black people smiling and laughing seem nothing out of the ordinary, but a look closer is telling. Odd lighting and too-perfect details... Read More

Americans Reporting Nationwide Cellular Outages From AT&T, Cricket Wireless and Others

A number of Americans are dealing with cellular outages on AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile and other service providers, according... Read More

A number of Americans are dealing with cellular outages on AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile and other service providers, according to data from Downdetector. AT&T had more than 73,000 outages around 9:30 a.m. ET, in locations including Houston, Atlanta and... Read More

Google Ups Stakes in AI Race With Gemini, Technology Trained to Act More Like Humans

Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in... Read More

Google took its next leap in artificial intelligence Wednesday with the launch of project Gemini, an AI model trained to behave in human-like ways that's likely to intensify the debate about the technology’s potential promise and perils. The rollout will unfold in... Read More

Broadcom Planning to Complete Deal for $69B Acquisition of VMWare After Regulators Give OK

SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Computer chip and software maker Broadcom has announced it has cleared all regulatory hurdles and... Read More

SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Computer chip and software maker Broadcom has announced it has cleared all regulatory hurdles and plans to complete its $69 billion acquisition of cloud technology company VMware on Wednesday. The company, based in San Jose,... Read More

2023-10-31 17:57:53
by Tom Ramstack
US Workforce Unprepared for AI, Technology Experts Tell Senate

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday setting regulatory standards for artificial intelligence prompted witnesses at a Senate hearing... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s executive order Monday setting regulatory standards for artificial intelligence prompted witnesses at a Senate hearing Tuesday to say it is only a first step in a process likely to transform American workplaces. “Artificial intelligence will... Read More

2023-09-27 21:17:12
by Dan McCue
FCC Chair Moves to Rekindle Net Neutrality Fight 

WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday kick-started the process to restore “net neutrality” regulations, declaring that... Read More

WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel on Tuesday kick-started the process to restore “net neutrality” regulations, declaring that “no one can have a fair shot at 21st century success” without “fast, open and fair” access to the internet.... Read More

Google's Search Dominance Challenged in Biggest Antitrust Trial in Decades

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google has exploited its dominance of the internet search market to lock out competitors and smother innovation,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Google has exploited its dominance of the internet search market to lock out competitors and smother innovation, the Department of Justice charged Tuesday at the opening of the biggest U.S. antitrust trial in a quarter century. “This... Read More

Europe's Sweeping Rules for Tech Giants About to Kick In. Here's How They Work

LONDON (AP) — Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most... Read More

LONDON (AP) — Google, Facebook, TikTok and other Big Tech companies operating in Europe are facing one of the most far-reaching efforts to clean up what people encounter online. The first phase of the European Union’s groundbreaking new digital rules will take... Read More

Biden Administration Announces More Funding for Rural Broadband Infrastructure

The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and... Read More

The Biden administration on Monday continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S. “With this investment, we’re getting funding to communities in every... Read More

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and Other Tech Firms Agree to AI Safeguards Set by White House

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of artificial intelligence technology have agreed to... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft and other companies that are leading the development of artificial intelligence technology have agreed to meet a set of AI safeguards brokered by President Joe Biden's administration. The White House said Friday that it has... Read More

RFK Jr. Will Testify at a House Hearing, GOP Elevates Biden's Rival

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will be delving into claims of government censorship of online speech at a public hearing,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans will be delving into claims of government censorship of online speech at a public hearing, asking Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to testify despite requests from outside groups to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate after his recent antisemitic remarks.... Read More

Biden Administration Seeks Stay of Judge's Social Media Order, Saying It Could Cause 'Grave Harm'

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Louisiana-based federal judge's order broadly limiting executive branch communications with social media companies could cause “grave... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Louisiana-based federal judge's order broadly limiting executive branch communications with social media companies could cause “grave harm” by preventing the government from “engaging in a vast range of lawful and responsible conduct,” Biden administration attorneys said... Read More

What Is Threads? All Your Questions About Meta's new Twitter Rival, Answered

NEW YORK (AP) — Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live. The app, billed as... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Threads, a text-based app built by Meta to rival Twitter, is live. The app, billed as the text version of Meta's photo-sharing platform Instagram, became available Wednesday night to users in more than 100 countries — including the... Read More

Russian Ransomware Gang Breaches Energy Department and Other Federal Agencies

The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang's global hack of a... Read More

The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang's global hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations and governments, but the impact was not expected to be great, Homeland Security officials said... Read More

Microsoft's Media Literacy Program Aims to Empower Internet Users and Combat Online Misinformation

WASHINGTON (AP) — People are hungry for accurate and reliable information online and may just need help to find it,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — People are hungry for accurate and reliable information online and may just need help to find it, according to a new media literacy project launched by Microsoft. The tech company worked with the Trust Project, a nonprofit... Read More

DeSantis 'Digital Town Square' Bogged Down With Tech Glitches

Elon Musk wants to turn Twitter into a “digital town square,” but his much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event, with Florida Gov.... Read More

