Rather than doing the hard work of establishing a federal regulatory standard for AI with Congress, the White House has invented authorities and delegated non-existent powers to the agencies and executives most anxious to do the President’s bidding. Meanwhile, Congress is trying again to slip soundly rejected AI regulation moratoriums into must-pass legislation in the dark of night.
The Middle East is fast becoming not just a deep-pocketed investor in AI but a hot spot for data centers, highlighted by a new wave of Saudi deals. Tech companies used the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum and the D.C. visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to announce a host of new projects with Humain—a Saudi AI and infrastructure developer backed by the country's Public Investment Fund. The region's significant energy capacity is a huge draw for U.S. companies looking to rapidly build out AI infrastructure.
When Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeast United States in late 2024, it caused widespread devastation. Communities faced powerful winds, flooding, and infrastructure damage that stretched across multiple states. Yet amid the destruction, public safety sprang into action to protect lives and restore community services quickly and safely. From the field to 9-1-1 call centers, public safety agencies turned to FirstNet to help maintain critical communications when traditional infrastructure was destroyed by the storm.
The Federal Communications Commission administers a multibillion federal program that provides low-income Americans with a discount on their phone and Internet services. Millions of people living in California have benefited from this federal Lifeline program. The FCC has a responsibility to ensure that states like California have safeguards in place to prevent abuse of the federal program and mechanisms that prevent federal dollars from flowing to ineligible people.
Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has reportedly written to the BBC, PBS, and NPR announcing an investigation into whether a controversial BBC documentary with a misleading edit of a Donald Trump speech was ever aired in the US. Breitbart obtained a copy of the letter, which hasn’t been shared publicly by either Chairman Carr or the FCC.
For many years, Cisco issued reports that regularly reported that the demand for speed was growing at roughly 21% per year for residential broadband, and a little faster for business broadband. Cisco and others noted that the demand for broadband speeds was on a relatively straight line back to the early 1980s. I can’t think of any fundamental industry changes that would change the historical growth rate in the near future.
Broadband news digest for November 20, 2025
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