Technologies

Dish Says It Has Hit Its Latest FCC Deadline for 5G Network Buildout

Dish says it now covers 70% of Americans with its new 5G network.

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Dish Network’s long road to becoming a fourth major wireless carrier hit a notable milestone on Thursday, with the company announcing that it now covers 70% of the US population, or over 240 million Americans, with its new 5G network. The news comes as Dish was facing a June 14 deadline by the Federal Communications Commission.

Per a press release, the company says it has «satisfied» all of its June 14 FCC obligations «including launching over 15,000 5G sites.»

Dish offers access to its network in a few ways. It owns a number of wireless brands including prepaid option Boost Mobile as well as its postpaid sibling Boost Infinite. It also has Project Genesis, another postpaid brand aimed towards early adopters that allows users to give feedback on Dish’s network.

Postpaid plans, where users pay their phone bill at the end of the month, are the common format of wireless plans offered by larger networks AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

In addition to being able to connect to Dish’s own 5G network, the Boost brands also are capable of tapping into AT&T and T-Mobile’s respective coverage when Dish’s service isn’t available or if a user’s device doesn’t have the right network support. The Genesis brand can also roam on AT&T’s network in areas where Dish’s network isn’t available.

For now, Project Genesis users will be able to connect to the new network whenever they are in the coverage area. Boost users are able to tap into Dish’s network in «over 50 markets,» with the company promising additional markets coming «throughout the year.»

While the network milestone is noteworthy, it is just another step in what remains a long road for the satellite TV provider. Dish still needs to get device manufacturers to include the proper bands that would allow phones, tablets and other devices to connect to its 5G offering.

As of today, only a handful of phones have proper support for Dish’s spectrum (with the primary band known as Band 70) including the 2022 and 2023 Moto Edge Plus, Samsung’s A23 and Boost’s own Celero 5G Plus. The iPhone 14 line technically has the hardware support for Dish’s 5G spectrum, but Band 70 has yet to be activated inside Apple’s phones.

Dish says in its press release that more devices with proper network support are also coming this year.

With this milestone reached Dish now faces its next FCC deadline of covering 75% of the US population with 5G service by June 2025. As Light Reading has reported, this may require another 15,000 cell sites to expand its network with the outlet saying that analysts expect Dish to also need to spend another $2 billion or $3 billion. The money could become a challenge for the company, which has seen its share price fall over 55% this year.

Technologies

Chrome Autofill Now Supports Passport, Driver’s License and Vehicle Info

Soon, you’ll never need to remember anything ever again.

Computer users are accustomed to web browsers autofilling everything from names and addresses to credit card numbers. Now, Google Chrome is adding new enhanced autofill options that allow users to automatically populate fields for passports, driver’s licenses, and their vehicle’s license plate or VIN, Google said in a blog post on Monday.

Desktop users must choose to turn on the feature, which is called enhanced autofill. Otherwise, it stays off. To turn it on, open Chrome, and at the top right of your browser, select more, then settings, then autofill and passwords. Finally, choose enhanced autofill and turn it in.

Google says Chrome now can «better understand complex forms and varied formatting requirements, improving accuracy across the web.» The company also says that enhanced autofill will be «private and secure.»

This enhanced autofill update is available in all languages, and more data options will be supported in the coming months.

A representative for Google said the company had no additional comment.

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Chrome is a critical component in Google’s business. The web browser, currently the most popular in the world with a 73% market share, according to GlobalStats, provides the company with valuable user data that it uses to sell advertising. Advertising is how Google makes the majority of its revenues. New features help keep users loyal to Chrome, making it more difficult for them to switch to other browsers, including those from companies like Perplexity and OpenAI.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Nov. 4, #407

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Nov. 4, No. 407.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle makers will never run out of categories because they have discovered they can just pick one athlete and make a connections group out of four facts about that person. They do that today with the blue category, so if you don’t know that one player, you’re out of luck. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Get up and go!

Green group hint: College hoops.

Blue group hint: Famous basketball player.

Purple group hint: Not fair, but…

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Energy.

Green group: Men’s college basketball teams with the most championships.

Blue group: Associated with Damian Lillard.

Purple group: Foul ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is energy. The four answers are pep, verve, vigor and zip.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is men’s college basketball teams with the most championships. The four answers are Kentucky, UCLA, UCONN and UNC.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is associated with Damian Lillard. The four answers are 0, Dame Time, Trail Blazers and Weber State.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is foul ____. The four answers are out, shot, territory and tip.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Tuesday, Nov. 4

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Nov. 4.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? There are a few tricky clues, so read on for the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.