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.

Maybe for the first time ever, we’re seeing some real price competition affecting the largest internet service providers. Fierce Network recently quoted Comcast CFO Jason Armstrong as saying that he is seeing irrationally low prices from some fiber overbuilders who are selling gigabit broadband for as little as $30–$40 per month. He says that it costs Comcast as much as several thousand dollars to convert an HFC customer to fiber, and that he can’t understand the rationale behind selling fiber broadband that cheaply. Five years ago I predicted that broadband would routinely be priced at $100 or more, and there are noncompetitive markets today where that is the price. But there are a whole lot of markets now where prices are a lot lower than that. Of course, none of the big companies price strictly by market anymore—they price by customer and neighborhood, so what we’re really likely to see are competitive and non-competitive neighborhoods in cities, with my bet that the low-income neighborhoods will be paying the most for broadband.

Thirty-three New Mexico schools and districts will use $385,785 in state grants to buy lockable phone pouches, device lockers and network controls designed to support safe and focused connectivity during the school day. The funding comes from the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion’s (OBAE) Wireless Communication Device Policy Implementation Grant (WCDPIG) program, a joint effort with the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED), to curb screen time during instructional hours and support educational use of technology. The funding will be utilized to help districts implement their existing policies to manage student use of personal devices — cell phones, tablets, laptops and other personal wireless communication devices — during school hours. OBAE made funding from the Connect New Mexico Fund available for this program to help PED support the 89 school districts and 100 charter schools that have already implemented their policies. OBAE plans to conduct a second round of funding to allow more schools and districts to apply.

WTC Fiber has completed a major community-wide public Wi-Fi initiative that expands free, reliable internet access at parks, recreation facilities, nonprofit organizations, public service agencies and other gathering places throughout Manhattan and Riley County (KS). The project includes 124 Wi-Fi access points and represents an investment of more than $830,000 in local connectivity and digital access. The network is designed to make dependable internet service more readily available to residents and visitors, particularly in locations where people gather, learn, work, and access community services. Funding for the project was awarded through the Advancing Digital Opportunities to Promote Technology program, administered by the Kansas Office of Broadband Development. Matching support was provided by WTC Fiber, the City of Manhattan, Riley County, and benefactors of the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation.

Digitunity recently released its National Computer Ownership Index, a new benchmark tracking computer ownership across the United States using American Community Survey data. The Index finds that 32.9 million people in the U.S. lack access to a large-screen computer, including 25.8 million who rely exclusively on smartphones. While overall computer access has improved since 2016, the findings highlight persistent gaps in access to the devices needed for employment, education, healthcare, and other essential activities.

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. And as power changes hands, “we could start to move faster toward some type of regulation around artificial intelligence more broadly,” Noto said. New AI rules would certainly impact the biggest players in tech, said Noto. But any new rules could also “have an impact on our businesses.”