Elon Musk wants to turn Twitter into a “digital town square,” but his much-publicized Twitter Spaces kickoff event, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announcing his run for president, struggled with technical glitches and a near half-hour delay Tuesday. The billionaire Twitter owner... Read More

Twitter's New CEO is an NBCUniversal Executive With Deep Ad Industry Ties

Elon Musk confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising... Read More

Elon Musk confirmed that the new CEO for Twitter will be NBCUniversal’s Linda Yaccarino, an executive with deep ties to the advertising industry. “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk wrote in a Friday tweet.... Read More

Congress Eyes New Rules for Tech: What's Under Consideration

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal government should better regulate the biggest technology companies, particularly... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Democrats and Republicans agree that the federal government should better regulate the biggest technology companies, particularly social media platforms. But there is very little consensus on how it should be done. Should TikTok be banned? Should... Read More

2023-04-27 21:07:18
by Dan McCue
Hawaii to Net $115.5M for Broadband Projects

WASHINGTON — As one of the most isolated populated places on Earth, Hawaii has long faced a litany of unique... Read More

WASHINGTON — As one of the most isolated populated places on Earth, Hawaii has long faced a litany of unique communications challenges. But those days — and the island state’s heavy-duty reliance on submarine cables — are on the verge... Read More

2023-04-13 20:30:17
by TWN Staff
FCC Commits Over $2.5M in Funding for Schools and Libraries

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday announced it is committing over $2.5 million in a new funding round... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday announced it is committing over $2.5 million in a new funding round through the Emergency Connectivity Fund Program, which provides digital services for students in communities across the country.  In a press... Read More

Thousands of Pro-Trump Bots Are Attacking DeSantis, Haley

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past 11 months, someone created thousands of fake, automated Twitter accounts — perhaps hundreds of... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Over the past 11 months, someone created thousands of fake, automated Twitter accounts — perhaps hundreds of thousands of them — to offer a stream of praise for Donald Trump. Besides posting adoring words about the former... Read More

2023-03-02 22:08:16
by Dan McCue
Treasury Has Dispensed Nearly $5B for Broadband Expansion

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has awarded nearly $5 billion from the Capital Projects Fund to pay for broadband expansion... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department has awarded nearly $5 billion from the Capital Projects Fund to pay for broadband expansion projects in 33 states, and expects to bestow the remaining $5 billion by the end of the year, the program’s... Read More

Google Hopes 'Bard' Will Outsmart ChatGPT, Microsoft in AI

Google is girding for a battle of wits in the field of artificial intelligence with “Bard," a conversational service aimed... Read More

Google is girding for a battle of wits in the field of artificial intelligence with “Bard," a conversational service aimed at countering the popularity of the ChatGPT tool backed by Microsoft. Bard initially will be available exclusively to a group... Read More

T-Mobile Says Data on 37M Customers Stolen

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late... Read More

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said Thursday that an unidentified malicious intruder breached its network in late November and stole data on 37 million customers, including addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth. T-Mobile said in a... Read More

Poor, Less White Areas Get Worst Internet Deals

A couple of years into the pandemic, Shirley Neville had finally had enough of her shoddy internet service. “It was... Read More

A couple of years into the pandemic, Shirley Neville had finally had enough of her shoddy internet service. “It was just a headache,” said Neville, who lives in a middle-class neighborhood in New Orleans whose residents are almost all Black... Read More

2022-10-05 19:08:49
by Dan McCue
Companies Face Removal From Key Database for Skirting Anti-Robocall Rules

WASHINGTON — Seven voice service providers face removal from a key database managed by the Federal Trade Commission if they... Read More

WASHINGTON — Seven voice service providers face removal from a key database managed by the Federal Trade Commission if they fail to demonstrate they’re taking concrete steps to comply with the agency’s anti-robocall rules. The first-of-their-kind FCC Enforcement Bureau orders... Read More

2022-09-29 14:19:32
by Madeline Hughes
First Woman Selected to Lead UN’s Telecom Agency

BUCHAREST, Romania — An American was chosen to be the first woman to lead the United Nations’ telecommunications agency, the... Read More

BUCHAREST, Romania — An American was chosen to be the first woman to lead the United Nations’ telecommunications agency, the International Telecommunication Union, in its 157-year history after an overwhelming vote Thursday in Romania. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the new secretary general... Read More

2022-09-28 21:01:23
by Madeline Hughes
FCC Rule Change Poised to Help Deaf Inmates

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission is looking at ways to help deaf incarcerated people connect better with their families... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission is looking at ways to help deaf incarcerated people connect better with their families through improved telecommunications services, including video chatting, in prisons and jails throughout the country. “Incarcerated people face considerable barriers to... Read More

2022-09-21 17:59:21
by Madeline Hughes
FCC Cracks Down on Chinese Companies Posing National Security Threat

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission formally added Pacific Networks Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet and China Unicom... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission formally added Pacific Networks Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary ComNet and China Unicom (Americas) Operations Limited to its list of companies whose telecom equipment and service pose a national security threat. The commission... Read More

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