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Virgin and O2 might merge to create a UK telecom giant
Virgin Media and O2 might unite in the UK, creating a mobile, cable and internet behemoth.
FCC outlines $200 million COVID-19 telehealth plan
Today, the FCC announced a few additional measures to help the US during the coronavirus pandemic. Chairman Ajit Pai shared plans for a $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program, which would equip healthcare providers with the broadband connectivity and devices they need to provide telehealth services. The FCC also eased off its ongoing crackdown on cell phone subsidy abuse, saying that it won't de-enroll participants until at least May 29th.
Satellite internet startup OneWeb declares bankruptcy to look for a buyer
OneWeb's dreams of satellite internet access have hit a major setback. The startup has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after attempts to get crucial financing fell through. The company said it was "close" to getting support, but the COVID-19 pandemic produced a "financial impact and market turbulence" that cut the deal short. Chapter 11 bankruptcy will let it use debtor-in-possession proceeds to sell the business and keep its existing work going.
Verizon gives customers extra mobile data to deal with COVID-19
More cellular carriers are taking steps to ensure people can stay online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Verizon (Engadget's parent company) is giving consumer and small business customers an extra 15GB of LTE data speeds per month on their plans, with no action required. This applies regardless of the device you're using, and whether your service is a regular subscription or prepaid. It's not the completely unlimited access you might hope for, but it could help you stay online if you depend on your phone's data for work.
Alphabet's Loon, telecoms unite to boost high-altitude internet
Alphabet's Loon just got a big boost from telecoms in its bid to provide high-altitude internet to the world. The company has partnered with several industry giants to form the HAPS Alliance, a group devoted to promoting the use of stratospheric vehicles for internet access. Most of the allies are telecoms like Deutsche Telekom, SoftBank, Bharti Airtel, China Telecom and Telefonica, although the group also includes a diverse range of equipment makers like Airbus, AeroVironment, Ericsson, Intelsat and Nokia.
Facebook's gigabit wireless rolls out in Puerto Rico
Facebook's Terragraph WiFi technology is delivering high-speed broadband to San Juan, Puerto Rico. This week, AeroNet, Puerto Rico's internet service provider, announced a six-month Terragraph pilot meant to deliver reliable, affordable high-speed service. It's now live in and near Plaza de Armas and Plaza San Jose in Old San Juan.
Google Fiber stops offering traditional TV service to new customers
If you're ready to sign up for Google Fiber but want TV service at the same time, you'll have to go online. Google has stopped selling conventional TV service to new customers as of today. Instead, it'll give customers the choice to sign up for YouTube TV (as announced in December) or the sports-oriented fuboTV. The company characterizes this as reflecting the modern reality. "Customers just don't need traditional TV," Google said.
Bernie Sanders proposes $150 billion for public broadband improvements
Bernie Sanders has unveiled his plan for US broadband if he wins the 2020 presidential election, and it won't surprise you to hear that his strategy would focus on making high-speed internet as widely accessible as possible. He intends to earmark $150 billion (as part of the Green New Deal) for infrastructure grants and technical help for "publicly owned and democratically controlled, co-operative or open access" broadband. He would also ensure free broadband in public housing and override state laws (frequently written by private ISPs) that block municipal internet.
Google Fiber drops its 100Mbps tier in favor of gigabit-only service
Google Fiber's main selling point has been its gigabit internet access, but there has usually been a low-cost option like the $50 100Mbps plan. However, that choice is going away. Google has announced that it no longer offers the 100Mbps tier to new customers -- it's either the $70 gigabit plan or nothing. If you ask the company, it's a reflection of evolving internet technology and usage habits.
SpaceX hopes to offer satellite internet to customers by mid-2020
SpaceX has Starlink internet satellites in orbit, but when is it going to offer honest-to-goodness service? You may have to wait a little while. Company President Gwynne Shotwell told a media roundtable that SpaceX hoped to offer Starlink broadband to US customers in mid-2020. Service will depend on putting enough satellites into use, and that will require six to eight missions including the one from May. Just don't ask about prices and plans at this stage -- the only clue is that this will be "additive" to SpaceX's main business instead of a primary money maker.
