Wall Street Journal

How One Company Hoovered Up $3 Billion in Broadband Subsidies

The federal government has spent $12.82 billion in the last two years helping low-income households pay for internet service. Almost a quarter of it has gone to one company. Charter Communications received $3.01 billion through the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a larger slice than any of its competitors.

Apple Changes Its App Store Policy. Critics Call the Moves ‘Outrageous.’

Apple's new App Store payment policies are stirring outrage among software developers who say the iPhone maker is skirting the intention of a court ruling. Apple will require developers to pay it a 27% commission if they use an alternative payment method, much like the company did in the Netherlands and South Korea in response to legal rulings over related issues in those countries. With this change, Apple is effectively saying “we refuse to back down,” said Fiona Scott Morton, a former antitrust official in the Obama administration.

John Deere, Meet Elon Musk: SpaceX Satellites to Link Farm Giant’s Equipment

John Deere will tap SpaceX’s satellite fleet to propel the tractor maker’s digital farming push and help automate planting and harvesting in remote locations. The world’s largest farm machinery manufacturer signed a deal with SpaceX’s Starlink business to connect tractors, seed planters, crop sprayers, and other equipment in areas that lack adequate internet service, allowing them to use Deere’s digital products. Illinois-based Deere has been investing billions of dollars in building out computer-assisted services for farmers, including software that allows herbicide sprayers to distinguish

EPA Calls on Telecom Executives to Meet About Lead-Sheathed Phone Cables

The Environmental Protection Agency sent letters requesting telecommunications companies to meet with the agency about their lead-sheathed phone cables, in a new phase of an investigation in the EPA’s efforts to protect the public from potential lead hazards.