Telecommunications

November 4, 2009 -- Washington DC – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced Wednesday that they are launching a joint effort to evaluate technologies that may help curb the dangerous epidemic of distracted driving.

The DOT-FCC partnership will also include outreach efforts to educate the public about the dangers of texting while driving, talking on cell phones while driving, and other distracting behavior that can lead to deadly accidents.    » read more »

Washington, D.C. -- Nov 5, 2009 – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken, and Byron Dorgan today sponsored legislation to prohibit the use of personal wireless communication devices by the flight crew while operating commercial aircraft.

Klobuchar, an Aviation Subcommittee member, and Franken joined Commerce Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Byron Dorgan to introduce the legislation in response to the recent Northwest Airlines incident in which pilots claimed they were distracted by working on their computers and did not respond to radio calls for 91 minutes. The plane flew 150 miles past its destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul.    » read more »

National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center Opens

October 30, 2009 -- (Arlington, VA) - Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) joined Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other Members of Congress to launch a new cybersecurity center today in Arlington, Virginia.

The National Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) will create a 24-hour watch and warning center to address threats and other incidents involving our nation’s critical infrastructure. The center will be staffed by officials with the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies along with workers from the private sector.    » read more »

Senator Sends Letter to FCC Chairman Urging Quick Action

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tom Udall, D-NM, today sent a letter to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) expressing “grave concern” about the organization’s failure to extend telephone service to Indian Country, where more than 30 percent of households do not have basic service.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representatives Marion Berry (AR-01), Vic Snyder (AR-02), and Mike Ross (AR-04) today announced that Arkansas will receive $2,081,238 from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration to increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The funds are allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Broadband Data Improvement Act.    » read more »

Boundary Protection and Virtual Private Networking Capability to Be Provided Under $5 Million Deal

ASHBURN, Va. – October 19, 2009 – Verizon Business will help the NATO Command, Control and Communications Agency (NC3A) strengthen NATO's network security with a package of networking and security services.

Under a new deal valued at about $5 million covering two years and an optional one-year extension, Verizon Business through Verizon Cybertrust Security in Belgium will implement a highly resilient virtual private network for approximately 30 locations on the agency's existing network. The company will provide secure gateways to and from the Internet as well as the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) encryption for users on the network.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Speaker Pelosi applauded today’s announcement that California is among the first four states to receive state broadband mapping grants made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was designed to be both stimulative and transformational to our economy. Central to our efforts to ensure prosperity for all Americans is deploying broadband coast to coast.    » read more »

Millions in Federal Funds Used to Enhance Coverage to Macoupin County

SPRINGFIELD – October 7, 2009 -- Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today commended U.S. Cellular for bringing improved cellular phone service to the people of Macoupin County. Governor Quinn’s visit comes after U.S. Cellular activated five additional service towers in the area by the end of 2009.

“Cell phone service is a fundamental necessity for personal and public safety as well as economic growth.” said Governor Quinn. “The people of Macoupin County have lacked adequate cellular service for years but, thankfully, they can now stay better connected to the people they care about most.”    » read more »

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Oct. 7, 2009 -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN), in collaboration with the U.S. Army's Communications Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, recently completed industry-first experiments using Raytheon's fourth generation wireless networking technology.

The Enhanced Position Location Reporting System 4th Generation served as the network backbone and provided the ability to connect with many current and future force systems as part of an overarching network-of-networks architecture.    » read more »

National Telecommunications And Information Administration Awards $1.2 M. To Vermont

WASHINGTON (Tuesday, Oct. 6) - U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Congressman Peter Welch and Governor Jim Douglas Tuesday welcomed the announcement by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, that Vermont has been awarded Vermont a $1.2 million broadband mapping grant. Vermont's grant is one of the first four American Recovery and Reinvestment Act broadband grants to reach the states for broadband mapping, aggregation and infrastructure.    » read more »

Recovery Act Funding to Provide Policymakers and Consumers with Improved Data on Internet Service in California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont

October 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced that it has awarded the first four grants under NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program to fund activities in California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) today announced that the e-NC Authority will receive $2,023,874 to determine the best and most effective methods for expanding broadband to underserved areas of North Carolina.

"This investment in North Carolina will help boost economic development in our rural communities and keep them vibrant," said Hagan. "Increasing broadband access means connecting our communities to the world and adding more jobs in our state in this tough economy."    » read more »

September 30, 2009 -- As he announced earlier this week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act, legislation that eliminates retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that allegedly participated in President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, September 30, 2009 -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the acquisition of privately-held Plusmo, Inc., a leading provider of cross-platform mobile application solutions, bringing to AT&T an open standards technology that will simplify mobile application development, accelerate innovation and deliver a better application experience for consumers. Plusmo will become a part of AT&T Interactive, and the Plusmo mobile application development platform is expected to be used by multiple AT&T subsidiaries, including AT&T Mobility. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.    » read more »

Dallas, Texas, Wall, New Jersey, September 14, 2009 -- AT&T* and Centennial Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: CYCL) announced today that, assuming timely satisfaction or waiver of all remaining closing conditions including receipt of the required regulatory approvals, they now anticipate the pending acquisition of Centennial by AT&T to be completed early in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2009. On November 7, 2008, the two companies entered into an agreement under which AT&T would acquire Centennial. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Centennial stockholders would receive $8.50 per share in cash.    » read more »