Court rules the FCC can't block state net neutrality laws
The FCC has won a key bid to uphold its repeal of net neutrality, but at a significant cost. A federal appeals court handling a Mozilla complaint has ruled that most of the repeal can stand, but that the FCC had "not shown legal authority" to ban states from implementing their own laws. The regulator was trying to "categorically abolish" states' established power to regulate communications within their borders, according to the court.
FCC approves additional $950 million for broadband in Puerto Rico
The FCC is making good on its plans to further fund Puerto Rican broadband. Commissioners have voted in favor of an additional $950 million to "improve, expand and harden" communications in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Over $500 million of this will go to fixed broadband in Puerto Rico over the next 10 years, while roughly $250 million will go to mobile data over three years. The Virgin Islands will receive $180 million in 10 years for fixed broadband, with another $4 million devoted to mobile.
Microsoft plans to bring broadband to 9 million more Americans
Microsoft is teaming up with ISP Nextlink in its latest effort to expand broadband access. They aim to bring high-speed internet to more than 9 million people in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. That total includes around a million folks in underserved rural areas.
Verizon will launch home 5G everywhere its mobile service is available
Verizon (Engadget's parent company) may be rolling out 5G at a pokey pace, but at least you won't have to choose which kind of 5G you get. Consumer division chief Ronan Dunne told investors that fixed 5G Home service will "in due course" be available in every market where mobile 5G is available. It's "one network," he said -- there's little stopping Verizon from offering both. The carrier is planning a "full" launch for Home late in 2019 using the official 5G standard, so the synchronicity might begin relatively quickly.
FCC offers another $950 million for broadband in Puerto Rico
The FCC isn't done funding Puerto Rican broadband in the wakes of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Chairman Ajit Pai has circulated a draft order that would offer another $950 million to "storm-harden, improve and expand" broadband in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Not surprisingly, the FCC is pitching this using the prospect of next-gen internet access as a lure. This would help deploy 5G and gigabit fiber to the territories, the agency said, helping residents "fully participate" in the digita world.
FCC hopes to fix its broadband maps with more precise data
More than a few people have qualms with the accuracy of the FCC's broadband coverage maps, and the regulator appears to be taking those objections somewhat seriously. It's ordering the creation of a Digital Opportunity Data Collection that would obtain "more granular" geospatial coverage data from fixed broadband providers. The knowledge would inform higher-accuracy maps and help the FCC determine where it can improve internet access through the Universal Service Fund.
Canada invests $85 million in internet satellites for rural areas
Telesat, the Canadian telecom and SpaceX internet competitor, wants to connect remote regions with its low-earth-orbit satellites. Now, it appears to have the backing of Her Majesty's Government. The company announced today that it is partnering with the Canadian government to expand high-speed internet access to rural areas. Over the next decade, the government will contribute $600 million in Canadian dollars towards the telecom's upcoming fleet of satellites. An additional $85 million of funding will be used to create 500 new jobs, invest in R&D and promote STEM education.
Alphabet's internet balloons have spent a million hours in the stratosphere
The fledgling internet balloon industry just marked an important achievement. Alphabet's Loon has recorded over 1 million hours of stratospheric flight for its balloons, covering about 24.9 million miles. The figures aren't completely shocking when they've been pressed into service for hard-hit areas like Puerto Rico and Peru, but it's still significant when the technology only graduated from project status one year earlier.
Amazon asks FCC for permission to launch internet satellites
Amazon is moving fairly quickly on its plan to deploy thousands of internet satellites. The company has filed for FCC permission to launch 3,236 satellites as part of Project Kuiper. The spacecraft would be grouped into 98 orbital planes, and fly at altitudes between 366 and 391 miles. The filing reiterated Amazon's plans to connect "tens of millions" of people around the world, although the company warned that it couldn't cover everything -- it asked for a waiver on a requirement to serve the whole US as its satellites wouldn't cover parts of Alaska.
SpaceX is still in control of all but three of its internet satellites
How are SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites faring roughly a month after launch? Quite well, if you ask SpaceX. The company reported that it's in contact with 57 of the 60 initial broadband satellites. Although it's not certain what happened to those three faulty satellites, they'll eventually fall to Earth as gravity drags them down.
