Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and her fellow Commissioners heard reports on the agency’s efforts to expand connectivity and access to modern-day communications. The presentation summarized the Commission’s efforts on providing fast, reliable and affordable internet, an essential element for personal and professional aspects of everyday life. These efforts included:

• The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): With over 23 million households enrolled across all 50 states, territories, and federally recognized Tribal lands, the success, reach, and impact of the program was unmatched. The ACP was the nation’s largest broadband affordability effort to date.
• Launching Broadband Labels: The FCC established labels for broadband providers to display specific information regarding their internet service plans, enabling consumers to make informed decisions when shopping.
• Modernizing E-Rate & Disability Access: The FCC modernized the E-rate program by expanding eligibility for Wi-Fi hotspots, Wi-Fi on school buses, and to address digital disparities on Tribal lands. It also adopted rules to improve the access and functionality of communications services for people with disabilities such as updating access to video conferencing services and requiring 100% of U.S. mobile wireless handset models to be hearing aid compatible.
• Drastically Improving Broadband Data Collection: A cross-agency team worked to develop the most accurate national broadband maps in our nation’s history, enabling the FCC to clearly understand the gaps in the country’s infrastructure and facilitate effective and targeted investments to expand this critical resource.

The Federal Communications Commission heard reports on the agency’s work to create and build upon policy focused on the future of communications. One presentation summarized the FCC’s efforts to create its new Space Bureau, the future-forward policies created to fuel the New Space Age, and innovative spectrum efforts to enable the next generation of wireless technologies. These efforts included: 

• Establishing the Space Bureau
• Creating a Single Network Future: The FCC unanimously adopted a new regulatory scheme known as Supplemental Coverage from Space, which made it the first regulator in the world to issue a framework for connecting satellites directly to consumer handsets using spectrum previously allocated only to terrestrial service.
•  Updating Orbital Debris Mitigation and Space Sustainability Rules
• Dedicating Spectrum to Support Satellite Broadband Service and Novel Spectrum Use: The FCC opened the 17 GHz band for shared use by satellite systems in geostationary and non-geostationary orbits, which ultimately allows low-Earth orbit satellites to have greater capacity to support broadband services and low-latency applications like video calls and other real-time applications; adopted rules that refine the FCC’s non-geostationary satellite orbit, fixed-satellite service (NGSO FSS) spectrum sharing regime that provide clarity regarding sharing between systems licensed in different processing rounds, granting primary spectrum access to systems approved earlier, while enabling new entrants to participate in an established, cooperative spectrum sharing structure.
• Mid-Band Spectrum for 5G: The FCC focused on making additional spectrum available for 5G, particularly in the critical, mid-band range.
• Making Spectrum Available for Drones, Commercial Space Launches, Public Safety Missions, and Vehicle Transportation
• Expanding the Tools for Multiple Spectrum Uses to Co-Exist: The FCC examined new ways for multiple spectrum uses to co-exist in the 3.5 GHz band, expanding uninterrupted access in areas that cover approximately 72 million more people; and re-energized the work on the Lower 37 GHz band to examine how spectrum use might be enhanced through new data sources and technologies, such as artificial intelligence.
• Increasing Spectrum for Unlicensed Devices: In the 6 GHz band, the FCC expanded access for unlicensed devices to an additional 1,200 megahertz which supports new Wi-Fi 6E devices as well as sets the stage for Wi-Fi 7 and beyond. The Commission also adopted new 60 GHz band rules, which expands the universe of unlicensed devices in 14 gigahertz of spectrum beyond simple networking technologies to also deliver new high-tech radar applications such as vehicular safety applications designed to ensure that a child is never again forgotten in the backseat of a car. These rules will also provide for innovative applications for drones as well as other uses.

