FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel visited an Arizona elementary school as part of an initiative to promote recent modifications to the E-rate program, said a news release Friday. "Visiting rural Arizona made it clear that if we want our children to succeed in this digital age, then we need to ensure they can get access to the internet," Rosenworcel said. She met with parents, teachers, and school staff to discuss the benefits of the program. The agency noted that the E-rate program "takes on renewed importance following the expiration of the affordable connectivity program," which connected more than 500,000 households in Arizona before it ended. Using hot spots, the FCC is "working to close that digital divide" for schools and libraries, the agency said. Rosenworcel will spend the next few months meeting with national, state, and local school leaders to discuss the program's importance.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia scheduled oral argument on Nov. 5 at 9:30 a.m. for LTD's challenge of the FCC's denial of its Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Phase I auction long-form application, said an order Friday (docket 24-1017). The ISP was the largest winning bidder in the auction (see 2405090056).
Representatives of Somos and the Ad Hoc Telecom Users Committee met with aides to all five commissioners about tweaking a draft order on using the do not originate (DNO) list in blocking unwanted and illegal robocalls. The order is set for a vote at the FCC’s Sept. 26 open meeting (see 2409050045). “Somos applauds the Commission for applying a DNO mandate for all carriers in the draft Order” and agrees the commission shouldn’t designate a particular list, said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-59. But “a reasonable list must (not may) include” all invalid numbers where the area code or central office code begins with a 0 or 1, “all numbers in an area code that is not yet, or can never be assigned” and “all 10,000 and 1,000 blocks of numbers in area codes that are in service, but the blocks are not yet assigned,” the filing said. Somos would also include on the list “numbers for which the subscriber has requested call origination blocking.”
CostQuest will offer NTCA members its broadband fabric data location "at exclusive member pricing" for the FCC's broadband maps and NTIA's broadband, equity, access and deployment program, the group announced Thursday. NTCA members will receive a "10% discount off list pricing," it said. In addition, CostQuest will provide data on network cost, competition and demographics for each broadband serviceable location (see 2211180062). NTCA and CostQuest will host a webinar for the group's members Oct. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT.
The FCC said it has opened the window for filing applications to participate in the agency’s three-year, $200 million cybersecurity pilot program for schools and libraries. It closes Nov. 1. “School districts and libraries across the country have proven to be prime targets for cyber criminals” and “vulnerabilities in the networks are real -- and growing," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said Tuesday. “Through this pilot program, we’ll have a chance to better understand what equipment, services, and tools will help protect school and library broadband networks from cyberthreats,” she said. Commissioners approved the program 3-2 in June with Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissenting (see 2406060043).
Cox Communications has begun a field pilot test of Tarana Wireless equipment in licensed and unlicensed spectrum, the fixed wireless access technology company said Tuesday. The work with Cox joins fixed wireless partnerships with Midco and Mediacom, it said. Midco is using Tarana fixed wireless for 11 Connect America Fund buildouts, it said, while Mediacom is deploying Tarana tech to meet Rural Deployment Opportunity Fund requirements and expand its footprint to thousands of unversed households in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
Ericsson joined the Mobile Satellite Services Association, it said Tuesday. Launched in February, the consortium focuses on the supplemental coverage from space and the direct-to-device ecosystem using L- and S-band spectrum (see 2402090013). "Through MSSA, Ericsson is keen to advance the goal of ubiquitous connectivity through the integration of terrestrial and space-based networks,” said Freddie Sodergren, Ericsson Business Area Networks head-technology and strategy.
The industry still lacks an agreed-upon “common definition” for cloud native, Beth Cohen, Verizon advanced networking and security product strategist, said during a TelecomTV webinar Tuesday. The definition that “makes the most sense” is applications designed and optimized to work in the cloud, Cohen argued. “That can be containerized applications; it can also be virtual, machine applications.” The application should be “built and designed, from the ground up, to work in a virtual environment, whatever that virtual environment may be,” she said. “There are a number of definitions, and they’re all right.” Containerization uses software that bundles an application's code with all the files and libraries it needs to run on any infrastructure. Michele D’Agostino, director-product management at software company Wind River, said cloud native must be built on “microservices and container orchestration.” In addition, “It needs to support dynamic scaling based on demand” and “needs to have automation and resiliency in case there are failures.” Cloud native, D'Agostino said, also must include analytical tools based on AI and machine learning. Automated software updates and zero-touch deployment are “critical to scale the types of networks we have within telecom.” For Joan Triay, manager and network architect, Docomo Communications Lab, cloud native isn’t a specific technology or solution. “It’s not even about containers,” Triay said: “It’s very difficult to define” cloud native “precisely, and I doubt that we will ever achieve that.” Part of the confusion comes from using the term liberally as a marketing tool. The telecom industry shouldn’t let cloud service providers “hijack the definition” of cloud native, Cohen said. “Telco cloud is different, and we need to keep that in mind.” The top benefit of cloud native is lowering the cost of running a network, said Sidd Chenumolu, head-product management at VMware by Broadcom. “The ability for a service provider to do life-cycle management in an automated manner … is definitely a huge cost savings,” he said. With cloud native, “you can adopt the best tool sets out there.”
The FCC’s Disability Advisory Committee will meet Oct. 18 starting at noon at FCC headquarters, the commission said Monday. The announcement confirms what had been a tentative meeting date (see 2408010050). DAC last met in May (see 2405160051).
The FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council will hold the second meeting under its new charter on Sept. 27, starting at 1 p.m., at FCC headquarters, the FCC said Monday. The group held its initial meeting June 28 (see 2406280050). Its focus this term is on AI and 6G.