Are Data Centers Draining the Resources of the South?
Friday, September 26, 2025
September 2025
Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
States Revise Tentative BEAD Awards
Eight states have revised their tentative awards under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. Some made minor changes and others had material reductions in locations being served or money being spent. Minnesota revealed cost thresholds the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is using to push spending down: Those from $10,000 to $20,000 per passing require written justification, those from $20,000 to $23,000 have to be negotiated down to $20,000, and those above $23,000 have to be renegotiated in three days.
SpaceX talks about what it wants to do with its new 2 GHz spectrum
SpaceX is asking the Federal Communications Commission for the authority to launch a new constellation of up to 15,000 satellites to provide direct-to-cell services to consumers on the ground. The company recently filed a request with the FCC for the additional satellites, which will use 2 GHz spectrum it’s acquiring from EchoStar.
Chairman Carr’s Response to Members of Congress Regarding GAO’s Report Entitled “Broadband Programs: Agencies Need to Further Improve Their Data Quality and Coordination Efforts”, GAO-25-107207
The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) “Broadband Programs: Agencies Need to Further Improve Their Data Quality and Coordination Efforts.” (Report No.
The United States’ Computer Ownership Gap Persists
In September 2025, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2024 American Community Survey data, offering insights into important national and state-level digital divide trends. Digitunity identified and analyzed two data points illustrating the (1) number of households without any type of computing device and (2) households that rely solely on a smartphone to go online. Together, these data points yield the statistic we call households without a large screen computer. In 2024:
Maryland Governor Wes Moore Announces Completion of Broadband Infrastructure Project to Bring High-Speed Internet to Smith Island
Governor Wes Moore (D-MD) announced the completion of a nearly $2 million infrastructure project to bring high-speed internet access to residents and business owners of Smith Island. The project is a critical part of the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to ensure all of Maryland—no matter how remote the location—has affordable and equitable access to high-speed internet. “Leave No One Behind is more than a motto—it’s a governing philosophy,” said Gov. Moore.
Speakers
- Yago Tenorio, CTO & SVP, Strategy & Tech Enablement, Verizon
- Arpan Sura, Senior Counsel & Chief AI Officer, FCC
- Cathy Piche, EVP & COO, Crown Castle
- Patrick Halley, President & CEO, WIA
- Plus leaders from Ericsson, Qualcomm, SBA Communications, CSIS, and more.
Discussion Highlights
Amazon Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement Over Allegations It Misled Prime Users
Amazon has reached a $2.5 billion settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, just days into a civil trial examining whether the company duped customers into signing up for its signature Prime service and created a confusing process to cancel.