Based on today’s presentations, I don’t think there is any question that, on every count, we did the work and delivered for the people of the United States. Working together, we were able to build the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history. Working together, we launched the first-ever Space Bureau and created a Single Network Future that is going to change communications around the globe. Working together, we built broadband maps that are light years ahead of anything that came before. Working together, we put national security and cybersecurity front and center, for the first time in history revoking service authorizations and removing insecure equipment in our networks. Working together, we closed the Homework Gap like never before, helping millions of students and making sure wireless hotspots are available for loan in every school and library across the country. Working together, we made communications more just for more people in more places with texting to 988, wireless emergency alerts in more than a dozen languages, and safe connections for survivors of domestic violence. Working together, we finally made prison payphone rates just and reasonable.  And we built a new version of Amber Alerts to help the women and girls who go missing on Tribal Lands.  Working together, we also made communications more secure, with the first-of-its-kind U.S. Cybersecurity Trust Mark coming soon to billions of internet of things devices. These actions, and all the others that were mentioned today, fill me with a real sense of pride.... To me, today’s meeting tells a story.  And it is the story of what makes the FCC special.  I think it comes down to three things:

1. At the FCC, we help write the future: If you look at every great challenge before our country—how we grow our economy, how we learn, how we treat the sick, how we heal our planet, how we govern ourselves—communications technology is part of the solution. 
2. The “power of all”:  So many of the actions you heard about today are an outgrowth of the agency’s founding mandate to make communication available to all the people of the United States. 
3. People: The FCC staff is not just uncommonly talented and knowledgeable about communications law and policy, it’s also an exceptional group of public servants. I think public service is a special calling.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has a "fairly lengthy list" of last-minute Biden regulations that Republicans may try to undo in the coming weeks. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) gives Congress until mid-May to reverse what Republicans are calling the "midnight rules" of the Biden administration. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) will kick things off by introducing three resolutions to erase Biden's moves on cryptocurrencies, energy, and a Federal Communications Commission regulation that allows schools and libraries to lend Wi-Fi hotspots to students through the E-Rate program. Sen. Cruz argued it violates the Communications Act, increases taxes and "opens up children to real risks of abuse" with no limits on their broadband usage.

Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) has awarded a $2.9 million grant to expand high-speed internet access in Etowah County, Alabama. The grant was awarded to Spectrum Southeast in support of a project to make high-speed internet available to 352 previously unserved households, businesses and community institutions in the Ridgeville area. The grant money is being made available through the Capital Projects Fund program, which is supported by funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The grant will be administered by the Alabama Digital Expansion Division of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

In May 2024, NTIA launched a request for comment (RFC) on how U.S. government policies can support the development of next-generation commercial wireless “6G” technology. A diverse group of stakeholders including private companies, universities, industry associations, and public interest groups responded; each focused on various aspects of the 6G ecosystem. Private companies emphasized spectrum policy, open networks, AI-driven networks, global standards leadership, and infrastructure deployment. The companies highlighted the need for effective spectrum management, including through dynamic spectrum sharing models, and advocated for expanded mid- and high-band spectrum availability. They also supported public-private partnerships for R&D in AI, quantum communications, and Open RAN. Some telecom companies focused on the importance of exclusive-licensed spectrum to the transition from 5G to 6G, while highly specialized tech companies stressed the importance of AI integration and energy-efficient designs for 6G networks. Academic institutions contributed by focusing on research and innovation in areas like non-terrestrial networks, AI, and quantum-safe encryption. They also emphasized workforce development, advocating for more educational programs and industry partnerships to train the next generation of engineers in wireless technologies. Industry associations that responded to the RFC advocated for streamlined infrastructure deployment and permitting processes, especially for small cells and rural broadband. They also emphasized the importance of open standards, such as Open RAN, to foster competition and reduce reliance on proprietary systems. Finally, public interest groups concentrated on digital inclusion, affordable spectrum access, and prioritizing rural and underserved communities in 6G development.

In 2022, Color Of Change pioneered the first Black Tech Agenda, which aimed to foster racial equity within technology by dismantling entrenched racism and promoting greater Black representation in technological decision-making roles. As the impact of technology on Black people continues to evolve rapidly, particularly with the advent and proliferation of AI tools, it has become clear that the agenda must also evolve. Our updated agenda advocates for real solutions at the state and federal levels of government to address systemic discrimination in the technology and telecommunications industries. Our vision isn’t about creating new technology, but ensuring AI follows clear principles of fairness and justice that uplift rather than harm Black people and society’s most vulnerable communities. This makes the development and regulation of AI a critical battleground in the fight for civil rights and social justice.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo has appointed 30 outside experts to serve on the Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC). This important advisory group provides policy and technical advice on a range of issues related to wireless technologies and the use of spectrum. The outside experts will serve two-year terms and include 17 reappointments and 13 members who are new to the committee. The committee reports to NTIA, the Executive Branch’s principal advisor to the President on spectrum and telecommunications policies. [see list of members at the link below]