The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF), a Federal Communications Commission plan to spend over $20 billion to close the digital divide, drew interest from startups and household-name carriers alike. But several upstart winners have dropped off the winner's list because of financial problems or the inability to supply high-speed Internet access. Top 10 bidder Starry said that it is withdrawing from the RDOF program, under which it had been awarded nearly $270 million in funds to cover 108,506 locations in 9 states. Facing financial challenges, the startup fixed wireless access provider also said it will undergo a 50% workforce reduction and a hiring freeze. GeoLinks and Cal.net also defaulted on winning RDOF bids. And SpaceX’s Starlink funding was withdrawn due to concerns over the ability of Elon Musk’s startup satellite operator to supply fast enough services. Operators continue to face challenges in making a business case for delivering broadband service to a limited addressable rural subscriber base. Keeping tabs on their efforts and learning about other broadband programs can help IT managers. However, in the event of an RDOF dropout, the FCC said that these areas could be covered by other state and local funding programs.

Virginia has made significant strides to curtail the many facets of the digital divide that exist throughout the Commonwealth. As part of the Virginia Funders Network’s (VFN) efforts to support the Commonwealth’s commitment to achieving universal connectivity by 2024, this memo recommends several steps that funders can perform "now:"

• Identify your community connectivity needs: Before broadband, planning can begin it is vital to understand the connectivity needs of the community. Surveys are also a good way to connect with a large number of residents and businesses.
• Identify digital champions: Hosting and organizing listening sessions can also assist funders in locating digital champions in their communities. Digital champions can be anyone interested in, and passionate about, community connectivity.
• Train digital navigators: Digital navigators are typically employees of an anchor institution (community center, library, school, health care center) who are specifically trained to help users “navigate” the entirety of the connectivity process, from connectivity to devices to skills.
• Engage in mapping:  Communities often lack insightful maps as to which areas are un- or under-connected. These maps need to be as granular as possible to fully capture the extent of the digital divide. 
• Engage with elected officials: Funders should identify those elected officials and policymakers interested in broadband and begin conversations about the importance of connectivity. Funders can also help educate elected officials as to the need for broadband.
• Promote the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP):  Funders can hold information sessions in conjunction with local providers to increase knowledge and drive participation in the ACP. Innovative practices have proven successful in driving broadband awareness.

As well as steps that should be done "next:"

• Set up partnerships: The future of broadband connectivity, especially in rural areas, will depend on public-private partnerships (P3s). Here, funders can play crucial match-making roles, helping communities identify potential private providers and potential partners.
• Match grants: Funders may consider this a best practice for ensuring that broadband reaches the most unconnected parts of their communities.
• Create a Virginia Five-Year Broadband Plan: Communities and counties must be mobilized to participate in the creation of the plan. Communities need to have their voices heard. 
• Make sure local providers participate: As trusted community organizations, funders can also make sure that all providers in their community are participating in the ACP. This can be done simply by contacting each provider in the community.

More than 40 civil-society groups called on Twitter’s top-20 advertisers to inform Elon Musk that they will suspend all advertising on the platform if he follows through on plans to undermine the social network’s community standards and content moderation. The move follows breaking news that Musk has already frozen many employees’ ability to access content-moderation and standards-enforcement tools that they previously used to protect users from the spread of election disinformation and other toxic content. The letter documents the many changes Musk has already made to the company, including firing Twitter's top executive in charge of legal policy, trust, and safety. The letter highlights Musk’s threat to drastically reduce employee headcount, including those responsible for maintaining community standards and protecting user safety. It also cites the sharp increase in hateful posts and misinformation on Twitter since Musk took over — including a homophobic tweet shared (and then deleted) by Musk.