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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday December 07 2019, @03:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the is-anyone-surprised? dept.

Submitted via IRC for soylent_fuschia

FCC tries to bury finding that Verizon and T-Mobile exaggerated 4G coverage

The FCC in 2017 required carriers to file maps and data indicating their 4G LTE coverage in order to help the commission determine which rural areas should get $4.5 billion in Mobility Fund money over 10 years. But small, rural carriers pointed out that big carriers exaggerated their coverage, potentially preventing those small carriers from getting funding to improve connectivity in areas that lack good service. The small carriers' complaints triggered an FCC investigation in December 2018.

The FCC's announcement of that investigation's findings today came in an odd manner that seemed designed to minimize the amount of attention it gets. A finding that some of the biggest wireless carriers in the US exaggerated mobile broadband coverage is certainly important enough to be mentioned in the headline of an FCC announcement.

Instead, Pai's office announced the issuance of the investigative report in the third paragraph of a press release titled, "Chairman Pai announces plan to launch $9 billion 5G fund for rural America." Pai's press release referred generally to carriers overstating coverage, but it did not name any of the specific carriers that did so.

Pai's office also held a press call with reporters in which FCC officials focused almost entirely on the new 5G fund rather than the carriers' inaccurate filings. As a result, early news coverage of the announcement focused more on the 5G fund than on the carriers' misdeeds.

The two announcements are related, as the FCC said it will try to improve the accuracy of data collection for the 5G fund, which will replace the old Mobility Fund plan. The 5G fund will supply $9 billion to carriers over 10 years, while the Mobility Fund would have distributed $4.5 billion over 10 years for 4G coverage. The money comes from the Universal Service Fund, which is paid for by Americans through fees on their phone bills.

FCC officials didn't voluntarily bring up the topic of whether Verizon, T-Mobile, and US Cellular will be punished for exaggerating coverage. But FCC officials confirmed that Pai does not intend to take enforcement action in response to a question from a reporter during the press call and in response to a question from Ars via email.


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  • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:14AM (3 children)

    by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:14AM (#929288)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg19Y-m5tag [youtube.com]

    What is with this administration trying to backtrack on everything?
    Let me guess, when it becomes obvious it's too late then it will transform into "We were only joking?"

    --
    Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
    • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:00PM (2 children)

      by pipedwho (2032) on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:00PM (#929477)

      Nothing inherently wrong with backtracking. Especially if the reasons are above board, and due to better information becoming available after announcing the original intention.

      However, that is not what’s happening here. In this case it seems that Pai has held up the threatening stick to various players in the industry, and given them a little knowing wink to signal them that it’s time to make an offer to avoid feeling the pain of the stick. These companies no doubt have winked back while accidentally leaving a proverbial paper bag full of unmarked bills in the courtyard across the street from the FCC.

      • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:45PM (1 child)

        by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:45PM (#929509)

        I can find no argument with that statement.
        This type of backtracking, though it has always existed in one form or another, has become all too common in the last couple of decades and especially so in the last few years. I have no problem with changes in opinions or viewpoints which results in backtracking when new information arises. Unfortunately that is becoming an endangered species in favor of political gain.

        --
        Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by pipedwho on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:45PM

          by pipedwho (2032) on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:45PM (#929547)

          I agree with this. There are a few problems with the 'use' of backtracking/backpeddling as a political technique.

          One is used by the opposition as some sort of "look, they are hypocrites" attack which offers nothing and has the negative effect of making people dig themselves in deeper, when the obvious solution is a change of tack.

          The second issue is the use of backtracking as an intentional political strategy where the government can make an absurd play for power, or to advance/oppose a controversial topic. And then suddenly change their position knowing that the position was untenable in the first place. But since this overreach pushes the public resolve, it allows them to re-propose something slightly less aggressive (the one they wanted in the first place) and somehow it seems more palatable to the public.

          The third is similar to the above, but the idea is to propose something reasonable (that they don't really want), but with some insane catch that they know will butt up against their opposition. Then they 'allow' the proposal to be dropped, sighting the opposition as the excuse of why they can't give the public what they want. When in reality, they didn't want it in the first place and are just playing political games and only using whatever random issue it is as a blunt instrument to make their opponents look bad.

          Sadly, we don't see much appropriate backtracking that is not tied to one of the above political sub-agendas.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:28AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:28AM (#929296)

    FCC Says Wireless Carriers Lie about Coverage 40% of the Time
    https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/12/05/2058244 [soylentnews.org]

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:35AM (1 child)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:35AM (#929300) Journal

      Not exactly. The article you link to announces that the telcos are corrupt. This article tells us that Ajit Pai's FCC wants to hide the fact that telcos are corrupt.

      • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:26PM

        by dry (223) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:26PM (#929467) Journal

        And give them another $9 billion for executive bonuses.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:33AM (10 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:33AM (#929298) Journal

    That article about not covering a football stadium? https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/09/verizons-5g-network-isnt-good-enough-to-cover-an-entire-nfl-stadium/ [arstechnica.com]

    So, Verizon, with all of it's resources, can't cover it's own stadium.

    Put that another way: Verizon can't cover it's own showcase property. But, they want me to believe that I can afford to cover my property?

    Shelve 5G, it's nonsense. Get that obsolete 3G out here into the boonies, or 4G if the telcos are capable. Damn Ajit Pai, and all of his corporate cronies, along with their 5G scam.

    • (Score: 2, Touché) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:10AM (9 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:10AM (#929306) Journal

      Damn Ajit Pai

      Don't blame him. He's only doing what the elected official that appointed him tells him to do. Just think of it as how it's done in the Navy now. The president is the commander, right?

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:31AM (4 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:31AM (#929314) Journal

        Yes, you've got that much right. The commander in chief is the commander - but that's not "now", but "always has been". That commander is several different kinds of an asshole, and an idiot in his own right, but he remains the legally voted-in commander.

        Ajit Pai is especially damnable, because he is a special breed of vicious little lapdog. I can be pissed off at the yapping little dog, and be pissed at the commander mentioned already, separately. Right here in real life, I can love my wife, and still despise her little lapdogs.

        So, damn Ajit Pai. He is a vicious little cur. Not only that, but he's a fucking UGLY vicious little cur.

        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:46AM (2 children)

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:46AM (#929317) Journal

          There's nothing special about him at all. He fits right in perfectly, better than OJ's glove

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
          • (Score: 0, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:04AM (1 child)

            by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:04AM (#929324) Journal

            There's nothing special about him at all.

            Every snowflake is special. You're begging for the SJW's to climb up your ass!

            • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:35PM

              by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:35PM (#929468) Journal

              Every snowflake is special.

              Raise the temp a little, still just made of water.

              --
              La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 5, Touché) by captain normal on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:11PM

          by captain normal (2205) on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:11PM (#929497)

          Yeah, but his collar still has an engraving that says, "If found please call ATT or Verzion. Reward offered."

          --
          When life isn't going right, go left.
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:08AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:08AM (#929344)

        He's only doing what the elected official that appointed him tells him to do.

        Thanks Obama!

        • (Score: 4, Funny) by Immerman on Saturday December 07 2019, @11:43AM (2 children)

          by Immerman (3985) on Saturday December 07 2019, @11:43AM (#929368)

          Just in case anyone takes you seriously - Obama actually did appoint him to the FCC (on Mitch McConnell's recommendation. Why?), but it was Trump that promoted him to Chairman.

          • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:39PM (1 child)

            by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:39PM (#929449) Journal

            Just in case anyone takes you seriously - Obama actually did appoint him to the FCC

            :-) I am fully aware of that. Why do you think I like to bring it up? All these people in the government are results of elections, even the appointed ones.

            --
            La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
            • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:41PM

              by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:41PM (#929451) Journal

              Oh, I'm not the above AC. I got lost in the thread and forgot he was there..

              --
              La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 1) by anubi on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:10AM (1 child)

    by anubi (2828) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:10AM (#929307) Journal

    Does the word "Covered" even have a legal definition?

    Talk to anyone with an insurance claim.

    Often "Covered" doesn't mean much.

    I get idea that if a sensitive cellphone sees the tower at all, the Telco may claim "coverage" for the entire cell, also claiming the entire cell as responsive but only for billing.

    --
    "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:59AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:59AM (#929321)

      "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?" (cups hand to ear) "Great, we've got coverage."

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by ilPapa on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:28AM (17 children)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:28AM (#929311) Journal

    Is there any part of the government that Trump has touched that has not become completely and utterly corrupt? He's like King Midas in reverse. Whatever (and whomever) he touches turns to shit.

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:33AM (9 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:33AM (#929315)

      And, still, the economy is up.

      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:55AM (8 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @05:55AM (#929320)

        Only by some definitions. By other definitions, the economy is down. It's all in how you spin it. But, reality? It doesn't take much to see how the economy is really doing. Just compare how the majority of the population is doing compare to 30 or 40 years ago. Don't look at exact dollar figures. Look at how people live. How much free time people have / had. How easy it is / was to raise a family. Make sure to do it across the entire nation, not some small slice.

