The Federal Communications Commission has voted to launch a review of its system for collecting data on network outages and restoration during major disasters. This action will pave the way for reforms to the FCC’s Disaster Information Reporting System to make sure that its benefits outweigh its burdens. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking begins a thorough review of DIRS to modernize the system for reporting and proposes changes to reduce the reporting burdens on providers during disasters, while increasing the utility of the reports. This includes simplifying reporting requirements, limiting DIRS reporting obligations to facilities-based providers, and promoting federal and state agencies’ ability to obtain direct access to NORS and DIRS filings by eliminating unnecessary access requirements, among other improvements for efficiency.

While I have concerns over the potential change of direction this FCC may soon take in how we fulfill our obligation to provide a clear and accurate picture of broadband availability in this country, I am nevertheless supporting this Notice of Inquiry so the public can weigh in on this issue. How we measure this country’s progress of connecting everyone, everywhere to the number one tool to participate in modern day life is important, and we should not retreat from the bold and forward-looking vision this agency had previously embraced ... Under the previous Administration, the FCC correctly set a benchmark of 100/20 Mbps—moving us away from a measurement of mediocrity toward a respectable floor where we can build momentum for future innovation and continued global leadership. Under that same approach, the FCC also set the long-term goal of 1 Gigabit per second download speed, which set this country apart in ways that signaled a forward-looking approach to global technological competitiveness. It reflected this nation’s history of striving to do big and bold things. Nothing prevents us from continuing that tradition. Arguments that seek to paint that goal as an effort to ‘pick winners and losers’ are as nonsensical as having told President Kennedy’s NASA to abandon the space race’s goal of reaching the Moon out of fear of failure or because of it cost too much.

The U.S. Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act by a vote of 87-9. The bill, which provides $27.1 billion in discretionary funding, invests in America’s rural communities, supports our nation’s farmers and ranchers, ensures the security of our food supply, and maintains nutritional support for low-income American families. Highlights include:

• Rural Development: $3.7 billion to support rural development programs across the U.S., including $1.7 billion for affordable housing rental assistance for low-income families and seniors in rural communities as requested by the Administration; $1 billion in lending authority for Single-Family Housing direct loans and $25 billion in lending authority for the guaranteed Single-Family Housing loans; $1.3 billion for rural water and waste grants and loans; $1.8 billion in grants and loans for rural business and industry programs that promote small business growth in rural areas; $8 billion in lending authority for rural electric loans; and $96 million for rural broadband grants and loans. The bill also eliminates funding for the Biden-era Rural Partners Network initiative and maintains “Buy American” provisions that maximize the federal government's use of domestic products.

It seems the 90-day timeline the current administration allocated for states to resubmit their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program proposals has folks in the industry stressed. The new rules for BEAD program have put everyone on a very tight (and simultaneous) timeline. The new BEAD notice of funding opportunity was released on June 6 and state broadband offices have been scrambling to re-do their bidding processes and prepare the second versions of their Final Proposals—all before September 4. They’ve had to update their BEAD eligible location lists and reopen their pre-qualification processes for applicants under the new round of bidding that’s referred to as the “Benefit of the Bargain” round. Then, beginning on September 4, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration will have to work the midnight hours to review everything, meet with representatives of each of the 50 states and six territories, and get BEAD disbursements out the door by the end of the year as promised by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Prior to all the changes from the Trump Administration, the process had been staggered with some states, such as Louisiana, ready to put shovels in the ground in January, and other states in various stages of readiness. Consultant Carol Mattey said, “Everything is jammed into this one date in September rather than a rolling timeline, funneling all the decisions into a single moment in time.”

The Healey-Driscoll administration and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute awarded $31,548,018 to four internet service providers to increase internet access for affordable and public housing residents statewide. MBI provided the funds through the state’s Residential Retrofit Program, which expands reliable, high-speed internet service by addressing inadequate wiring and infrastructure through grants to qualified ISPs. This round of grant funding will modernize internet access in more than 13,700 housing units across Massachusetts, including the installation of fiber-optic or CAT6 internet infrastructure, customer home-based equipment, and Wi-Fi service to residences in 60 municipalities across the state. The upgrades aim to increase connectivity, reduce cost burdens and improve digital access for low-income residents. 

Arizona and New Mexico reported a surge in applications for federal broadband funding after being directed to relaunch “technology-neutral” grant rounds under the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program. Nick Capozzi, Arizona’s state broadband director, said that the state received 33 percent more applications in the latest round. Capozzi said that every location in the state received at least one bid. On June 6, states were instructed by the National Telecommunication and Information Administration to run new “technology-neutral” bidding rounds to disburse BEAD funding, called the Benefit of the Bargain round. Arizona wasn’t the only state to report positive outcomes from the BoB round. Andrew Wilder, New Mexico’s BEAD program director, said two additional providers applied for funding, and the state received 87 applications—20 more than before.

Online scams and other internet crimes are skyrocketing, with a record $16.6 billion in losses reported to the FBI in 2024. The federal government, banks and companies are all sounding alarms. And the public is also wary, with many having firsthand experience: 

• Nearly all Americans view online scams and attacks as a national problem. More than nine in ten say online scams and attacks are a problem in the country, including 79 percent who describe them as a major problem.
• Most U.S. adults have been victims of an online scam or attack. We find that 73 percent of U.S. adults have ever experienced things like credit card fraud, ransomware, or online shopping scams.

While Americans see older adults as more vulnerable to these crimes, significant portions of both older and younger adults have been scammed and targeted online. 

In the next job market downturn—whether it's already starting or years away—there just might be a bloodbath for millions of workers whose jobs can be supplanted by artificial intelligence. In the last several economic cycles, recessions have been a period in which companies opportunistically ramped up their use of automation to lower their long-term need for workers. If that pattern holds, AI-driven productivity gains and job losses are likely to be more severe in any bumpy period for the overall economy. If the recent soft jobs report and negative revisions turn out to be an early warning sign of a broader labor market downturn, this moment of rapid technological change could make it particularly painful.
 

Just how far is the U.S. ahead of China in the AI race? The conventional wisdom is that the U.S. has an edge on China in artificial intelligence—and President Donald Trump’s ambitious new AI policy is built around keeping it. What it means to have an “edge” is ill-defined: it could be technological, economic or geopolitical. “I don’t know how to answer that,” said Suresh Venkatasubramanian, who served in the Biden White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, when DFD asked if the U.S. is ahead. “There’s so many dimensions.” “American [AI] models are about 3 [to] 6 months ahead of Chinese models,” White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks told DFD in a statement—though he added that when it comes to semiconductors, the U.S.’ lead “grows to years.” There’s also the proposition that China is ahead in some ways—in part because the U.S.’ chip export controls arguably led DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, to make breakthroughs in developing more efficient AI algorithms. Depending on which dimension you care about, the race could steer policy in very different directions.