Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Headlines Daily Digest
Today | Best Practices When Dealing with BEAD Complexities
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From the Great Migration to Digital Equity: Trust, Discrimination, and Adoption
Broadband Funding
Digital Equity
Spectrum/Wireless
AI
Ownership/Antitrust
Stories From Abroad
Policymakers
On August 25, 2025, a group of 10 House Democrats, led by Rep April McClain Delaney (D-MD), wrote to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and National Telecommunications and Information Administration administrator Arielle Roth regarding Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program non-deployment funds. Specifically, the lawmakers requested formal clarification as to how States can use leftover BEAD funding for non-deployment activities. They wrote, "Broadband deployment is critical; however, its long-term success requires parallel investments in the foundational nondeployment activities that enable effective implementation and adoption. Workforce development and employment, digital safety education, support for remote learning and telehealth and the other nondeployment activities approved under the original Notice of Funding Opportunity are foundational to delivering secure, high-speed internet to our most underserved communities. Nondeployment investments don’t simply complement infrastructure but rather they strengthen States’ projects and holistic connectivity. Providing clear guidance about whether nondeployment activities are eligible uses of BEAD funding empowers States to make responsible, impactful decisions that advance the core objectives of the BEAD Program: digital equity, affordability, adoption, and access." They requested a reply to the letter by September 2, 2025.
Charter Communications continues to manage its way through broadband subscriber losses linked to the demise of the Affordable Connectivity Program in 2024. While the worst appears to be in Charter's rear-view mirror with respect to related subscriber losses, the end of the ACP likely will remain a thorn in Charter's side for months to come, thanks to a recently filed class action lawsuit. A shareholder named Mark Sandoval filed a class action complaint against Charter and two top execs—CEO Chris Winfrey and CFO Jessica Fischer—alleging that they made "false and/or misleading statements" about how the end of the program impacted Charter's business financial impact, and to what degree the demise of the ACP was a "material event" for the Stamford, Connecticut-based cable operator. The complaint was filed August 18 with the US District Court-Southern District of New York. The class action was filed on behalf of those who purchased or otherwise acquired Charter shares, or sold put options on Charter shares between July 26, 2024 and July 24, 2025. Save for summons documents filed on August 18 for Winfrey and Fischer, not much else has been filed in the docket.
The "Digital Determinants" podcast offers critical insights into how historical events, particularly the Great Migration, intersect with today’s pervasive digital inequities. Each episode offers intersectional analysis, tying technological barriers to broader socio-political challenges. Through storytelling, historical frameworks, and actionable insights, the podcast converges different disciplines to advocate for digital equity. This essay describes five episodes of the podcast, connecting their themes to five key recommendations for digital equity advocacy, with the aim of contributing meaningful insights to the broader discourse on this critical issue.
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Storytelling advances digital equity and bridges gaps by raising awareness and fostering understanding and empathy among diverse communities.
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To truly advance digital equity, dedicated leadership at every community level is crucial.
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More outreach and engagement with Black Churches and Black Church Coalitions.
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Digital Equity subject matter experts should be part of every economic council and special group focused on economic development or wealth generation for marginalized communities.
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Contact local elected representatives and demand policies that promote affordable internet access and digital literacy programs.
Kyla Williams Tate is the Director of Digital Equity in the Cook County Office of the President. Her Benton Opportunity Fund Fellowship project traces the relationship between trust, digital discrimination, and digital adoption among the descendants of the Great Migration.
AT&T agreed to buy certain wireless spectrum licenses for about $23 billion in cash from EchoStar after pressure from federal regulators on the satellite-and-wireless company. The Federal Communications Commission recently told EchoStar that it would investigate the company’s compliance with federal requirements to build a nationwide 5G network. EchoStar, which owns both the Dish Network pay-TV brand and Boost Mobile’s wireless service, said in June 2025 that the probe had frozen its ability to make decisions regarding its Boost business, including continued network build-out. EchoStar plans to use the proceeds from the transaction to retire debt and fund its continued operations and growth initiatives, said Chief Executive Hamid Akhavan. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2026, AT&T said.
EchoStar is hoping to put its beef with the Federal Communications Commission to bed via the sale of its 600MHz and 3.45GHz spectrum licenses to incumbent rival AT&T for $23 billion in a deal expected to close in mid-2026. "EchoStar and Boost Mobile have met all of the FCC's network buildout milestones. However, this spectrum sale to AT&T and hybrid MNO agreement are critical steps toward resolving the FCC's spectrum utilization concerns," EchoStar Co-founder and Chairman Charlie Ergen said in a statement. The deal will net AT&T a 30MHz chunk of mid-band 3.45GHz spectrum as well as a 20MHz swath of low-band 600MHz airwaves. Together, the licenses cover 400 markets across the U.S. While it's hard to imagine how EchoStar's Boost Mobile brand will continue to compete in the wireless market without spectrum, it doesn't appear to be going anywhere. The operators have struck a hybrid MNO deal that will allow Boost to continue operating using a combination of its own cloud-native 5G core and AT&T's cell sites.
The US wireless market has been irrevocably altered. AT&T's definitive agreement to acquire 50MHz of nationwide spectrum from EchoStar for approximately $23 billion is not merely a transaction; it is the final, politically brokered act in the long-running drama of the fourth facilities-based carrier. This deal, reportedly urged into existence by President Trump to avert a politically undesirable bankruptcy for a major American company, provides EchoStar with a critical capital infusion to address its crippling debt load and pivots its wireless strategy from a costly network buildout to a more sustainable, capital-light hybrid mobile network operator model, with AT&T serving as its primary network partner. For AT&T, this is a strategic masterstroke, securing a substantial tranche of valuable mid-band and low-band spectrum that immediately enhances its 5G network capacity and competitive posture against T-Mobile and Verizon. This transaction formally ends the regulatory experiment to forge a fourth national competitor. EchoStar, facing insurmountable financial and regulatory pressures, has chosen survival and partnership over a continued, untenable solo buildout. The deal solidifies a three-player national MNO market, with the primary competitive dynamic now revolving around the network capabilities of the big three and the disruptive force of the cable mobile virtual network operators.
Roger Entner is the founder of Recon Analytics.
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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