Review of 2G, 3G cell phone RF study draws closer link to tumors in rats

31 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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Following a review by outside experts, the National Institutes of Health has revised its conclusions about two studies of the effects of mobile phone transmissions on rats and mice. The initial versions were published in February . The changes to the findings draws a stronger link between high levels of 2G and 3G radio frequency (RF) radiation from cell phones, and cancerous tumors in male rats, and less certainty about whether there’s evidence or not of more limited tumour development in female rats and mice, and male mice.… More

New congress, old issues return to Washington, D.C. in 2019

30 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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There were two wins for broadband development policy in Washington D.C. this year, and both were backed by agriculture interests. In March, a big federal spending bill passed, with $600 million going to the new ReConnect broadband infrastructure grant and loan program, and the once-every-five-years farm bill was approved earlier this month, with at least $1.7 billion more for similar purposes.

Congress didn’t do much else, though.

Unless there’s a surprise on Monday, the year will end with one empty seat on the Federal Communications Commission.… More

FCC’s economic illiteracy on display in muni property preemption fight

29 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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Sometimes the real story is in the footnotes. That’s the case with a Federal Communications Commission denial of a request to delay enforcement of its September order that would, if upheld by federal courts, take away property rights from local governments. In the denial, the FCC tries to make its case with economic nonsense: that the market value of an asset is only determined only by its “actual and direct costs”.

The market value of anything is determined by the balance between its perceived worth to the buyer and the seller.… More

Big telecom will see familiar, friendly faces at California capitol in 2019

28 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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California capitol horses 625

California broadband policy will be in the same legislative hands in 2019. Senate and assembly leaders announced committee assignments for the new term, and the chairs of the committees that dealt with major telecoms issues over the past couple of years remain the same.

Miguel Santiago (D – Los Angeles) retained his seat as chair of the assembly communications and conveyances committee. He didn’t make it into the top ranks – no leadership post or a seat on the powerful rules, appropriations or budget committees.… More

Overturning FCC local pole ownership preemption seems easier in San Francisco

27 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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The Federal Communications Commission “seeks to redefine the relationship between state and local governments and telecommunications providers” with a new and expansive interpretation of federal law, according to a group of local agencies challenging an order that preempts local ownership of light poles and other municipal property located in the public right of way. The group, led by the City of San Jose, wants the case moved from the federal appeals court in Denver, to the ninth circuit appeals court in San Francisco.… More

FCC kills CPUC plan to tax text messages

26 December 2018 by Steve Blum

Klingon texting

A plan to tax text messaging services in California is dead. The California Public Utilities Commission will not do that. That’s the conclusion of a new proposed decision, released on Friday by outgoing commissioner Carla Peterman.

They don’t have much choice.

CPUC was originally scheduled to vote on approving the tax on 13 December 2018. But the day before, the Federal Communications Commission decided to classify text messaging as an “information service”, and not as a taxable “telecommunications service”.… More

Merry Christmas! Because that’s what today is

25 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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Christmas vacation

Thank you, Gentle Reader, for the best Christmas present a writer can wish for: an audience. If you’re reading this on Christmas morning, you are doubly valued and thrice blessed. And you might even be interested in a blog post about the blog. If you aren’t, please forgive me and be assured my usual rants insights typing will resume tomorrow. If I were reading this, I’d just click here and listen to Jimmy Buffet and Linda Ronstadt instead.… More

Charter’s credibility and rural upgrade claims challenged by California regulators

24 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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Charter Communications is facing another inquiry into whether or not it’s telling the truth about obligations it accepted when it bought cable systems owned by Time Warner and Bright House Communications in 2016. The California Public Utilities Commission was asked on Friday by its in-house watch dog – the public advocates office (PAO) – to re-open the case.

The PAO says that there’s reason to think that Charter is fiddling the books when it claims to be meeting broadband system upgrade requirements that were attached to the CPUC’s approval of the purchase.… More

PG&E faces possible breakup, government takeover

23 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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Pacific Gas and Electric could be broken up, reorganised or brought under closer control by the California Public Utilities Commission. The decision to launch a broad investigation into PG&E’s future, including the possibility of a public takeover, was made by commission president Michael Picker and released late on Friday, after financial markets had closed and the holiday exodus had begun.

Radical action of this sort, taken against a major utility, is cause for concern by telecoms companies too.… More

5G smartphones, systems ready for 2019 exhibition season

22 December 2018 by Steve Blum
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It’s a lot like spring training. Mobile 5G service is moving into the “proof of concept” stage, according to a joint press release from Samsung and Verizon. They trotted out a design they intend to offer to consumers “in the first half of 2019” at a Qualcomm meeting this week.

Both Verizon and AT&T plan to light up very limited 5G (or in Verizon’s case, near–5G) networks in several U.S. cities by the end of the month.… More