2011 May InfoTech & Telecom News

The May issue of InfoTech & Telecom News reports on the likely benefits – for consumers and competitors alike – of the proposed acquisition by AT&T of T-Mobile. Hunter Newby, CEO of Allied Fiber, LLC, refers to it as a “gift for American consumers.”

Also in this issue:

• Two bills pending at press time in the North Carolina legislature would make it more difficult to implement or subsidize municipal wi-fi systems.

• A bill pending in the Michigan legislature would prevent the state Public Service Commission from introducing telecommunication rules more stringent than current state and federal standards.

• Municipalities facing a budget crunch may find it difficult to satisfy the January 2013 FCC narrowbanding mandate.

• Lawmakers in Utah outraged constituents by passing a law exempting politicians and their staff from the Government Records Access Management Act.

• Two years after the satellite radio broadcasters joined forces, a pricing cap they agreed to as a condition of the merger has expired.