• FCC launches the Broadband Data Task Force to collect data and develop more precise maps of US broadband availability, which currently rely on ISP-provided data [vice.com]

• Broadband funding caught up in debate over reopening schools [rollcall.com]

• Biden admin says SolarWinds attack was executed from within the US, though Russia was responsible, and nine federal agencies and ~100 companies were compromised [bloomberg.com]

• Report: Pandemic Drives a 35% Increase in Global Internet Capacity [telecompetitor.com]

• Republican Boosting Broadband Connectivity Agenda Includes 28 Bills [telecompetitor.com]

• FCC's acting chair voices support for spectrum sharing [lightreading.com]

• CWA labels purported US telecom workforce shortages as 'misinformation' [lightreading.com]

• Atlanta area gets a 5G incubator courtesy of T-Mobile and Georgia Tech [techcrunch.com]

• State Laws Restricting Community Broadband Are Hurting US Communities During The Pandemic [techdirt.com]

• Dish Network Moves Ahead With 5G, Signing Seven New Tower Deals [webpronews.com]

• 20 music streaming services have paid $424M+ in historical unmatched royalties to Mechanical Licensing Collective; Apple paid $163M, Spotify $153M, Amazon $42M [forbes.com]

• Rural Broadband Providers Shine in Best Work-From-Home Cities Rankings [telecompetitor.com]

• Roku sizing up plan to develop original content [lightreading.com]

• Big business doesn't trust telcos with 5G, says new research [lightreading.com]

• North Dakota state Senate blocks bill that would have required app stores to allow devs to use their own payment systems; Epic lobbied in favor of the bill [cnbc.com]

• Epic Games files a formal antitrust complaint against Apple to the European Commission, claiming that Apple imposes commercially unviable burdens on rivals [ft.com]

• New York sues Amazon, alleging it’s failed to protect workers from coronavirus [marketwatch.com]

• It's not you, it's the cold: T-Mobile and AT&T are down in Texas and other parts of the country [phonearena.com]

• Microsoft is reportedly testing a new browser-based streaming service that would let you play Xbox games on your pc and iPhone [businessinsider.com]

• Millions of UK Sky customers to be hit by £72 a year price hike on broadband, TV and phone [infosecurity-magazine.com]

• Broadband pressure sees people turning to mobile phones to stay online [lbc.co.uk]

• Xfinity, AT&T expansion slows during COVID-19 [rcrwireless.com]

• Disney Plus Will Surpass Netflix in Customers by 2026, Research Company Says [nexttv.com]

• Android TV Still a Non-factor in Connected TV [nexttv.com]

• You shouldn’t have to publicly shame AT&T to get usable internet [theverge.com]

• 5G in the US will get a lot clearer by March 31 - here's why [lightreading.com]

• The digital divide is giving American churches hell [arstechnica.com]

• Implementation Ideas for $3.2 Billion Emergency Broadband Benefit Program [telecompetitor.com]

• Super Bowl 5G Speeds See Big Jump Over 2020 [telecompetitor.com]

• Huawei founder and CEO says Apple makes the best 5G phones [phonearena.com]

• T-Mobile will soon get a major retail footprint boost in Best Buy and Walmart stores [phonearena.com]

• Facebook's "secret" smartwatch will include messaging and fitness features, will run a version of Android [techspot.com]

• Internet usage is surging to new heights: when 1 terabyte is no longer enough bandwidth [techspot.com]

• Virginia is about to get a major California-style data privacy law [arstechnica.com]

• Amid 5G kerfuffle, China still has a tight grip on broadband [lightreading.com]

• Cox cuts some users’ uploads from 30Mbps to 10Mbps - here’s how to avoid it [arstechnica.com]

• Connecting the unconnected in rural America - Broadband not available for 42 million Americans, and available but unaffordable for millions more [brookings.edu]

• Verizon's retail strategy touches some nerves [fiercewireless.com]

• Despite reports to the contrary, Huawei says it has no plans to sell its smartphone business [phonearena.com]

• Disney streaming services gaining ground on Netflix [dailymail.co.uk]

• FCC Urged To Overturn Trump-Era Fiber Unbundling Policy [law360.com]

• AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon all exceed 1 Gbps 5G at Super Bowl LV [fiercewireless.com]

• 1-Gig sell-in at Altice USA rises to 41% [lightreading.com]

• Covid-19 drives 51% increase in broadband traffic in 2020 [rapidtvnews.com]

