The Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill, backed by President Donald Trump, removes protections for unlicensed spectrum that broadens the capacity of the 6GHz Wi-Fi band. This could result in slower Wi-Fi speeds.
The Supreme Court has finally ruled to uphold the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund, and telecommunications industry groups issued statements en masse praising the Supreme Court’s decision. But as they celebrated the end of the legal battle, they acknowledged there’s still a long road ahead for USF reform.
North Dakota State Broadband Program Director Brian Newby prefers not to beat his head against a federal agency over which he has no control. “Just tell me the rules. We’ll follow the rules.” Officially, North Dakota only has about 2,000 locations left without broadband, though Newby thinks that after the bogus broadband locations are removed, the number may be closer to 1,000.
Fifty-one percent of respondents to a survey conducted by internet performance monitoring firm Catchpoint reported monthly losses of over $1 million due to internet outages or degradations, according to a new report. That figure is up from 43 percent in 2024. The report, which included input from 475 IT managers, directors, and executive-level decision-makers from diverse industries, also found that one in eight responding companies lose more than $10 million each month.
EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen is buying himself some more time to work out a deal with the Federal Communications Commission, making more than $500 million in debt-interest payments and delaying an imminent potential bankruptcy filing. The interest payment was revealed in an 8-K filing, in which EchoStar answered a couple of questions that were looming over the company.
The revamped Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program opens the door for more wireless players to snag a piece of the funding pie. But certain broadband vendors could face roadblocks in meeting BEAD's domestic manufacturing requirements. The Build America, Buy America Act, which mandates certain broadband network components, construction materials and other related equipment must be made in the U.S., could “be an issue for WISPs,” said CCG Consulting President Doug Dawson.
The Computer & Communication Industry Association released a paper recently warning about the impact of imposing Universal Service Fund fees on what it characterizes as cloud services. CCIA is an association that lobbies on behalf of some of the largest web companies like Amazon, Meta, Google, Apple, Netflix, and Cloudflare.
The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity announced Maggie Woods as the new director of the Office of Digital Opportunity, Christina Strickland as chief deputy general counsel, and Dana Lee as deputy general counsel.
When the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, the state of North Carolina had not yet begun accepting applications for funding. According to Angie Bailey, North Carolina director of broadband infrastructure, it will be challenging to meet the new deadlines that NTIA has imposed. “It’s a big lift with the timing window,” she said.
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