Digital Skills Advocates Warn BEAD Changes Undermine Workforce Training
The adoption of digital workforce skills is more crucial than ever, panelists said at the Speeding BEAD Summit.
June 2025
T-Mobile is using 5G, drones and AI to help first responders (nextgov)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Tue, 06/17/2025 - 16:43I tried signing up for Trump Mobile service. Here’s how it went. (Washington Post)
Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Tue, 06/17/2025 - 16:40Rep Feenstra Introduces the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act
Rep Randy Feenstra (R-IA-4) introduced the Lowering Broadband Costs for Consumers Act to help construct broadband in rural Iowa. This legislation would require that the largest financial beneficiaries of the networks, also known as “edge providers”—such as Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, and Netflix—ontribute their fair share toward the networks that are built and maintained by the Universal Service Fund (USF) and by consumers who own landlines throughout the country. Rep Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) is the co-lead of this legislation.
Levin: California PUC Likely to OK Verizon Acquisition of Frontier
Blair Levin, the Policy Advisor to New Street Research, thinks that the Verizon $20 billion acquisition of Frontier Communications will ultimately be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, though it may be a bit of a bumpy ride. His analysis, titled “VZ/FYBR Faces California Trump Transaction Trap,” focuses on how the Trump administration’s antipathy for diversity, equality, and inclusion can be reconciled with the goals and position of the CPUC, which must approve the transaction between Verizon and Frontier.
The California Report on Frontier AI Policy
The innovations emerging at the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI) are poised to create historic opportunities for humanity but also raise complex policy challenges. Continued progress in frontier AI carries the potential for profound advances in scientific discovery, economic productivity, and broader social well-being. As the epicenter of global AI innovation, California has a unique opportunity to continue supporting developments in frontier AI while addressing substantial risks that could have far-reaching consequences for the state and beyond.
The Sky is Falling!!!! (or Maybe Not)
On June 6, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration released a “Policy Notice” revising the prior Administration’s Notice of Funding Opportunity for the landmark $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program, enacted by Congress as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act back in late 2021.
Join the Congressional Digital Health Caucus, co-chaired by Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) and Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL), and the Consumer Technology Association for an educational briefing for Congressional staff on digital health innovations that are transforming and improving maternal health.
Sen Cantwell Will Oppose Olivia Trusty for FCC Commissioner, Urges Colleagues to Join Her
Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA) said she will oppose the nomination of Olivia Trusty to be a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission, citing Republicans’ breach of the longstanding practice to advance both Republican and Democratic nominees, and their plan to auction spectrum used for national security and aviation safety. “I am opposing the pending nomination of Olivia Trusty to serve as a Commissioner on the FCC and will be urging my colleagues to do the same,” wrote Sen Cantwell in a letter to Majority Leader Thune. “Although I respect the nominee’s professional background, when