Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Headlines Daily Digest
Today: Advancing Access Through Collective Advocacy
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Groups to FCC: Continue Assessing Broadband Affordability, Adoption
The Digital Divide
Telecommunications
Ownership
AI
Company News
The Federal Communications Commission should still assess broadband affordability and adoption as part of its annual report on deployment, consumer advocates told the agency. The FCC is set to vote on a notice of inquiry that would kick off its annual report on whether broadband “is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.” The public draft of the inquiry said that section 706 of the Communications Act, which mandates the report, only calls for assessing incremental infrastructure deployment and that the other inquiries, which FCC Chairman Brendan Carr criticized at the time, were unnecessary. Representatives from Public Knowledge, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and X-Lab met with staff from the offices of commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez to urge against the move.
We build and analyze new metrics of digital usage that leverage telemetry data collected by Microsoft during operating system updates across forty million Windows devices in U.S. households. These measures of US household digital usage are much more comprehensive than those made available through any existing commercial or government survey. We construct representations of devices in ZIP codes and find evidence of significant variation in usage reflecting an urban-rural divide. We also show the existence of substantial disparities in usage even within narrowly defined Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Income and education correlate with these observed differences. These effects are large and suggest digital literacy gaps that extend beyond the availability of essential IT infrastructure at the local level. These findings call for interventions beyond the traditional focus on infrastructure access and address usage and skills development.
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) announced the counties in which conditional forbearance from the obligation to offer Lifeline-supported voice service applies. This forbearance applies only to the Lifeline voice obligation of eligible telecommunications carriers (ETCs) that are designated for purposes of receiving both high-cost and Lifeline support (high-cost/Lifeline ETCs), and not to Lifeline-only ETCs. The 2016 Lifeline Order established conditional forbearance from Lifeline voice obligations in targeted areas where certain competitive conditions are met. To accomplish this forbearance, the FCC directed the Bureau to release a yearly public notice announcing the counties in which the competitive conditions are met. In particular, the FCC granted forbearance from high cost/Lifeline ETCs’ obligation to offer and advertise Lifeline voice service in counties where the following conditions are met: (1) at least 51% of Lifeline subscribers in the county are obtaining broadband Internet access service; (2) there are at least three other providers of Lifeline broadband Internet access service that each serve at least 5% of the Lifeline broadband subscribers in that county; and (3) the ETC does not actually receive federal high-cost universal service support. The counties listed in this public notice meet the two competitive conditions; and for ETCs that are receiving high-cost support in these counties, the forbearance applies only in areas within the county where the ETC does not receive high-cost support.
As part of its ongoing mission to prepare individuals in custody for successful reentry and community reintegration, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced that, effective August 1, 2025, the Department will make contact with family and loved ones more accessible. Phone calls made by incarcerated individuals—via tablets or facility phones—will be free of charge. This significant policy change eliminates financial barriers to communication and aims to strengthen the vital connections between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. Maintaining meaningful relationships with family and friends is a key factor in promoting positive behavior and successful reintegration upon reentry to the community. This announcement comes at a time when DOCCS continues to recover, recruit and rebuild following the illegal strike earlier this year, and this new program provides an important productive activity and means to communicate while programming and visitation has not fully been restored across the system.
Amphenol Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire CommScope’s Connectivity and Cable Solutions business for $10.5 billion in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. The transaction expands Amphenol’s interconnect product capabilities in the fast-growing IT datacom market, particularly adding fiber optic interconnect products for artificial intelligence and other data center applications, and further diversifies Amphenol’s broad portfolio of fiber optic and other interconnect product solutions in the communications networks and industrial markets.
Lumen Technologies reported results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025. Highlights included:
- Strong revenue and Adjusted EBITDA despite approximately $46 million in one-time revenue givebacks associated with the Federal Communications Commission's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund.
- Announced an agreement to sell Lumen’s consumer fiber business to AT&T for $5.75 billion, sharpening the company’s enterprise focus and unlocking the financial flexibility to invest in our strengths.
- Completed a $2 billion bond offering, extending maturities to 2033 and reducing annual interest expense by approximately $50 million.
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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Benton Institute
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