Laura Stepanek

California Assembly Bill 353, which will require every provider in the state to offer an affordable internet option for no more than $15 per month, passed the Assembly floor on June 4 by a 52-17 margin. “In light of the federal internet subsidy program going away, we have to do something for California,” said Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who introduced the legislation.

California Assembly Bill 353—which promises affordable internet for those who qualify for it—recently advanced when it passed the state’s Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee by a vote of 7 to 2. The bill faced hefty opposition from the telecommunications, cable, and broadband industry. AB 353 would require internet service providers operating in California to offer affordable home internet to eligible residents of the state, according to a press statement made by California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who introduced the bill to the California Assembly earlier in 2025.

Residents of Meigs County (OH)—a county whose eastern edge borders West Virginia and the winding Ohio River—are set to benefit from a $352,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

Alabama opened its application window on April 7 for pre-qualified broadband service providers applying for grants under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. The program is being administered in the state by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Alabama has $1.4 billion to award for eligible projects, defined as qualifying last-mile broadband infrastructure to unserved (25/3 Mbps or less) and underserved (between 25/3 and 100/20 Mbps) locations.

The state of California is opening its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program application window for prequalification and application submissions, and ending on October 2 for submission of the final proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which administers the program federally. The BEAD Program has allocated $1.86 billion to California for bringing high-speed internet to unserved and underserved residents. Applicants must meet a 25 percent match requirement on proposals.

The United States Department of Agriculture released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Community Connect Grant Program for fiscal year 2025. The USDA’s Rural Utilities Service estimates that approximately $26 million in grants will be available to eligible applicants this year. The Community Connect Grant Program offers financial support to qualified applicants that will deliver broadband services at or above the grant’s specified speed to all premises in rural, economically challenged communities that lack internet access.

A collaborative broadband project in Alaska is expected to deliver multi-faceted, transformative benefits to the Athabascan community of Nenana. The collaboration is between Nenana Native Association, Tanana Chiefs Conference, and Alaska Communications, a provider of communications infrastructure in Alaska.

Illinois is the next state to release its Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program application guidelines. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration awarded Illinois $1.04 billion in federal BEAD Program funds to expand high-speed internet access to all homes and businesses. Connect Illinois Round 4 will use these funds to provide broadband to unserved and underserved locations and eligible community anchor institutions.

A cache of statistics about Americans’ usage of the internet and their thoughts about its value are highlighted in a new report titled “Internet Statistics in 2025” from HighSpeedInternet.com. The statistics cover internet access, speed, cost, reliability, connections, and more, based on data gathered in 2024. Nearly ubiquitous, 333.1 million people (97 percent of Americans) said they use the internet. This number has increased by 51 million in roughly 10 years. Almost 25 percent of internet users said the longest they can go without needing internet access is four hours.

Several of Charter Communications’ website advertising claims of its Spectrum Mobile “Unlimited” and “Unlimited Plus” wireless data plans are being supported by BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division (NAD). NAD’s finding, which was announced today, came after an initial challenge of those claims by Verizon.