How Anchor Institutions Became Critical Players in Addressing Universal Service Goals
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
March 2025
Trump’s Washington runs on secret chat app Signal (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 03/25/2025 - 06:19How should officials discuss military plans? Not over Signal, experts say. (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 03/25/2025 - 06:19Opinion | AI is about to make your doctor’s visit much better (Washington Post)
Submitted by benton on Tue, 03/25/2025 - 06:17
Op-ed
Op-ed
So You Want BEAD to Be Tech Neutral?
America’s $42.5 billion investment in universal broadband internet access may be on track for a major overhaul. Three years into its meticulous planning and implementation process, and with significant progress already made, the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program may pivot from prioritizing fiber to satellite connectivity.
California bill would force ISPs to offer 100Mbps plans for $15 a month
A proposed state law in California would force Internet service providers to offer $15 monthly plans to people with low incomes. The bill is similar to a New York law that took effect in January 2025 but has a higher minimum speed requirement: The proposed $15 plans for low-income California residents would have to come with download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps.
Economic Benefits of Fiber Deployment: A Review of the Brattle Group Study
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided over $42 billion in subsidies for broadband deployment via the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Although BEAD funds are supposed to be disbursed on a technology-neutral basis, the Biden Administration mandated a preference for fiber deployment, even when alternative technologies—including satellite broadband—are the more efficient mechanism to serve certain high-cost areas. With the recent election of President Donald Trump to the presidency, the government’s preference for fiber now faces significant uncertainty.
Who’s Against Banning Cellphones in Schools? Parents who can’t stop monitoring their children (New York Times)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Mon, 03/24/2025 - 16:01One more driver of wireless growth to consider: Uber drivers and gig economy
It’s a question that has baffled many minds for years. The mismatch between the U.S. population growth rate and U.S. wireless carriers’ ability to add oodles of new phone customers every quarter has mystified some Wall Street analysts for eons. “Investors have been puzzling over the industry’s ‘excess growth’ for years now,” wrote Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research. “Wireless is, after all, a fully saturated industry in the U.S.