• Internal data shows only 11.3M US households regularly watch NBCU's Peacock; sources: NBCU has pitched ViacomCBS about bundling their streaming services [theinformation.com]

• Adtran prepares to gobble 'big chunk' of BT broadband pie [lightreading.com]

• Verizon's deep pockets will do little to threaten T-Mobile's crushing 5G supremacy [phonearena.com]

• Northernmost Point in the U.S. Gains Fiber Broadband [telecompetitor.com]

• SpaceX Officially Launches Pre-Orders for Starlink Satellite Internet Service [digitaltrends.com]

• ISPs step up fight against SpaceX, tell FCC that Starlink will be too slow [arstechnica.com]

• Your email and password were probably posted online in the mother of all data leaks [bgr.com]

• How the Biden Administration Can Expand Rural Broadband [newyorker.com]

• Huawei files a lawsuit against the FCC for its decision to designate the company as a national security threat, says the order was beyond FCC's scope of powers [zdnet.com]

• Brewing Spectrum Tug of War in the 12 GHz Band Has Major Implications for 5G, Fixed Wireless [telecompetitor.com]

• Verizon won't catch T-Mobile with C-band [lightreading.com]

• Super Bowl LV hits streaming record as total TV viewership falls [lightreading.com]

• DOJ drops lawsuit challenging California's net neutrality law [engadget.com]

• Amazon targets 'America's heartland' with pitch for Project Kuiper, its 'fiber-like' broadband service [lightreading.com]

• Fibre Broadband Association Challenges Starink’s Capacity to Deliver [ispreview.co.uk]

• AT&T Fiber Pokes Fun at Cable Broadband Upload Speeds, But is it Working? [telecompetitor.com]

• Rural Providers Sue State Over Texas Universal Service Fund [telecompetitor.com]

• Huawei defies US sanctions with higher sales, profit [lightreading.com]

• Millions of IoT devices running on 3G need to make the move to 5G before the older networks disappear [techrepublic.com]

• Proposed Sec. 230 rewrite could have wide-ranging consequences [arstechnica.com]

• SpaceX Starlink Satellite Broadband Network Details Revealed in FCC Filing [telecompetitor.com]

• Viasat drops more hints about super-capacity satellite, could deliver up to 7 terabits per second [lightreading.com]

• T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Consumer Cellular top JD Power customer satisfaction studies [telecompetitor.com]

• Huawei’s fate won’t change yet under Biden administration [slashgear.com]

• FCC asked to dig deeper into Verizon's deal to buy TracFone [phonearena.com]

• DirecTV and AT&T TV Reach Deal with Cox Media Group to Carry Locals Ahead of Super Bowl LV [thestreamable.com]

• Google wants to connect everything you own to the internet [protocol.com]

• Steam has broken last month’s record and logged 26 million concurrent users [vg247.com]

• Report Pegs Global Wi-Fi Economic Value at $3.3 Trillion, Approaching $1 Trillion in the U.S. Alone [telecompetitor.com]

• SpaceX Now Has Over 10,000 Starlink Internet Customers [webpronews.com]

• Small internet service providers say SpaceX's Starlink shouldn't get federal funds to expand internet access [businessinsider.com]

• Rural Electric Co-ops Question Viability of Winning RDOF Bids, Worry RDOF May Have Opposite Effect of Intention [telecompetitor.com]

• T-Mobile's 5G customers consume 15% more data than 4G subs [lightreading.com]

• Operators debate whether to stick with DOCSIS or upgrade to FTTP [lightreading.com]

• T-Mobile US now has 102.1 million customers [convergedigest.com]

• Biden's nominee for Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says she sees “no reason” Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese companies should be removed from US blacklist [bloomberg.com]

• Comcast Delays New Broadband Fees for Northeast After Backlash [bnnbloomberg.ca]

• The high price of broadband is keeping people offline during the pandemic [technologyreview.com]

• Several Apple services are suffering an outage, including iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, iCloud Notes, Photos, Calendar, Mail, Keychain, and Bookmarks [macrumors.com]

• The great 5G land grab gets complicated [lightreading.com]

• Verizon escalates interoperability battle with AT&T, FirstNet, others [lightreading.com]

• AT&T customer since 1960 buys WSJ print ad to complain of slow speeds [arstechnica.com]

• Verizon CEO: COVID has prompted five- to seven-year advance in digitalization [rcrwireless.com]

• Apple and Hyundai-Kia close to a car manufacturing deal; first “Apple Cars” will be “designed to operate without a driver and focused on the last mile” [cnbc.com]