The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB or Bureau) announced that certain Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) census block groups (CBGs) are now eligible for other funding programs. Specifically, CenturyTel of Montana, Inc.; CenturyTel of Washington, Inc.; Embarq Florida, Inc.; and Qwest Corporation (collectively, Lumen) have notified the FCC of their decision to withdraw from the RDOF program in Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, and Washington. Additionally, Commnet Four Corners, LLC has notified the FCC of its decision to withdraw from the RDOF program in Colorado.  Both carriers will be subject to non-compliance measures.  WCB referred Commnet’s default to the Enforcement Bureau for further consideration. Lumen and Commnet will receive no further RDOF auction support payments and are subject to support recovery and non-compliance measures. The FCC will also remove Lumen and Commnet’s RDOF service areas from the Broadband Funding Map in the identified states. The eligible census blocks within the relevant CBGs are eligible for funding from other federal and state funding programs subject to the rules of the other programs.

A wave of funding cuts risks digital skills training, device access, and navigator programs that help unconnected Americans get online and meaningfully use the internet. Meeting this challenge will take creativity and cross-sector partnerships — but if we succeed, it could power the digital inclusion sector’s next chapter. It’s been a hard year for digital inclusion. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) has ended. The Digital Equity Act (DEA) funds so many fought for have been cancelled. And non-deployment dollars from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program remain in limbo. This is a difficult moment — but also a clarifying one. It’s forcing us to reckon with the limitations of our current funding model and opening the door to build something more resilient. Necessity is the mother of invention and now is our moment to innovate.

[Samantha Schartman Director of Philanthropic Programs at Connect Humanity. Calum Cameron is Connect Humanity's Communications Manager.]

Veterans living in rural America are being left behind by Federal healthcare systems due to shortages of robust broadband services and limited telehealth access, lawmakers and witnesses warned on July 25 during a field hearing of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. During the hearing, which was held in Urbana (IL), Members of Congress heard firsthand how the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) telehealth programs remain out of reach for many veterans in rural areas who lack reliable internet access. They also heard how broadband funding cuts by the Trump administration have hampered state efforts to provide internet services to rural areas. “Geography should never be a barrier to care,” said Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), chairman of the subcommittee. “If a veteran qualifies for VA healthcare, it’s our job to make sure they can get it without delays, without confusion, without frustration, and without giving up.” “Unfortunately, telehealth is only a solution for veterans who have access to sufficient internet and the technical knowledge to use it. It’s sad that in 2025 there are still parts of Illinois and the country that don’t have access to broadband internet,” added Rep. Nikki Budzinski (D-IL), the ranking member of the subcommittee.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) is taking the side of an internet service provider in a dispute over who pays for pole replacements when adding broadband attachments. In an order issued July 28, the PSC prohibited Appalachian Power from enforcing a “pre-existing violation” policy to place the cost of repairs or replacement of utility poles on internet service providers, instead of the electric utility that owns the poles. Appalachian Power has cited its pre-existing violation policy when issues are discovered with the pole or prior attachments to the pole during make-ready, the process of modifying utility poles for new internet service provider equipment. The PSC ordered Appalachian to comply with its rules regarding pre-existing violations when it comes to pole attachment applications submitted by Comcast Cable Communications. The two companies were also ordered to meet and file a future timeline for make-ready completions.

In 2021, Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $42.45 billion committed to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This once-in-a-generation investment in states was intended to expand access to broadband and to develop the workforce required to make this expansion possible. Recognizing the opportunity at hand, WRTP | BIG STEP, an established workforce intermediary in Wisconsin and leader of the Wisconsin SkillSPAN coalition, founded the Wisconsin Broadband Workforce Coalition. National Skills Coalition supported this effort through its vision: build a resilient and diverse broadband workforce that would both meet employers’ needs and expand access to high-quality career pathways that support residents’ economic mobility. The group positioned Wisconsin to act by expanding industry-sector partnerships, growing apprenticeship programs, and increasing access to support services. Wisconsin is now ready to deliver a pipeline of skilled local residents who meet the needs of broadband employers – if the state channels federal funds wisely.

EchoStar's subsidiary Dish made scheduled interest payments that were originally due July 1, thereby avoiding default. The company continues to work cooperatively with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve concerns raised in May, “including by providing responses and information at the FCC’s request.”[T]he company continues to progress wide-ranging efforts to explore alternative or complementary pathways that could, if successfully implemented, resolve the FCC’s stated concerns in a manner acceptable to the company,” said EchoStar. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr sent a letter to EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen in May outlining concerns about the company’s 5G network buildout obligations and the use of 2 GHz spectrum licenses. Elon Musk’s SpaceX previously had complained that EchoStar wasn’t using the 2 GHz/AWS-4 spectrum as authorized and argued that the FCC should let satellite companies, like SpaceX, use it. The FCC subsequently launched formal inquiries into the EchoStar/Dish/Boost Mobile 5G buildout as well as its use of the 2 GHz mobile satellite spectrum (MSS). Chairman Carr recently said the FCC is pushing hard to free up spectrum, and “you have Dish effectively over the years sitting on a tremendous amount of spectrum that simply isn’t loaded.”

A major deal between two tech companies is threatening to tear the Department of Justice’s antitrust division apart. Roger Alford and William Rinner—who had served in the department during President Donald Trump’s first term—were fired for insubordination after weeks of discord within the division about a corporate acquisition. The firing also calls into question the future of antitrust chief Gail Slater’s tech enforcement agenda. Curiously, the deal at the center of the drama was—if anything—a run-of-the-mill antitrust case. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, a wireless network company, proposed to acquire another internet services company called Juniper Networks in 2024, for $14 billion. Juniper was known for its innovations in incorporating AI into wireless systems, and like seemingly every other company in the tech world, HPE wanted to build more AI into its business. But the purchase rang antitrust alarm bells. Prior to the merger, HPE and Juniper were the second and third largest companies in the wireless network market respectively, behind Cisco. The DOJ sued in January to block the merger—its first antitrust challenge under Trump’s second term. And then, abruptly, it dropped the case and settled in June, after winning some relatively small-bore concessions from the companies. The firings were the result of an internal feud—specifically, an argument over the potential influence of Trump-connected lawyers hired by HPE. DOJ higher-ups had overruled Slater and her antitrust division to accept HPE’s settlement offer and drop the suit. The department said that the decision “was based only on the merits of the transaction.” An official at the White House said that the allegations of political meddling in the deal were “inaccurate and untrue,” and that it had not held a meeting regarding HPE in the past several weeks.