New Limits on Sharing Web Tracking Proposed
Internet providers such as AT&T and Comcast face new federal restrictions on distributing information about their customers’ Web browsing. Broadband providers would need to get permission from consumers before divulging online habits to other companies under the proposal from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. The rules need to succeed in two votes, including an initial test at an FCC meeting on March 31,...
After Years and Millions, VTel’s Wireless Promises Unfulfilled
Springfield, Vt. — When it comes to VTel’s her alded plan to bring mobile phone service to Vermont, the company isn’t talking. The Springfield, Vt., telecommunications company in 2012 and 2013 won separate funding grants from both the federal government and the state to launch wireless mobile phone service to areas of Vermont that do not receive cellular phone service. The federal money was to make mobile phone service available along...
‘Dig-Once’ Street Plan Proposed Again
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to bring to fruition a concept known as “dig once.” What it basically says is that when a city decides to dig up a street for repairs or construction, it should take that opportunity to lay down an extra pipe that can carry high-speed fiber optic cables or other broadband conduits. Doing so prevents having to dig up the same street multiple times whenever another company wants to lay down new...
FairPoint Is Bouncing Back
FairPoint Communications announced Wednesday that it is on better footing than three months ago, the company has finished cutting more than 200 jobs in the past year, and it will have the option to use federal money to build out broadband. FairPoint was in the black in the second quarter, which runs from April to July, even though the company lost $45.2 million in the first three months of the year. The news marks the first time the...
Net Neutrality Rules Quietly Go Into Effect
Washington — With a simple declaration on its website, the Federal Communications Commission launched a new era of Internet oversight by touting that its tough regulations for online traffic were now in place. The so-called net neutrality rules, designed to ensure the free flow of Internet data, took effect Friday after federal judges declined for now to stop them. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said that, starting Friday, “there will be a...
