Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Headlines Daily Digest
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State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession
America’s coming war over AI regulation
How Elon Musk’s Starlink is changing American foreign policy
Broadband Funding
Broadband Infrastructure
Digital Equity
Wireless
AI
Children & Media
Ownership
Court Cases
Government & Communications
The Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program had immense promise to close the digital divide, said Shirley Bloomfield, CEO of NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association. But changes to the BEAD Program are weakening its effectiveness. The biggest challenge to the promise of BEAD is the revised guidelines’ emphasis on technology neutrality. While BEAD will bring broadband to many un- and underserved locations, Bloomfield believes the bandwidth they receive won’t be sufficient. And, there won’t be more resources to improve the connections. Bloomfield said the revised guidelines caused some NTCA members to consider withdrawal from the BEAD Program process. She noted that the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and its $42.45 billion provision for the BEAD Program came in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. “On the heels of COVID, we knew what the consequences were for people who were not connected [to broadband]," she said. "We knew what it meant to our economy not to have those people and those businesses connected.” Bloomfield worries that the country may face another crisis that makes people realize the importance of broadband, but by that point, there will be no funds left.
Georgia Delegation Calls for Trump Administration to Release $1 Billion for Georgia Internet Expansion
Sen Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) led four members of Georgia’s congressional delegation in calling on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to release nearly $1 billion in already-approved federal funding to support increased broadband access and internet-dependent services in Georgia. "The Georgia Technology Authority aims to use leftover BEAD funding to upgrade 911 connectivity service; improve telehealth resources for seniors, veterans, and children in rural areas; expand the use of precision agriculture technologies to increase farm yields; establish device access and education programs to increase economic output; and much more," said the lawmakers. "Georgians are tired of political agendas and bureaucratic delays that deny their communities 21st-century connectivity and technology upgrades. It is past time to put shovels in the ground, deliver next-generation connectivity to unserved and underserved communities, and close the digital divide in Georgia. We urge NTIA to release all non-deployment funds immediately."
The New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (OBAE) announced legislation to authorize $10 million in broadband funding to help low-income families afford broadband service. State Senate Bill 152 was introduced by Sen Majority Whip Michael Padilla (D-NM) and prepared by OBAE in consultation with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC). The funding would come from the State Rural Universal Service Fund, which, by current statute, has $40 million specifically earmarked for broadband programs. The legislation is called the “Low-Income Telecommunications Assistance Program (LITAP).”
The fiber shortage is already here. And with data center builds as well as public and private rural fiber deployments all ramping, there's bound to be a breaking point sooner or later. “It’s like the perfect storm,” said Ashley Travers, chair of the Fiber Broadband Association’s Supply Chain Working Group. “You’ve got the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment [BEAD] Program, you’ve got hyperscalers…with all these states coming out the gate at the same time, it’s going to present a challenge.” Travers said the shortage impacts both ribbon and loose tube fiber. From a splicer’s standpoint, ribbon cable is “much more user-friendly and much more organized” because multiple fibers are bonded together. That makes ribbon ideal for data center deployments and situations where space is limited. Estimated lead times for ribbon fiber are in the “60-plus weeks range” while loose tube fiber, primarily used for outdoor infrastructure and fiber-to-the-home deployment, is “well into the Q3 [2026] timeframe,” said Kate Fegley-Lummus, Marketing Project Manager and Partner Manager at fiber cable manufacturer Superior Essex.
State of the Dream 2026: From Regression to Signs of a Black Recession is the product of a collaborative effort drawing on the expertise of Joint Center staff, fellows, and trusted external partners. Key takeaways include:
- Financial Deregulation and Digital Assets: The dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the uneven, largely untested shift in cryptocurrency and other digital asset regulations have left Black communities disproportionately vulnerable to predatory fees, discriminatory lending, and financial fraud, while shifting the burden of protection to states, researchers, and community institutions that cannot fully replace federal enforcement.
- Broadband Policy: The Trump administration’s turning away from equity scoring, the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act, the removal of mobile hotspot and school bus Wi-Fi connectivity from E-Rate eligibility, and weakened broadband pricing transparency requirements undermine the structural supports designed to broaden access and adoption and could reduce the number of Black households with internet access.
- Social Media Policy: While federal social media policy has remained largely unchanged, the most significant developments in the online information ecosystem have come from platform-driven policy changes where social media platforms have pulled back on fact-checking and censorship.
- Artificial Intelligence: President Trump, through his executive order, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence, shifted away from precautionary regulation toward a more deregulatory, innovation-driven posture. The rescission marks a sharp departure from the prior focus on civil rights, transparency, and safety in federal AI policy.
As Venezuela and Iran grapple with immense political tumult, Starlink has become a lifeline for internet access. Iranian activists have disseminated images of troops suppressing protestors by connecting to Starlink, while Venezuelans are relying on the service to get information on President Nicolás Maduro’s removal. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is offering free internet service in the two countries to those who can get their hands on the company’s terminals, which connect users to the thousands of Starlink satellites that orbit 342 miles above the Earth. Internet access can fuel massive political shifts—social media was a crucial organizing tool during the Arab Spring in 2011. Yet lawmakers here and abroad have raised concerns about how Starlink gives Musk considerable influence over conflict zones, not least after his company sent terminals to Ukraine to ensure connectivity for the country’s military.
