Press Release

Rep Zach Nunn (R-IA) introduced bipartisan legislation to improve access to high-quality, affordable broadband in rural communities. The ReConnecting Rural America Act—cosponsored by Reps Angie Craig (D-MN), Darin LaHood (R-IL), and Eric Sorensen (D-IL)—makes improvements to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) ReConnect Program, which offers loans, grants, and loan-grant combinations facilitating broadband deployment in areas of rural America that currently do not have sufficient access to broadband. The ReConnecting Rural America Act strengthens the USDA ReConnect Program by: 

The Federal Communications Commission announced an important update to its Mapping Broadband Health in America platform to incorporate maternal health data, enabling policymakers, public health experts, clinicians, researchers, innovators, and other public and private stakeholders to better explore the intersection of broadband and maternal health.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) received roughly 1,447 written comments in response to its Artificial Intelligence Accountability Policy Request for Comment (RFC), which was issued in April, 2023, and is part of President Biden’s commitment to seizing the opportunities AI presents while managing its risks. The comments are available to the public at Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NTIA-2023-0005/comments. These comments will help inform

The Colorado Broadband Office announced the opening of the Advance Colorado Broadband grant program. The program began accepting applications for the Capital Projects Fund (CPF).

My Administration’s top priority is lowering the cost of living for the middle class, and that includes cracking down on companies’ use of junk fees to hide true costs from families, who end up paying more as a result. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under the leadership of Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, proposed a new rule that would require cable and satellite TV providers to give consumers the all-in price for the service they’re offering up front.

Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA)—as well as Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ)—reintroduced the American Innovation and Choice Online Act. This bipartisan legislation would restore competition online by establishing common sense rules of the road for dominant digital platforms to prevent them from abusing their market power to hurt competition, online businesses, and consumers. The American Innovation and Choice Online Act will:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent letters to 50 online marketplaces nationwide notifying them about their obligation to comply with the new Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act – or the INFORM Consumers Act – as soon as it takes effect on June 27, 2023. “The INFORM Consumers Act requires online marketplaces to protect consumers from counterfeit, unsafe, and stolen goods by verifying their high-volume third-party sel

Gannett, the largest publisher in the US, filed a federal lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Google for monopolization of advertising technology markets and deceptive commercial practices.

The Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) announced its initial recommendations for the Realizing Opportunity with Broadband Infrastructure Networks (ROBIN) grant program, which will provide $238 million in federal funding through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund (CPF) to support the deployment of high-speed internet to approximately 100,000 unserved locations throughout the state.

Governor Reynolds and the Department of Management’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) announced a new broadband grant opportunity for internet service providers. $148,960,000 is available through Empower Rural Iowa Broadband Grant Program with funding from the Capital Projects Fund (CPF) administered by the US Department of Treasury.