The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to expand very low power device operations across all 1,200 megahertz of the 6 GHz band alongside other unlicensed and Wi-Fi-enabled devices. This added flexibility in the 6 GHz band will bolster a growing eco-system of cutting-edge applications like wearable technologies and augmented and virtual reality, which will enhance learning opportunities, improve healthcare outcomes, and bring new entertainment experiences. The FCC has, in recent years, expanded unlicensed use between 5.925 and 7.125 GHz, helping to usher in Wi-Fi 6E, set the stage for Wi-Fi 7, and support the growth of the Internet of Things.

Governor John Carney (D) and the Delaware Department of Technology and Information (DTI) Delaware Broadband Office (DBO) proposed $17.4 million in competitive grant funding awards to two internet service providers to extend broadband service to more than 5,600 unserved and underserved homes and businesses throughout Delaware. Through an open and competitive process following two years of federal planning and approvals, DBO received a total of 21 proposals from five internet service providers to provide service to eight grant areas across the state. Comcast and Verizon have been selected to deploy high-speed internet infrastructure to these areas, which represent the final homes in Delaware without access to the internet or without another government program funding deployment of service. These awards will provide the final 5,635 addresses without access with high-speed internet access across New Castle (556), Kent (1,712) and Sussex (3,367) Counties. With this investment, Delaware is on course to reach Governor Carney’s goal to become the first state in the country to be fully connected to high-speed internet under BEAD. Following NTIA final approval, DTI will start to allocate the remaining BEAD funding to eligible uses. Such uses may include building internet and cellular network resiliency, increasing cybersecurity protections, expanding digital governance, and engaging in tech workforce development.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry (D-PA) is leading a coalition of Attorneys General in sending a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of rules that would require internet, cable, voice, and broadcast satellite providers to take some of the pain out of routine customer service calls and allow for better consumer choices. Attorney General Henry and the coalition are supporting efforts by the FCC to expand existing requirements—that are currently only applicable to cable providers—to all providers. The letter also urges adoptions of rules that will make it quicker and easier for consumers to reach live agents, require companies to provide automatic credits for service outages or missed service appointments, require enhanced training for customer service representatives, and to permit consumers to obtain their recorded conversations with customer service representatives, among other things. 

The Digital Equity Researcher Inventory is a listing of researchers who have published research about broadband adoption and digital inclusion. Researchers from a multitude of academic disciplines and types of organizations have contributed to what we know about digital equity. The diversity of disciplines and sectors that researchers come from represents a rich variety of approaches to research and it demonstrates the importance of digital equity across fields. At the same time, disciplinary and sectoral boundaries can limit communication with the practitioner community and within the research community itself. The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) aims to foster a more cohesive network of digital equity researchers and strengthen ties between digital inclusion practitioners and aligned fields of study. Digital inclusion practitioners, local leaders, policymakers, and others can use the inventory to locate experts and review their research, enhancing the capacity to make informed decisions and create sound programs and policies. The Digital Equity Researcher Inventory highlights the need for collaborative solutions to address digital equity challenges, and demonstrates NDIA’s interest in supporting the research community.

With two key staffing picks—Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the new chair of that agency, and U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner (and Palantir senior adviser) Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment—President-elect Donald Trump is giving some early hints as to how his second administration will try to forge a new Republican consensus on tech. The two men will be responsible, in part, for enacting a sea change from the Biden administration in how government relates to tech — and turning the diverse, heterodoxical beliefs and ambitions of the new tech right into something resembling a coherent national policy. Ferguson and Helberg will have different policy ambits, but face similar challenges in establishing what Trump described in his announcements for each as his “America First” policy agenda. For Ferguson that means rolling back current FTC Chair Lina Khan’s antitrust agenda, widely loathed by the venture capitalists who powered Trump’s victory, while maintaining the Republican Party’s burgeoning anti-Big Tech populism. For Helberg, that means changing the global conversation on issues like energy and artificial intelligence, while maintaining a hawkish stance on China — something that might prove tricky given Helberg’s role in gathering support for the de facto TikTok ban, about which Trump has expressed ambivalence.