November 2025

Louisiana becomes first state approved for $1.36 billion in federal broadband funding

Gov. Jeff Landry announced today that Louisiana is the first state in the country to receive federal approval of its final proposal to deploy $1.355 billion in Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment funding. The approval marks a major milestone for Louisiana’s GUMBO 2.0 program, moving the state closer to connecting every parish with reliable, high-speed internet. The plan also supports long-term growth in the workforce, education, healthcare, and innovation. Louisiana’s approved proposal outlines a strategy to:

Federal Government Approves Maine’s Plan for $48 Million Investment in Internet Infrastructure

After three years of planning, analysis and collaboration with the federal government, Maine Connectivity Authority is proud to announce that Maine’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Final Proposal has been approved by the National Telecomm

TIA CEO: Broadband’s value isn’t because it’s a utility

Whether it’s private equity, corporate capital, or government funding, there's a healthy stream of money flowing into broadband networks. TIA CEO Dave Stehlin argued that while broadband is “critical,” it’s not a utility—and it can’t ever be considered so if the country wants funding to keep rolling. He noted 2024 alone saw U.S. operators spend over $90 billion on capital expenditures and network buildouts.

USTelecom seeks uniform timelines, cost-based fees to reform permitting

The trade association USTelecom will file comments with the Federal Communications Commission urging the Commission to use its authority to "return America's permitting to the realm of common sense" via actions on timelines, fees, and coordinated practices. The telecommunications group's comments are being filed in response to the FCC's notice of inquiry on "Eliminating Barriers to Wireline Deployment," which seeks input on ways the Commission can use its authority under se

AI love, actually

From making up to breaking up, there's probably a robot involved. Tinder is testing a new AI-powered feature called Chemistry that uses "deep learning" to analyze a user's photos in their camera roll, i

Daily Digest 11/18/2025

Submitted by zwalker@benton.org on Tue, 11/18/2025 - 16:13

Daily Digest 11/18/2025 (Cloudflare GDI)

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Tue, 11/18/2025

Broadband news digest for November 18, 2025

Can the Federal Government Legislate Us Out of Permitting Delays?

On November 18, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will convene to markup a couple of dozen bills aimed at addressing delays in broadband infrastructure deployment projects winning permits. Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC-09) said back in September.