The Maine Connectivity Authority, the agency leading the statewide expansion of broadband and digital opportunity in Maine, has received a notification from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration that as of Friday, May 9, it has terminated three grants totaling $35 million in funding for Maine. These grants funded programs to improve digital skills, provide internet safety education and ensure people have affordable devices. This notification was part of a nationwide termination of grants across all states and territories and 65 other organizations. The elimination of this funding will disproportionately impact older, rural residents, small businesses, veterans, low-income households, and students.

• $10 million was awarded to the MCA to fund the Digital Opportunity Networks grant program, a statewide device donation and refurbishment campaign, and an educational platform for technical assistance.
• $13.8 million was awarded to the National Digital Equity Center to provide digital skills training, technical support, telehealth access, and affordable device programs. NDEC was partnering with 19 organizations, including the Maine State Library, Maine Community College System, Maine Adult Education Association, and Medical Care Development.
• $11 million was awarded to the Greater Portland Council of Governments to provide STEM education, digital services for municipal governments, device programs, digital skills education, and business support programs. GPCOG was partnering with 13 Regional and Wabanaki Broadband Partners, including economic and community organizations and councils in all 16 Maine counties.

The latest stakeholder to send a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is Sky Fiber Internet, the largest Nevada Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment awardee in the rural broadband funding program. In the letter, the company urged Lutnick to expedite contract finalization and issue guidance so construction can begin. “Delays not only risk higher costs and lost labor but also erode public confidence in what is arguably the most ambitious and promising broadband investment in our nation’s history,” said Sky Fiber Internet CEO Garry Gomes in the letter. The BEAD program is currently at a standstill. The letter calls on Secretary Lutnick to take four steps: 

1. Expedite contract finalization and issue guidance so construction can begin.
2. Streamline federal permitting and environmental review, especially for areas already cleared by state processes or along public rights-of-way.
3. Support Nevada’s all-inclusive model, which allows for technology-appropriate solutions.
4. Empower ready, local partners with rural deployment experience and deep local trust.

Telecommunications mogul Charlie Ergen’s war chest is at risk after a U.S. regulator questioned his company’s use of cellular and satellite spectrum licenses—including a chunk of airwaves long sought by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The Federal Communications Commission told Ergen, the chairman and co-founder of network operator EchoStar, that the agency’s staff would investigate the company’s compliance with federal requirements to build a nationwide 5G network. EchoStar owns both the Dish Network pay-TV brand and Boost Mobile’s wireless service. The U.S. government in 2019 set several construction milestones for Dish to maintain cellular licenses worth billions of dollars. Ergen and Musk have been sparring for years in regulatory filings over spectrum rights. The battle has intensified in recent months as Apple and other big technology companies press for an edge in orbit. SpaceX said in an April letter that EchoStar’s spectrum in the 2 gigahertz band “remains ripe for sharing among next-generation satellite systems.” The company urged the commission to launch a new rule-making process to add new competitors to the band.

Three months into the Trump administration, the Department of Government Efficiency has wreaked havoc on the United States federal government and on many individuals who rely on government services. This includes people with disabilities, who have been impacted by cuts to education programs, chaos at the Social Security Administration, the shuttering of digital services programs that focused on accessibility, and even mandatory return-to-office policies for federal workers, among other things. Despite the announcement that Elon Musk will soon be “stepping back” from his role at DOGE, there’s no indication that the agency will stop its crusade, regardless of the costs to everyday people. And, it will continue to use technology to do it. I currently lead one of the only projects in the US that focuses on how technology (such as AI tools and algorithmic systems) impacts people with disabilities. From my vantage, it is clear that DOGE’s underlying ableist rhetoric both informs and forecasts its work, while its violations of data privacy and expansive use of AI without proper oversight have already harmed disabled people, and will continue to do so.