In the final weeks of 2025, the battle over regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in the US reached a boiling point. On December 11, after Congress failed twice to pass a law banning state AI laws, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order seeking to handcuff states from regulating the booming industry. Instead, President Trump vowed to work with Congress to establish a “minimally burdensome” national AI policy, one that would position the US to win the global AI race. The move marked a qualified victory for tech titans, who have been marshaling multimillion-dollar war chests to oppose AI regulations, arguing that a patchwork of state laws would stifle innovation. In 2026, the battleground will shift to the courts. While some states might back down from passing AI laws, others will charge ahead, buoyed by mounting public pressure to protect children from chatbots and rein in power-hungry data centers. Meanwhile, dueling super PACs bankrolled by tech moguls and AI-safety advocates will pour tens of millions into congressional and state elections to seat lawmakers who champion their competing visions for AI regulation.
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei wrote a note to his wife, Autumn, and their three kids. She suggested sharing it more broadly since so many families are wrestling with how to think and talk about AI. "You're living history. Ignoring it would be foolish and self-destructive," said VandeHei. "I want to urge you to plunge into understanding and using AI aggressively and daily, with a mindset of curiosity, awe, and clear-eyed discernment. You should download several LLMs: Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude. They work similarly, intuitively and conversationally. Experiment with them. You will find ChatGPT more chatty and friendly, Gemini more clinical and doctor-like, and Claude best for work and building things. These experiments shouldn't substitute for your reading of books or deep independent thought. But they should augment it. You will find all three LLMs, once you've fine-tuned your interactions, brilliant at writing, researching, challenging your assumptions, calling out blind spots and expanding on your own ideas, and building actual products. Treat them like the smartest person you ever met, but remember they're imperfect."
Artificial Intelligence (AI) chatbots—such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, Google AI Mode or the Washington Post’s “Ask the Post AI”—are software products that simulate human-like conversations and generate responses across a wide range of topics. While even their creators caution against using them as arbiters of fact, research consistently demonstrates that people increasingly rely on them for information about the world. Since the line between “information” and “news” is hardly clear-cut and information-seeking is also likely to include many topics where users of AI chatbots might previously have turned to news sources, news providers need an understanding of those broader informational habits. This report provides a detailed snapshot of relatively early adopters and their use of AI chatbots to get information, including news. In October 2025, the Center for News, Technology & Innovation interviewed 53 people in India and the U.S. who use AI chatbots at least once a week and said they “keep informed about issues and events of the day” at least “somewhat closely.”
Statewide cellphone bans aren’t the only measures policymakers are taking to help schools navigate a complex digital media landscape. At least half of U.S. states have enacted laws to advance media literacy education, with 11 states passing new legislation since January 2024, according to a report released by Media Literacy Now, a nonprofit organization. State lawmakers’ push for media literacy education comes as artificial intelligence tools are increasingly being used to create fake stories and images. That content is then blasted around the globe on social media. “Schools are getting bombarded by needing to use all these different devices, by kids coming in with cellphones, by social media,” when for years they’ve mostly focused on “reading, writing, basics,” said Kyra Brissette, the CEO of Media Literacy Now. “I think we’ve outgrown our education system in that way. We need to think a little bit differently about how we’re educating students. That’s why those critical thinking skills of media literacy really would be helpful across subject areas.”
When Verizon announced its acquisition of Frontier Communications 16 months ago, the company was led by Hans Vestberg and the focus of the transaction was to bulk up Verizon's fiber base and amp up its ability to offer a mobile-fiber broadband convergence bundle. Now, Verizon has a new CEO, Dan Schulman, and the company has a different set of priorities under the brand-building executive, including a bigger focus on fixing Verizon's critically important postpaid business. Schulman, who inherited the Frontier deal, put a good spin on it. "Our combined strength immediately creates an unparalleled fiber network," he said. "By seamlessly integrating Frontier's lightning fast network with the award-winning Fios we instantly expand our reach to approximately 30 million fiber passings." Schulman is expected to elaborate on future plans when Verizon announces Q4 2025 results on January 30.
The Trump Administration has abandoned one of its major efforts to restrict diversity and equity programs in schools and colleges. The effort was a threat by the Administration to withhold billions of dollars in education funding from states and schools that refused to sign a document attesting that they did not have diversity and equity programs. Education groups sued in federal court and won a favorable ruling in August 2025, which the government then appealed. But the Administration recently withdrew its appeal. The federal judge in Maryland who heard the case, Stephanie Gallagher, ruled against the Trump administration on multiple grounds. Gallagher found that the Administration had not followed proper procedure in attempting to withhold the funding, and that the underlying policy threatened educators’ free speech in the classroom. The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Sociological Association, and a school district in Eugene (OR). Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, said the case was the most important of the 22 lawsuits that her union had filed, along with partner groups, against President Trump in his second term, because of the precedent it would establish for limiting executive power.
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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