Letter

The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted comments on February 18 to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), urging the agency to issue timely and clear guidance that will allow states to spend Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funds that are not used for broadband network construction—also known as nondeployment funds. The submission followed a February 11 NTIA 

RiverStreet Communications of Virginia submitted its eleventh quarterly report associated with the gap in meeting its December 31, 2022, interim milestone obligation for its Connect American Fund Phase II (CAF II) auction support (Compliance Gap).

Warwick Valley-NY (an Archtop Fiber company) submitted a quarterly report regarding its compliance gap associated with the 80% interim deployment milestone under the Revised Connect America Fund–Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Revised ACAM). In November 2025, the Federal Communications Commission notified Warwick that it had not satisfied its Revised ACAM 80% broadband deployment milestone as of December 31, 2024. As a result, Warwick Valley was placed in Tier 2 non-compliance and became subject to quarterly reporting requirements.

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress found that broadband is “essential to full participation in modern life” and that broadband’s benefits “should be broadly enjoyed by all.” That is the context in which the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program was created: Congress sought to address every facet of the digital divide and ensure that all people could actually benefit from this essential service—not simply have a network pass by their home. We appreciated Secretary Lutnick's recent testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee in which he not onl

Representatives for the National Lifeline Association met with the Office of Chairman Carr to discuss the draft Lifeline Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released on January 28, 2026. NaLA emphasized the need for and urged the Commission to revise the Draft NPRM to include questions about whether the $9.25 monthly support amount is enough to make entry-level broadband plans affordable for Lifeline-eligible households. Recognizing that program integrity relies on rules that attract participation by eligible households and compliance-centric providers, NaLA offered the following specific feedbac

Midwest Data Center is a Rural Digital Opportunity Fund winner that was required to serve 40% of its 1,410 awarded locations by December 31, 2025. Midwest did not meet such milestone. Midwest previously submitted a Petition for Waiver of 40% Deployment Milestone Until June 30, 2026 on November 11, 2025. The Petition for Waiver explained that delays in the US Department of Agriculture ReConnect program were causing delays in Midwest’s planned infrastructure deployment.

I am deeply concerned about your efforts to eliminate all media ownership restrictions, including one that you have no authority to change. I would like to remind you that you do not have the authority to alter or eliminate the 39 percent national television ownership cap. The limit on how much of the national television audience any one broadcast station ownership group is allowed to reach is enshrined in law, and therefore cannot be changed without congressional action.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, is demanding answers from Attorney General Pam Bondi on the Department of Justice’s campaign to block access to apps relied on by the public to report and share information about Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection activity in their communities.

On October 27, 2025, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, raising concerns about California state law A.B.1303, to specifically extend the California Lifeline subsidy to “individuals not lawfully present in the United States.” Chairman Cruz wrote that the FCC "has a legal obligation to ensure that federal benefits it administers, such as the Lifeline program, are not given to illegal aliens." On December 8, Chairman Carr wrote to Cruz, saying "I share your concern that the California law undermines federal law,

On November 18, 2025, Sen. Maria Cantwell sent Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr a letter expressing her strong opposition to his effort to roll back the FCC's ruling to secure telecommunications networks specifically put into place after last year’s Chinese-state-sponsored Salt Typhoon incursion—one of the worst cyberattacks in history. On January 21, Chairman Carr wrote that the FCC C has worked directly with carriers who have agreed to make extensive and coordinated efforts to harden their networks against a range of cyber intrusions.