> The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill Congress presented to President Donald Trump earmarks $7.5 million to update National Broadband Map data, representing only a fraction of the amount allocated to the initial effort in 2009. Telecompetitor article
> Nearly two months after it announced it would hire 150 people to staff a small business sales center in Monroe, Louisiana, CenturyLink, Inc. reaffirmed its investment in the northeastern-Louisiana economy and its objective of bringing new jobs to the area. Release
> Blockchain could be a vital tool in anti-fraud and anti-money-laundering efforts, as it provides a secure ledger for identification, according to a Forrester Research report. Computerworld article
> The cloud-based contact center market is expected to grow from $6.8 billion in 2017 to $20.9 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25.2% during the forecast period. Release
> The FCC is considering a new rule to curb Huawei Technologies from doing business in the United States, making it more challenging for small and rural service providers to purchase gear from Chinese telecom-equipment makers. WSJ article