1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2025

May 2025

Announcement of a Visa Restriction Policy Targeting Foreign Nationals Who Censor Americans

Free speech is among the most cherished rights we enjoy as Americans. This right, legally enshrined in our constitution, has set us apart as a beacon of freedom around the world. Even as we take action to reject censorship at home, we see troubling instances of foreign governments and foreign officials picking up the slack. In some instances, foreign officials have taken flagrant censorship actions against U.S. tech companies and U.S. citizens and residents when they have no authority to do so.

AT&T/Lumen brings on the competitive heat for cable

As if cable didn’t have enough problems with fiber competitors, AT&T’s $5.75 billion Lumen deal shows just how much operators have to weather from the consolidation storm. Cox, which is merging with Charter for $34.5 billion, has the biggest exposure to Lumen, said the analysts at BNP Paribas, as 36 percent of Cox’s footprint overlaps with Lumen’s legac

Sen Murray, Rep DeLauro Call Out Trump Admin’s Lack of Transparency on Spending, Demand Detailed Agency Spend Plans Be Submitted as Required By Law

Sen Patty Murray (D-WA) and Rep Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought calling out the Trump administration’s unacceptable failure to submit detailed spend plans for each agency to the Appropriations Committees, as the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2025 requires by law. Spend plans are critical to congressional oversight and the annual appropriations process, and have long been required by law.

City of Oakland Broadband Master Plan 2025

Over 33,000 households in Oakland are estimated not to have residential broadband internet service. Deep, active community engagement starting during the pandemic shed light on the root causes of this digital divide: Internet affordability, access, and performance are the main barriers. Meanwhile, a duopolistic marketplace has resulted in a lack of investment in broadband infrastructure, leaving many Oaklanders paying more for less while the problems persist.

Increasing Broadband Price Competition

Competition has been creeping into broadband pricing for the last several years as cable companies have been using low introductory rates to try to win new customers and offering similarly low price to try to keep them. However, competition might have gone into a new gear recently when Comcast began offering low rates with a five-year price guarantee. The low prices were likely prompted by the recent announcement that Comcast lost 199,000 broadband customers in the first quarter, but Comcast's competitors aren't sitting still. Verizon recently announced a 3-year lock for fixed wireless acce

The sun is killing off SpaceX's Starlink satellites

Eruptions from the sun are shortening the lives of satellites in Earth orbit, particularly large constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink—which could be both beneficial and a cause for concern. The sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity, peaking with a period known as solar maximum, which most recently occurred in late 2024.

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