LICT completed its spinoff of Michigan Broadband on August 31, 2023. The spinoff company is now known as MachTen. LICT, a rural broadband consolidator with operations in several states, withdrew from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) program due to “substantial cost increases and other significant changes within the organization since we first participated and won in the RDOF public auction.”
Google has reached a tentative settlement with more than 30 US states and 21 million customers -- but not app developers -- who sued the company for allegedly violating antitrust laws by overcharging for apps in the Google Play Store. The settlement comes after a court revoked the lawsuit's class-action status. At one point, plaint
The Senate working group tasked with assessing the Federal Communications Commission's Universal Service Fund (USF) collected comments on what it should focus on when considering potential reforms for the program. The USF funding mechanism was developed at a time when home phone service was the predominant method of communication.
Internet consumers benefitting from the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) are experiencing significant improvement in education and employment opportunities, according to the results of a survey of Bluepeak Internet customers conducted in August 2023. The survey results indicate subscribers in ACP households were able to find jobs, apply for financial aid or college, do homework, and participate in distance learning.
Highline completed the construction of “The Thumb” service area, now offering fiber broadband to over 8,000 households in Sanilac, Tuscola, Lapeer, and St. Clair (MI) counties. Highline’s 823-mile fiber optic network was built with a combination of private investment backed by ITC Capital Partners and the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) grant program. While representing 14% of Highline’s total RDOF location commitment, Highline was able to complete this geographic portion of the network in two years rather than by the end of 2027.
The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) Project Office unveils the ARA, a new testbed in Central Iowa dedicated to research on rural wireless systems and applications. The ARA combines both commercial and programmable network systems. The multi-modal platform is based on the Iowa State University (ISU) campus with coverage extending to local crop and livestock farms and parts of the City of Ames (IA).
US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. While speaking to superintendents and education leaders in Kansas, he declared lack of access the “equity issue of our moment.” Secretary Cardona was joined by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to discuss the “digital divide,” with school superintendents and education leaders from corporate and nonprofit companies.
Following nearly a year of sustained pressure on brands from the #StopToxicTwitter coalition, showing the dangers of advertising on Twitter (now “X”), Elon Musk is now singling out coalition members to blame for the company’s extensive revenue losses.
The newly released Virginia proposed Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grant rules highlight an issue that was included in the original grant rules. The BEAD program gives significant power to local governments through local letters of support.
Twenty-five years ago, when I headed up the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), my colleagues and I identified what has come to be known as the digital divide while researching the growing gap between the haves and have-nots of internet access. Back then, we never dreamed that the US government would one day commit $42 billion dollars in the form of the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program to close the divide. Yet, the Biden administration and Congress have provided the focus and the funds we need to get every American online.
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