Reporting

Wireless internet service continued to outscore wired service in customer satisfaction this year, but wired broadband providers closed some of the distance, according to the JD Power 2026 U.S. Internet Service Provider Satisfaction Study. Wireless providers earned an overall score of 645 on a 1,000-point scale, compared with 560 for wired providers, a gap 8 points smaller than in 2025. JD Power credited the wired segment’s progress mainly to better ratings for digital tools and value for price paid.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a watchdog’s lawsuit seeking public records about billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

A New York District Court judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing Cable One from completing its acquisition of a 55 percent stake in Mega Broadband Investments, after lender CoBank sued to stop the deal. CoBank, one of Cable One’s existing lenders, filed suit against Cable One, arguing the operator is “currently insolvent” and grossly overpaying for assets it knows are worth substantially less. According to court documents, the deal was set to close the day the restraining order was issued.

Lawmakers are making progress on draft legislation to update an $8 billion-per-year telecommunications subsidy. A bipartisan working group with members from both chambers of Congress has been working for years to update the Universal Service Fund, which is supported by fees on a shrinking pool of voice revenue. 

Silicon Valley is stressing over the uncertainty around how artificial intelligence will be regulated—or even what to call it. Now, the CEOs preparing their businesses for an AI-driven economy are starting to feel the anxiety. “There’s no real framework in place,” said SoFi CEO Anthony Noto. The midterms are looming. Potential presidential contenders are rolling out policies to shape AI’s future development and its role in the economy.

SpaceX reached a deal to buy cellular spectrum licenses from investment firm Grain Management, its biggest move yet into a wireless market dominated by traditional telecom companies. The Elon Musk-led space company will pay about $8 billion in cash for the assets. The U.S. licenses, which are in the 800-megahertz band, are tailored for wireless service from cellphone towers rather than satellites.

Three former commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission have passionately affirmed the necessity of $2.4 billion E-Rate program. At the annual AnchorNets 2026 conference, hosted by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, former Commissioners Rachelle Chong, Deborah Taylor Tate, and Mignon Clyburn attested to the importance of E-Rate for schools, children, and rural communities.

A federal broadband subsidy program under financial duress could get bailed out by AI-related companies, as policymakers consider making major users of broadband infrastructure contribute to universal service. Universal service reform could expand the pool of companies that help finance broadband networks to include hyperscalers, cloud providers and other major users of internet infrastructure, according to former Federal Communications Commission officials and broadband advocates. 

Gov Wes Moore (D-MD) is forming a bipartisan group of governors to respond to mounting concerns about the threats posed by artificial intelligence, as he argued that states need to fill a void left by the federal government’s inaction on the issue.

Awards from a $50 billion federal rural health fund included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from July 2025 are now paying for digital health care records and home monitoring devices. But whether that remote care reaches a patient still depends on the connection in the patient's home or pocket. Maine's first-year share of that fund is $190 million, according to Andrew Solomon, a senior program manager at MCD Global Health, the Maine public health nonprofit administering the work.