If the character Edward Cullen of the ubiquitous Twilight saga taught us anything (aside from the fact that Robert Pattinson’s hair can do no wrong), it is that being a heretic can be cool. In the series, the Volturi—the Vampiric Council—operates as an authoritative government dictating the terms of vampire life: encouraging slaughter of humans, forbidding certain romance, and eventually seeking the destruction of Edward and Bella’s baby. Cullen went against these vampire norms to protect his loved ones, doing so in a way that made many hearts flutter. In the spirit of Edward’s heresy, this article examines three broadband policies considered by many to be heretical yet legitimate policy options that warrant credence and space. Like in Edward’s case, heresy is an important act of rebellion if the system is flawed. Specifically, I write of rate regulation, overbuilding, and technology neutrality. According to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, heresy is “dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice.” Either supporting these ideas (rate regulation and overbuilding) or opposing them (technology neutrality) is considered heretical by those who adhere to a particularly egregious form of market-based decision-making, in which the provider knows best, and consumers’ voices are muted. The myths surrounding these heresies, whether in support of technology neutrality or in opposition to rate regulation and active overbuilding, stand in the way of meaningful, affordable connectivity for all (though they do ensure healthy returns on investment for providers). It’s not that we must always agree, but rather that any mention of these policy ideas stops discussion in its tracks. It’s time we reconsider their usefulness in securing universal service; it’s time to follow the path of Edward Cullen, great hair and all.  

Optimum Communications Chairman and CEO Dennis Mathew dropped a bit of news on Optimum's Q2 earnings call about the company's growing mobile business, noting that the operator recently expanded its multiyear Mobile Virtual Network Operator agreement with T-Mobile. Specific financial terms were not shared, but Mathew said the resulting benefits include support for connected wearables, "stronger roaming," improved coverage in rural areas and a path to tailor mobile packages for business service customers. The new agreement enters the picture as Optimum's mobile business gathers some steam. Optimum added 49,900 mobile lines in Q2, a record in that period that extended the company's total to 724,000 mobile lines.

Tech executives and Trump administration officials urged policymakers from other leading economies to minimize artificial-intelligence regulations, arguing that strict rules could strangle an industry capable of supercharging global growth and curing diseases. Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX were among the speakers at a Group of 20 summit focused on innovation and technology, and they cautioned that aggressive regulations could limit the benefits of AI. Their message was echoed by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, White House AI adviser David Sacks and Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, who said the administration’s light-touch strategy is boosting the economy. “Don’t regulate hypothetical, theoretical harm. Regulate actual and pragmatic harm,” Huang told officials from the G-20 countries, adding that tech advancements such as advanced model training to make models more accurate are making AI safer than regulations proposed by the Biden administration and others.