It likely wouldn't be safe to hold a meeting indoors, even in October, a tech think tank announced Thursday afternoon. The Technology Policy Institute in mid-April canceled its annual summer event for Aspen, Colorado, because of COVID-19. At that time, it planned to hold the rescheduled event Oct. 16-18 in person but in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Its $1.4 billion purchase of Sprint's Boost Mobile complete, Dish Network is now in the retail wireless marketplace, it said Wednesday. It said it would keep the Boost brand, and reinstituted a shrinking payments plan. It said its "$hrink-It!" plan starts at $45 a month for 15 GB and goes down by $5 after three on-time payments and another $5 after six on-time payments. It said Boost's previous shrinking payments offering ended in July 2014.
The $8.3 billion annual USF "may no longer be used to purchase, obtain, maintain, improve, modify, or otherwise support any equipment or services produced or provided by" Huawei and ZTE, the FCC announced Tuesday afternoon. The Public Safety Bureau designated the Chinese telecom gear makers as covered under the commission's 5-0 November ban on buying from companies posing a national security threat.
FCC employees will continue to work remotely at least until the agency completes its move into its new headquarters near Union Station in Washington, with that move to be completed by Aug. 27, said an agencywide staff memo Monday, the commission told us. Whether the 900-some workers at the current headquarters will report to the new building immediately after Aug. 27 hasn't been determined, it said.
The FCC stopped taking COVID-19 telehealth applications, it announced Thursday. "Based on the applications received to date, demand for funding exceeds available" money. Some $200 million was allotted. The FCC doesn't "want to impose burdens on health care providers who may prepare new applications that cannot be funded under the current appropriation."
The FCC will consider rules for the vertical location accuracy of wireless calls to 911 and broadband mapping at commissioners’ July 16 meeting, as expected; see here. Also on the tentative agenda, an order addressing supply chain security and equipment from Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE.
APCO 2020 is canceled, the group emailed early Tuesday afternoon. Experts had said holding the annual summer convention planned for Aug. 2-5 in Orlando could pose public health problems, amid COVID-19. See our report here.
Don't disconnect consumers and small businesses for not paying bills in the month of July, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai asked service providers, the agency announced Friday. He wants customers to stay connected amid the pandemic even after his Keep Americans Connected pledge ends June 30. He also wrote Congress seeking legislation to this end, covering "the coming months," the commission said.
Team Telecom recommended the FCC deny OK for the portion of a Pacific Light Cable Network undersea cable system that would directly link the U.S. and Hong Kong, DOJ announced. The commission declined to comment.
The California justice department submitted final rules for implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) by Monday night’s Office of Administrative Law deadline, Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) said Tuesday. The AG office just released the rules submitted for OAL review.