Fierce

It’s been nearly a year since President Joe Biden named Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as his pick to become the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission, but the nominee’s prospects of actually being installed are as unclear as ever. A fresh report from The Deal tipped Sohn to squeak through the Senate confirmation process during a lame duck session in the coming months. But New Street Research analyst Blair Levin warned it’s extremely difficult to predict what will happen.

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small warned changing the definition of what counts as “rural” broadband could negatively impact programs like the agency’s ReConnect initiative, resulting in a greater disparity between available funding and requests than already exists.

Outgoing Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei revealed the operator has already secured tens of millions in broadband grant awards this year, as it pursues as much as $1 billion in government funding to boost its fiber expansion plan. Goei indicated it has received around $50 million so far this year to help it reach between 40,000 and 45,000 locations.