Jake Neenan

SpaceX is still pushing federal regulators to slash a broadband subsidy that supports rural internet service providers the company is increasingly competing with for subscribers. Three SpaceX attorneys and satellite policy chief Joseph Bissonnette recently met with staff from the Federal Communications Commission to press their case. 

Corning is staggering shipments of fiber for Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment projects to match deployment schedules. It’s an effort to ensure supply that could be used by another award winner isn’t collecting dust in a warehouse, said Bob Whitman, Corning’s vice president of market development, who spoke at Mountain Connect in Denver (CO). 

Judges probed the role of the $8 billion-per-year Universal Service Fund and its administrator. Conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research is challenging the Federal Communications Commission program again, after a defeat at the Supreme Court in 2025. USF supports building and maintaining rural broadband networks, plus voice and internet discounts for low-income households, schools, and healthcare centers.

Astound Broadband walked away from about $165 million in federal broadband funding in Texas. The company said it did so because only part of its application was approved. An Astound spokesperson said that the company had submitted 33 applications during the state’s Broadband Equity, Access , and Deployment program bidding.

Amazon is planning to deploy a new direct-to-device satellite constellation using Globalstar’s spectrum, it told the Federal Communications Commission. The company didn’t say how many units it would launch or what timeline it was aiming for, but said it had already developed special antenna systems designed for Globalstar’s spectrum holdings in the L-band, S-band, and 1.6/2.5 GigaHertz spectrum holdings. 

Nebraska is reopening bidding for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program after some tentative grant winners refused to sign contracts with the state. The Nebraska Broadband Office said it would publish a new map outlining the 1,735 remaining eligible locations in the coming weeks. NBO said its new round would aim to “promote competition between internet providers with a focus on quality and end-user experience.” The state confirmed the seven ISPs that have signed their agreements; they include:

Some Ohio locations awarded to satellite internet service providers as part of a $42.45 billion grant program are obstructed by tree cover, a recent analysis found. Tom Reid, head of Reid Consulting, analyzed about 30,000 of the locations in Ohio that are set to receive service from SpaceX through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program, and found as many as 70 percent were covered by tree canopy that would prevent the minimum 110-degree field of view the company’s dishes require. Depending on the coverage—satellite imagery showed 5 percent of the locations were completely cove

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is hoping to complete guidance on $22 billion in broadband spending “over the next two months.” The agency had been planning to release the guidance March 11, but it’s been delayed.

House appropriators are trying to block federal regulators from implementing one company’s plan for a GPS backup, fearing interference on RFID chips and tolling systems. The House Appropriations Committee cleared a bill on April 21 that included the Federal Communications Commission’s fiscal year 2027 budget.

The House passed, by voice vote, legislation to reauthorize the First Responder Network Authority, which oversees FirstNet, the nationwide first responder network owned and operated by AT&T under a contract with the Commerce Department. The FirstNet Authority will sunset in February 2027 unless Congress reauthorizes it, something that users and lawmakers broadly agree would be disruptive.