Tuesday, January 20, 2026
Headlines Daily Digest
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New York Announces $36 Million Available Through ConnectAll Municipal Infrastructure Program
California Expands Broadband Access Statewide with $21 Million in Last Mile Funding
Digital Inclusion
State and Local
Platforms
AI
What Digital Literacy Looks Like in the Age of AI | Read below | Grace Tepper | Analysis | Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Competition
News From the FCC
Company News
Stories From Abroad
Digital Inclusion
As hundreds of thousands of us prepare to walk down Martin Luther King Drive for one of the largest marches in the nation, we carry with us Dr. King’s vision of a Beloved Community. In San Antonio, DreamWeek reminds us that this dream is not just about where we walk, but how we care for one another in every space we inhabit, including digital ones. The theme for DreamWeek 2026 is “Revelations: Unlocking Our Full Potential.” As a Digital Navigator, I believe that unlocking our potential begins with feeling secure. For seniors seeking companionship online and for children exploring new ideas, the internet should be a place of opportunity, not fear. In a world focused on the latest gadgets, my work remains rooted in being person-oriented. Whether I am helping a senior navigate the vulnerable waters of online dating or supporting a parent in protecting their child’s digital footprint, my goal is to ensure that technology serves our humanity, not the other way around.
[Antoinette “Toni” Lakey is a San Antonio–based Digital Navigator, community leader, and storyteller who believes access to technology begins with human connection.]
State and Local
New York Announces Up to $36 Million Available Through Expansion of the ConnectAll Municipal Infrastructure Program
New York State reopened the Municipal Infrastructure Program (MIP) Request for Applications, making up to $36 million available to support broadband infrastructure projects across the state through ConnectALL, the state’s broadband office. MIP connects unserved and underserved communities to high-speed internet through open-access and publicly controlled broadband infrastructure. To date, the Municipal Infrastructure Program has funded $268 million to active projects in 24 counties that will build more than 2,300 miles of new fiber optic infrastructure and 68 new wireless hubs serving more than 96,000 homes and businesses around the state. ConnectALL will accept applications starting January 12 and on a rolling basis through April 30. ConnectALL will begin reviewing applications on February 2. All supported projects must be substantially complete by December 31, 2026, in accordance with federal funding requirements.
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved four grants totaling up to $21 million from the state’s Last Mile Federal Funding Account (FFA) to expand reliable, high-speed internet access in Contra Costa, Inyo, and Monterey (CA) counties. The four approved grants will:
- Expand high-speed broadband access to 1,752 locations that currently lack reliable service.
- Benefit approximately 64,000 residents, including households, small businesses, and community institutions.
- Support public safety, telehealth, remote learning, and workforce opportunities.
- Include affordability commitments, such as low-cost broadband plans and participation in California LifeLine or successor affordability programs.
Sertex Broadband Solutions has been awarded a $1.58 million contract to expand Vermont’s Deerfield Valley Communications Union District (DVFiber) fiber-to-the-home network across five towns in southeastern Vermont. The expansion project includes approximately 60 miles of new fiber construction in West Brattleboro, Dummerston, Marlboro, Newfane, and Guilford (VT). The new contract builds on Sertex’s long-standing partnerships with DVFiber and Great Works Internet to build the initial GPON FTTH network, which delivered high-speed internet to nearly 5,000 locations, including 4,290 previously unserved or underserved premises. The initial deployment began in May 2023 and was completed in 2025. Construction for network expansion will begin immediately, with anticipated completion in August 2026.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) introduced the Creator Bill of Rights (H.Res.1005), a resolution supporting fairer treatment, economic security, and transparency for creators and digital workers in the modern platform-based economy. The resolution seeks to:
- Guarantee access to affordable, reliable, and portable health care options for creators and digital workers, so that coverage is not dependent on a single employer or platform.
- Ensure that digital workers can easily carry benefits across gigs and platforms, including establishing portable benefit systems and retirement plan options designed for independent workers.
- Require online platforms to offer clear, transparent, and predictable revenue-sharing terms between platforms and creators for the content and labor that generate value for those platforms.
- Grant creators the ability to maintain decentralized, opt-in, direct relationships with audiences who choose to engage with their work, which enables creators to move between platforms without losing their audiences.
- Offer robust small business resources to creators and digital workers, support transparency around platform algorithms that affect compensation and visibility, and protect workers against misclassification under existing federal labor law.
- Guarantee access to timely, responsive customer support and a clear appeal process for creators and digital workers when platform actions materially affect their accounts, content, or income.
- Ensure transparency, consent, and accountability standards related to the use of artificial intelligence and synthetic media that materially affect creators’ identities, reputations, or livelihoods.
The rapid acceleration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the education system is creating new opportunities that could transform assessments, personalize learning, and support instruction. It also raises uncertainty and concerns about policies that would impact professional development, access and equity, data privacy, and student safety. In "Digital Literacy in the Age of AI: Analysis and Voices from the Field," researchers from New America point to digital literacy as a foundational component of education, and a need for a comprehensive national digital literacy skills framework with measurable outcomes, and aligned systems and policies that integrate digital literacy, AI literacy, and computer science.
xAI announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Government of El Salvador to launch the world's first nationwide AI-powered education program. Over the next two years, xAI will deploy Grok across more than 5,000 public schools, delivering personalized learning to over one million students and empowering thousands of teachers as collaborative partners in education. This initiative will create adaptive, curriculum-aligned tutoring that adjusts to each student's pace, preferences, and mastery level—ensuring every child, from urban centers to rural communities, receives world-class education tailored to their needs. By co-developing this system with El Salvador, xAI will generate new methodologies, datasets, and frameworks to guide responsible AI use in classrooms globally, with a focus on local contexts, safety, and human-centered impact.
[December 11, 2025]
News From the FCC
FCC Commissioner Gomez Testimony to House Subcommittee on Communications & Technology
As we enter 2026, I think it is worth stepping back and asking not just what the Federal Communications Commission has done for consumers, but where it has been directing its energy. Too often, that energy has gone into culture-war fights instead of the day-to-day work of protecting consumers and expanding access to reliable and affordable broadband. From my perspective, the FCC has drifted from its mission in two ways that should concern this Committee. First, it has exercised its authority in ways that raise serious First Amendment concerns. Second, it has retreated from meaningful consumer protections that make a difference in people’s lives.
After months of regulatory pushback, Verizon finally secured California approval for its $20 billion Frontier acquisition. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously voted in favor of the deal. Following that ruling, Verizon announced it expects to close the transaction on January 20. New Street Policy Analyst Blair Levin said CPUC’s decision was “imminent” based on an Administrative Law Judge’s filing. While Verizon “may not have gotten 100 percent of what it sought, on the critical issues of deployment, employment and supplier contracts, it appears that Verizon got nearly everything that we thought material,” he said. Initially, the key issue for the CPUC was Verizon’s commitment to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, as that could conflict with California’s own diversity laws.
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and Zoe Walker (zwalker AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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