        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:47AM (7 children)

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:47AM (#929356) Journal
          Looking at the difference from 30-40 years ago isn't going to inform you on how successful Trump has been economically.
          • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:09PM (6 children)

            by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:09PM (#929459)

            In nearly all cases (nothing is ever absolute) President Trump's economy has just been a continuation of the growth of the Obama administration with the major difference that is Trump inherited a functioning economy while Obama inherited an economy in freefall.

            https://www.businessinsider.com/9-charts-comparing-trump-economy-to-obama-bush-administrations-2019-9#as-a-result-of-those-deficits-the-total-federal-debt-has-increased-over-the-last-three-presidents-and-is-now-over-22-trillion-8 [businessinsider.com]

            --
            Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
            • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:47PM (3 children)

              by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:47PM (#929473) Journal

              The economy is merely riding on the tattered coattails of Camelot and post WW2 glory that crested in the middle 60s

              --
              La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
              • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:22PM (2 children)

                by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:22PM (#929501)

                While outside of the scope of my comment, crest means the head or top of anything, and the economy is many times larger than the sixties, so strictly speaking I would have to disagree.

                With no metric other than 'the economy' which is nebulous and defined in many different ways your point is lost on me. Do you mean GDP? GNI? GDP per Capita? Economic growth?

                If I assume you to mean economic growth then that peaked in 1978, however I would prefer not to make such an assumption to avoid 'putting words in your mouth' so to speak.

                https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/economic-growth-rate [macrotrends.net]

                Purchasing power of the dollar perhaps?

                https://www.in2013dollars.com/1960-dollars-in-2016?amount=1 [in2013dollars.com]

                Or an actual dollar calculator rather than graphs and charts:

                https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1.00&year1=194501&year2=201910 [bls.gov]

                On this one I did $1.00 in Oct 1945 and Oct 1960 to $1.00 in Oct 2019 and got $14.22 and $8.64 respectively.

                However, if your just engaging in hyperbole.......then I'm overthinking this.

                --
                Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
                • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @09:05PM (1 child)

                  by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @09:05PM (#929512) Journal

                  Everything is larger now than it was in the 60s. I'm not talking about "growth". Today's economy grows on stock market cynicism.

                  And the 10 dollar hamburger is not uncommon, so the 8.64 still falls short.

                  --
                  La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
                  • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @09:32PM

                    by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @09:32PM (#929524)

                    While not uncommon, it's still far from common. My favorite double bacon cheeseburger with jalapenos at Sonic is still less than seven, so the $8.64 seems pretty damn close.

                    Now a Bison burger is frequently over $10 and worth every penny!

                    --
                    Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
            • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:23PM (1 child)

              by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:23PM (#929487) Journal
              There was a jump around election time as investors looked forward to a non-Obama, non-Clinton future.
              • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:30PM

                by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Saturday December 07 2019, @08:30PM (#929504)

                Utterly meaningless to the overall trend.

                I was also doing my level best to present just information between two administrations without partisan viewpoints.
                I should have know better.

                --
                Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
    • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:00AM

      by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:00AM (#929323)

      That doesn't bode well for his gold-plated toilets.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by khallow on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:33AM (1 child)

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:33AM (#929355) Journal
      You're making the unwarranted assumption that this stuff was cleaner before Trump.
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:03PM

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:03PM (#929478) Journal

        I knew we could agree on something!

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:13PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @04:13PM (#929423)

      A great friend (gone now) was fond of this concept, which he called the Sadim Touch (Midas spelled backward). My friend was the rare sort of perfectionist-engineer who had the skill and patience to back it up. Things that he made really did approach perfection.

      With the Sadim Touch everything turns to shit. Some people are gifted with this...

      Seems like a meme that we could use here on SN?

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:06PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 07 2019, @07:06PM (#929480)

        I had the sodom touch the last time I went through the airport security.

        • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:50PM

          by pipedwho (2032) on Saturday December 07 2019, @10:50PM (#929551)

          People in general get the 'sodom' touch every time they have to deal with government.

    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:42PM

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:42PM (#929472) Journal

      Really, all he is doing is tearing down the facade

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 2) by krishnoid on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:05AM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday December 07 2019, @06:05AM (#929325)

    I've got them started [soylentnews.org], so they can just tack it on as a bullet point. So convenient!

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