Message-ID: <20211122151823.8BE1980C@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2021 15:18:23 +0000 (UTC)
From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org>
Subject: FCC Revokes China Telecom America's Telecom Services
Authority
WASHINGTON, October 26, 2021 - The Federal Communications Commission
adopted an order ending China Telecom (Americas) Corporation's ability
to provide domestic interstate and international telecommunications
services within the United States. The Order on Revocation and
Termination directs China Telecom Americas to discontinue any domestic
or international services that it provides pursuant to its section 214
authority within sixty days following the release of the order.
Promoting national security is an integral part of the Commission's
responsibility to advance the public interest, and today's action
carries out that mission to safeguard the nation's telecommunications
infrastructure from potential security threats.
Based in part on the recommendation of the Executive Branch agencies,
the Commission found that China Telecom Americas failed to rebut the
serious concerns of the Executive Branch about its continued presence
in the United States. In December 2020, the Commission launched a
proceeding and established a process that allowed for China Telecom
Americas, the Executive Branch agencies, and the public to present any
remaining arguments or evidence in the matter.
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-revokes-china-telecom-americas-telecom-services-authority
Message-ID: <20211121195908.1E318736@telecom2018.csail.mit.edu>
Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2021 19:59:08 +0000 (UTC)
From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org>
Subject: What Is Broadband?
Broadband refers to always-on, high-speed internet access and is
increasingly seen as a requirement for modern life. The Federal
Communications Commission's (FCC's) benchmark for high-speed internet
is at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 3 Mbps for
uploads.
...
Accessing Broadband
Broadband can be obtained through a variety of services.
* Fiber optic technology, through a series of steps, transmits data
through hair-sized glass fibers at speeds exceeding other broadband
technologies. While fast, fiber has limitations in its availability
from the high cost of creating its network infrastructure.
* Cable modem service enables cable operators to provide broadband
using the same coaxial cables that deliver pictures and sound to a
user's television.
* Digital subscriber line (DSL) is a wireline transmission technology
that transmits data over traditional copper telephone lines already
installed to homes and businesses.
* Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed. It connects a home or
business to the internet using a radio link between the customer's
location and the service provider's facility. Topography and manmade
structures can prevent availability to some wireless networks.
* Satellite broadband is another form of wireless broadband and is
useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas.
* Broadband over powerline (BPL) is an emerging technology that uses
existing low- and medium-voltage electric power distribution
networks to deliver broadband to homes via existing electrical
connections and outlets. BPL is available in very limited areas.
https://comptroller.texas.gov/programs/broadband/about.php
***** Moderator's Note *****
My mind boggles, really and truly: not only does some public servant
in the Lone Star state think that DSL is "Broadband," after citing the
FCC standard of 25 Mbps download, but (s)he is allowed to imply that
"Broadband over powerline" is even viable as a data transport layer
for *ANY* speed(1).
This publication was a once-over-lightly screen-scrape copy-and-paste
that some junior staffer phoned in on the way home after a day spent
pretending that knowing a few buzzword acronyms is the same thing as
reporting on facts.
Bill Horne
Moderator
1. The FCC'S "Getting Broadband Q&A" page,
<https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/getting-broadband-qa>, doesn't
even mention BPL, which is a very bad "solution" in search of an
imaginary "problem."
