May 2020

Reps Cicilline, Sensenbrenner Introduce Bill to Protect Local News Publishers

House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ranking Member F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) introduced the Local News and Emergency Information Act. The legislation would ensure that all local news organizations are eligible for federal stimulus through the Paycheck Protection Program. The bill ensures that small, local broadcasters and publishers are able to access vitally needed loans under the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.

Rural students struggle to succeed without internet connection

Schools transitioned online as COVID-19 cases across the nation rose, but for some students in the Tri-State (Ohio-Kentucky-West Virginia), the transition didn’t come without trouble. As students grapple with how they will be able to attend class and meet deadlines in this new normal, educators like Spanish professor Tim Mollet, of Ohio University Southern, are trying to get creative. “I’ve even considered snail mail,” Mollet said. Schools like Ohio University Southern and Boyd County High School are offering up their parking lots as a temporary solution.

Uncertain Times Fueling a Shift in State Broadband Efforts

Just as COVID-19 has made the Internet a necessity for the vast majority of Americans, it has impacted the short- and long-term plans of state broadband initiatives: 

Senator Inhofe Leads 31 Senators in Urging FCC to Reconsider 'Harmful', 'Hurried' Ligado Order

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK), along with a group of 31 bipartisan Senators, sent a letter to the five Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioners, expressing concern over the FCC’s order granting Ligado Network’s application to deploy a terrestrial nationwide network that would interfere with the Global Positioning System (GPS) — devastating our military and countless industries that rely on its signals.