A few weeks ago, AT&T planted a flag in the 5G ground by announcing our intent to be the first U.S. company to introduce mobile 5G service in the U.S. We are targeting a dozen markets to roll out mobile 5G service by late 2018. With 5G, we are building the technology infrastructure that will…
Read More Leaning Toward our 5G FutureJoan Marsh Posts
More Heat than Light
History will remember the day that the FCC acted to adopt a rational and balanced regulatory framework of internet governance. A day when the FCC Chairman reflected on a debate that was “more heat than light,” on the vital need for investment in broadband infrastructure in the United States and on the dangers of an…
Read More More Heat than LightResponding to Disasters – Answering the Call in PR, USVI and CA
It’s been two weeks since I wrote a blog detailing the impact the 2017 hurricane season has had on our network and facilities, and why the unprecedented damage caused by Hurricane Maria in particular has made restoring the communications infrastructure in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands such an enormous challenge. Since that time…
Read More Responding to Disasters – Answering the Call in PR, USVI and CAThe Tale of Three Storms
The 2017 hurricane season has been a monster. Three storms engulfed our country, followed by three very extensive yet different recovery and restoration efforts. As the impacted communities struggle to get back on their feet, it’s worth exploring some of the differences. Hurricane Harvey was all about water, and its communications recovery story is all…
Read More The Tale of Three StormsThe Heart of the Storm
I travelled to Houston yesterday with John Donovan and members of his leadership team to survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Harvey, which was unimaginable. We visited a central office (CO) that was swamped by six feet of water in the middle of a neighborhood where piles of debris flanked the curbs in every direction….
Read More The Heart of the StormEnsuring an Open Internet while Fostering Innovation and Investment
Today, AT&T filed reply comments on the FCC’s proposal to restore the longstanding, bipartisan consensus that internet access service is an information service, a status that it enjoyed for all but two of the past 20 years. Opponents of returning internet access service to that status make no attempt to balance the costs and benefits…
Read More Ensuring an Open Internet while Fostering Innovation and InvestmentMobility Fund II – a Win for Rural Consumers
While we take mobile broadband services for granted in urban environments, many rural Americans still don’t have access to wireless service to keep them connected to family, work and other vital services. Travel just 75 miles from D.C., and chances are you could find yourself in a small community without wireless voice or broadband coverage….
Read More Mobility Fund II – a Win for Rural ConsumersA Day of Reflection after the Day of Action
Remember Dudley Do-Right? He was the dim-witted but affable Canadian Mountie with the cleft chin who busied himself saving Nell from his arch enemy, Snidely Whiplash. Snidely, of course, was always portrayed as a good nemesis should be – in a black coat and top hat, with a strangely menacing mustache and a greenish pallor. …
Read More A Day of Reflection after the Day of ActionDoes Lifeline Need a Life Boat?
Last week, the GAO issued a report on its investigation into the FCC’s Lifeline program, a program designed to deliver essential communications services to low income families but one that has grown at an alarming rate. The report’s findings are both expected and surprising – expected in that the report highlights areas of weakness in…
Read More Does Lifeline Need a Life Boat?There Are Still Payphones?
The first payphone was installed in New Haven, Conn. in June 1880 with payphone usage peaking in 2000 when there were more than two million payphones in service. By 2009, AT&T had exited the payphone business and, by the end of last year, it was estimated that less than 100,000 payphones remained in service in…
Read More There Are Still Payphones?