The Federal Communications Commission says Sprint is defrauding its Lifeline program, which subsidizes phone and broadband service for the poor. The agency has accused the wireless carrier of claiming subsidies for 885,000 Lifeline subscribers who were not using the service.  The FCC said in a press release Tuesday that this is a violation of a …

Two US senators are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to take another look at licenses granted in the early 2000s to two Chinese telecommunication providers. Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday saying they believe China Telecom and China Unicom could …

Cable provider Altice USA is looking to shake up the wireless market in the US with a new offer that dramatically undercuts the competition. On Thursday, it said it will offer customers unlimited mobile service for just $20 a month. Even its non-cable subscribers can get in on the action for just $30 a month.  Altice Mobile will use AT&T …

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is proposing $950 million in funding to help carriers build faster and more resilient broadband networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, where infrastructure was devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.   The FCC provided $66 million from the Universal Service Fund to assist carriers in Puerto Rico and the US …

Net neutrality proponents say it’s not just enough for 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to say they are in favor of restoring Obama-era open internet rules. They want them to sign a pledge, which includes forgoing campaign contributions from the broadband industry and its lobbyists. Roughly 20 groups joined forces in launching a site Monday where they ask the presidential hopefuls …

States are banding together with large telecom companies to combat robocalls. Twelve of the nation’s largest telephone companies struck an agreement Thursday with the attorneys general of all 50 states to help prevent and block robocalls.  Under the agreement, the companies have promised to implement the SHAKEN/STIR technology, which would validate that calls are originating from where they claim to …

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is looking to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the government’s phone subsidy program for the poor. But he’s not ready to cap the budget on the program just yet.  On Monday, Pai’s office began circulating its latest proposal for cleaning up the program, which the government’s General Accounting Office stated in its …

Super high speed broadband doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. That’s the aim of Common Networks, a startup using 5G to offer wireless broadband to homes in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company launched its service three years ago and is offering a new tier of service starting Wednesday that delivers 300 megabit per second downloads for …

Cellphones — old and new — are safe, including those that’ll use new 5G technology. That’s according to a new proposal that Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai circulated Thursday. It would keep the agency’s current safety limits for radio frequency exposure the same as they’ve been for 23 years.   Following more than six years of public input and …

Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has promised $85 million in federal funding to make sure rural Americans get broadband. And she wants to override states that try to prevent local municipalities from building their own broadband networks.  Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, unveiled her plan Wednesday ahead of a road trip across Iowa. The broadband initiative is part of a …