Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, along with some tech trade groups, say President Donald Trump’s tariff hike on Chinese goods entering the US will slow the stateside rollout of 5G.  In a tweet on Friday, the lone Democrat on the commission said the tariffs, which more than doubled overnight, are “a 25% tax on the …

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to block China Mobile from providing service in the US and said it’s reviewing the status of other Chinese providers due to national security concerns. In a unanimous 5-0 vote, FCC commissioners rejected a 2011 application from China Mobile USA to provide services for phone calls between the US and other countries. Multiple federal …

Google is using advances in AI and voice recognition to design new products and apps intended to make life easier for people with disabilities. It highlighted some of that work Tuesday at its annual I/O developer conference. During his keynote address, Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated the new Live Caption feature, enabled by Android Q, which transcribes in real time …

The Federal Communications Commission said a revised draft of its 2019 Broadband Deployment Report still shows that the digital divide is closing. Originally released in February, the report was touted by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who pointed to its findings that more Americans were getting access to high speed internet service. Pai said the report was evidence that his policies …

Broadband is expected to be part of the $2 trillion spending plan on infrastructure that President Donald Trump agreed to in a meeting with Democratic leaders.  On Tuesday, Trump met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the White House to begin discussions about a new infrastructure spending plan.  “We agreed on a number, which …

T-Mobile is still attracting new wireless customers even as rumors swirl that its merger with Sprint is on the ropes.   The nation’s third-largest wireless carrier said Thursday that it added a total of 1.7 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2019. About 1 million of those customers were highly valued postpaid customers, who pay their bills at …

It’s not easy to be a media conglomerate and telecom powerhouse. That’s the reality for AT&T. On Wednesday, the company disappointed Wall Street analysts by missing revenue expectations in spite of gains in new wireless subscribers and a strong media and entertainment business. It also announced continued subscriber losses for its DirecTV Now streaming service. The main takeaway is that …

Verizon is betting its future on 5G, while its current network is producing a mixed bag of results — just look at its latest quarterly earnings.  On the positive side, the company posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter profits on Tuesday when it reported earnings for the first three months of the year. It also reported a net gain of 174,000 smartphone subscribers …

There aren’t many issues lawmakers on both sides of the aisle can rally around. But there’s at least one: those annoying robocalls that interrupt your dinner or trick you into answering your cell phone thinking it’s a friend or neighbor. On Thursday, the Senate commerce committee’s subcommittee on communications held a hearing to discuss what’s being done to limit illegal …

Ambitious doesn’t begin to describe Carla Hayden’s plan to make the Library of Congress’ collection available to the world. Audacious may be closer to it. Hayden, the 14th person to steward the Library, wants to “throw open the treasure chest” by digitizing its vast collection and making it accessible online. The five-year plan’s understated name — Enriching the Library Experience …