Communications Workers of America in Ohio are speaking out against using federal dollars to subsidize satellite Internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink. "Satellite Internet service is a terrible use of public funds,” said the CWA in their signed petitions to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
Whatever notions one may have entertained in the past—or may still entertain—regarding the Federal Communications Commission as a so-called “independent” agency, it’s obvious that those notions may not hold true much longer. To be clear, the FCC’s supposed independence rests primarily on the claim that the agency’s commissioners may not be removed by the president without good cause and, as the Supreme Court put it in its landmark Humphrey’s Executor v.
This study examines the offerings of 21 broadband providers across four U.S. cities (Boston, Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Seattle) to assess trends in consumer broadband pricing and availability. The objectives were: (1) to understand the expected cost of home broadband service in the United States and how this varied across different user classes, (2) to evaluate how these trends vary across the country’s cities and regions, and (3) to assess the availability of super high-speed plans across providers. Key findings include:
The most recent White House Budget proposes eliminating the ReConnect grant program, which is administered by the Rural Utilities Service, a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ReConnect has been a popular funding program in rural areas and was one of the few sources of federal broadband grants when it began. It is an interesting program because awards include both grants and low-interest rate loans. Congress purposefully put the ReConnect program at the RUS.
GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media advocacy organization announced the findings of its fifth annual Social Media Safety Index, an annual report on LGBTQ safety, privacy, and expression. The in-depth report analyzes six major social media platforms—TikTok, YouTube, X, and Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and Threads—across 14 indicators, which address a range of issues affecting LGBTQ people online, including data privacy, moderation transparency, training of content moderators, and workforce diversity.
Today's top broadband news
The House Commerce Committee voted 29-24 to advance the communications title of the GOP megabill.
Jade Piros de Carvalho discusses the cascading impact of President Trump’s decision to cancel the Digital Equity Act. This sudden move threatens not just digital inclusion programs, but the very foundation of state broadband offices—and by extension, the success of the $42.5 billion BEAD infrastructure program. With broadband office funding models built on a delicate web of interconnected federal grants, Piros de Carvalho explains why pulling one thread puts everything at risk.
Digital inclusion organizations are reeling after the Trump administration announced the Digital Equity Act grant programs, embedded in the bipartisan infrastructure law, was being cancelled months after federal grants had already been reviewed and awarded. The Wiscasset, Maine-based National Digital Equity Center was one of 65 organizations and public entities
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