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Arkansas State Broadband Director Glen Howie said that the state had experienced a 25 percent decline in the number of applicants seeking funding from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The state went from 44 applicants in the original BEAD program to just 33 in the "Benefit of the Bargain" round.

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 sa

A coalition of public interest groups filed a formal challenge to a recent bureau-level decision at the Federal Communications Commission to delay rate caps that would make prison phone calls more affordable. Public interest groups including Worth Rises, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, filed an application for review urging the FCC to overturn the 

One year after a key federal broadband subsidy ran out of money, millions of low-income American households have found themselves forced to reduce spending on food, medical care, and other essentials just to stay online. The Affordable Connectivity Program, hailed as a lifeline during the pandemic, expired on June 1, 2024, with no federal replacement in sight. More than 23 million U.S. households had relied on the $30-a-month broadband subsidy during its run from December 2021 to May 2024.

The Fiber Broadband Association joined those urging the Commerce Department not to make sweeping changes to the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program. States “have the best understanding of their budget, the topology, their climate, unique challenges, and the families and communities that they seek to serve,” the group wrote in a Friday letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. “There is no group better qualified and accountable to make the best decisions on which technology should be used to serve each broadband serviceable location in their state.”

Local officials in West Virginia are sending a message about the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program: They want money to deploy fiber and do not want to settle for satellite Internet service like Elon Musk’s Starlink. In an April 18 letter to Governor Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) all three members of the Grant County Commission said fiber better aligned with the county’s unique geography, socioeconomic needs, and long-term development goals. “It is evident that fiber-to-the-home provides a more sustainable, equitable and high-performance option for our community,” Commission

Kristi Westbrock, CEO and general manager of Consolidated Telecommunications Company, warned that imposing a per-location price cap under the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program would be “terribly detrimental” to the state’s progress toward universal fiber access. “All of the locations that are left are really high-cost areas,” she said at the USTelecom 2025 American Connectivity Forum. “So, the number one leading concern definitely is the discussion around ca

Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Congress should fund the $8.1 billion Universal Service Fund through annual appropriations. “I do think that the time has come for Congress to shift this to a general appropriation,” said Pai, FCC chairman from 2017 to 2021. “[If USF were funded by appropriation] we wouldn’t have this situation now where we’re essentially getting more and more money from a declining base of contributors.”

Efforts to expand high-speed internet access in Wisconsin have hit a political roadblock, stalled by partisan infighting, according to Democratic Assembly members. A budget proposal made by Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI)) seeking $750 million in state funding to supplement federal broadband dollars was removed during the final stages from the state’s 2023-25 budget by Republican lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee. Rep.