---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20200408174009.GA10897@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2020 17:40:09 +0000 From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org> Subject: COVID-19 community updates AT&T is offering curbside pickup options to keep customers and employees safe. The company is offering three fast, free, no-contact delivery options for online orders, including; https://www.gazettenet.com/Cancellations-closures-and-community-updates-33751572 -- Bill Horne Telecom Digest Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20200408190117.GA11625@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2020 19:01:17 +0000 From: Bill Horne <malQassRimiMlation@gmail.com> Subject: Senator backing anti-crypto bill calls out Zoom's lack of end-to-end crypto Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal dings Zoom for false end-to-end crypto claim. By Dan Goodin Richard Blumenthal, the US senator sponsoring a bill that critics say will limit the use of encryption, is calling for an investigation of video-conference provider Zoom, in part over its false claim it offered... end-to-end encryption. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/04/senator-backing-anti-crypto-bill-calls-out-zooms-lack-of-end-to-end-crypto/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I've been trying for a week now to get a Google Apps password recovered(1), so that members of an important organization can once again use the conference and other capabilities - including video conference - of the Google technology. I was on a video meeting the other day, talking to other members of my Quaker meeting. The meetnig was conducted using Zoom because one of the participants has an Apple computer which would not work with Google Hangousts. I suppose end-to-end encryption would have been nice in that case, but that's not what worries me. I was on a different video conferene last night: a training session for members of my Amateur radio club, to introduce we old ham operators to the capabilities of Cisco's video conference software. I am leery of things that happen too fast - but COVID-19 is causing a mass-migration to video conferencing apps, and along with that migration comes a raft of as-yet-unanswered questions. I'm concerned about the way consumers and businesses will settle on one vendor or technology, and then refuse, without reason, to change to a bettter alternative. Zoom might or might not win the current sprint to grow most quickly, but no matter which company gets the most mileage out of COVID_19, there will remain a whole bunch of privacy and other legal issues, and I worry that things which need a careful public debate will be shoehorned into a one-size-fits-all solution that will become a de-facto standard. Bill 1. If anyone on the GAPPS help team reads this, please get in touch. -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20200408173654.GA10855@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 8 Apr 2020 17:36:54 +0000 From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org> Subject: After 5 years of CT service, Frontier under state probe By Alexander Soule Connecticut's attorney general has launched an investigation into complaints by more than 1,000 customers of Frontier Communications, even as the Norwalk broadband company finalizes a decision on whether to declare bankruptcy to eliminate billions of dollars in debt. https://www.thehour.com/business/article/After-5-years-of-CT-service-Frontier-under-state-15186973.php -- Bill Horne Telecom Digest Moderator ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20200407192956.GA21182@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2020 19:29:56 +0000 From: Moderator <telecomdigestsubmissions@remove-this.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Supporting The Telecommunications Industry Through The COVID-19 Crisis - What You Need To Know by Jennifer L. Richter , Tom Davidson , Douglas I. Brandon , Steven Rowings , Lyndsey Grunewald , Karen L. Milne , Virginia D. Hiner , Galen Roehl and Shea Boyd Key Points * Congress and federal agencies are taking action to ensure that Americans stay connected during the COVID-19 crisis, including the CARES Act. The CARES Act provides $200 million to the FCC for telehealth services and additional funding for other federal initiatives aimed at closing the digital divide and supporting distance learning. * In addition to the $200 million COVID-19 Telehealth Program (implementing the CARES Act), the FCC has proposed other new initiatives to make funding available for telehealth providers, including a $100 million Connected Care Program. The Commission has also made an additional $42 million immediately available through its RHC Program, and has taken other measures to support telecommunications providers and telecommunications services by temporarily extending certain deadlines, issuing waivers of some existing rules and granting some wireless providers temporary access to additional spectrum. * DHS has issued guidance classifying certain telecommunications workers as "essential critical infrastructure workers" during this crisis. https://www.mondaq.com/Article/912518?email_access=on -- Bill Horne Telecom Digest Moderator ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 09 Apr 2020