Deborah Taylor Tate

‘Broadband tax’ will stifle investment in TN

April 14, 2013

Tweet When we see a utility pole, most of us don’t give it much thought. However, those big pine poles are an essential part of our sophisticated communications network and, increasingly, our broadband infrastructure. Poles carry the necessary fiber-optic cables that allow us to connect to vital information and services as well as our loved [...]

Read the full article →

Reforming the FCC’s Processes for Digital Age Effectiveness and Efficiency

February 14, 2013

Tweet On January 17, 2013, at the Minority Media and Telecom Council’s annual Broadband and Social Justice Summit in Washington, DC, I had the honor of moderating a panel with two FCC Commissioners, Mignon L. Clyburn and Ajit Pai. While the panel centered on issues regarding minorities and women in both broadcasting and newer platforms, [...]

Read the full article →

A Mobile Device is Not Your Grandmother’s Telephone Anymore: It’s a Mobile Health Center

January 13, 2013

Tweet I am in Dubai, holding up a mobile device in front of a large conference of Communications Ministers and industry representatives attending ITU Telecom World 2012. I ask, “What Is This?” They shout out answers in a cacophony of dialects and accents, literally from every corner of the world. While it is still a [...]

Read the full article →

The Color of Voices

December 27, 2012

Tweet In December of 2007, I had the honor of voting for adoption of 13 specific action steps in an FCC Order aimed at improving the dire situation regarding minorities and women as it relates to media-especially top level control and ownership. Commissioner Robert McDowell and I recognized the plethora of sources and resources available [...]

Read the full article →

Facebook Should Not be for Kids

August 31, 2012

Tweet A lot of people are wondering why Facebook would be contemplating adding children under 13 as users. In fact, as we all know millions of children are already participating in this social media platform even though there has been a policy against it. Interestingly, Facebook decided to promote “honesty” through this new policy, so [...]

Read the full article →

Jose Mas Builds American Dream

August 23, 2012

Tweet I recently returned from Washington D.C., a place often full of enmity, strife and gridlock. There is a lack of cohesiveness and of certainty, which negatively affect private-sector investment. However, while there, I met the American dream: Jose Mas. He is well-educated, professional and humble. He is also CEO of a multibillion-dollar wireless telecom [...]

Read the full article →

What Is So Difficult About Sharing A Database?

May 27, 2012

Tweet The following article originally appeared on The Free State Foundation. Access to voice services is important. Lifeline is a federal program for ensuring that low-income consumers have the same access we all do. This is one of the few federal programs that is transparent and targeted directly to low-income users themselves. These features distinguish [...]

Read the full article →

A Vital Lifeline

January 12, 2012

Tweet Probably only telecom groupies realize the monumental efforts of the FCC over the past year to reform the $7 billion dollar Universal Service Fund (USF). The effort culminated in a voluminous order focused on the High Cost Fund that was adopted on November 18, 2011. And, while there will certainly be legal challenges to [...]

Read the full article →

Where is the Gipper?

January 8, 2012

Tweet Sometimes government reform is actually something else in disguise. I am wondering if that is the case with the recent criticism of Lifeline-Linkup, a program established by Congress and started under the Reagan administration to provide access to communications services for the poorest Americans. Congress and the FCC have long acknowledged the societal and [...]

Read the full article →

FCC Should Pursue Solutions to Make Lifeline an Effcient Job Line

November 25, 2011

Tweet Over the years, I’ve written a lot about the Lifeline-Linkup program which – thankfully and finally – is part of the overall USF Reform being undertaken by the FCC. As a former FCC Commissioner and Federal Joint Board Chair, I had really hoped to start the “reform” back in December 2009; however, better late [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries