StateScoop

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) called for the city to treat broadband like a public utility, unveiling a proposal that would expand affordable internet access across the five boroughs.

States are working toward approvals that could help them soon begin building out their broadband networks with funds from the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program. Drew Garner, director of policy engagement at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, said this begins with getting plans approved by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a step 42 states and three territories have completed.

New York City is extending Big Apple Connect, a program that offers free internet and cable service to public housing residents, for an additional three years, Mayor Eric Adams and city Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser announced. Big Apple Connect, which launched in 2022, has provided more than 150,000 households—or 330,000 residents at 220 public housing developments—with free home internet access, more than any other city in the nation, according to the city. B

An economic development and “revitalization” task force inside the National Governors Association asked its membership to prioritize a list of 11 policy areas for fiscal year 2026. Broadband was among the policies the group asked its members to prioritize, noting the important role that “reliable and accessible internet connectivity plays in bridging the digital divide in our communities.” “Internet access is essential for telehealth, accessing education and workforce development programs, and connecting the 21st century economy,” an 

A group of 23 internet service providers in Texas, backed by the industry group Wireless Internet Service Providers Association, sent a letter to two Senators with concerns about proposed changes to a widely used stretch of shared spectrum featured in the president’s budget bill. The letter notes several concerns about the spectrum policy proposals included in the Senate version of the budget reconciliation bill, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, championed by the Trump administration.

Texas' statewide broadband office announced grant applications are open for a new low Earth orbit satellite program that signals a shift in how the nation is developing its broadband infrastructure. Every state has receiving funding to expand broadband through the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment, or BEAD, program, which was billed as a “bold” step toward universal high-speed internet access by 2

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that his department is “ripping out” the “pointless requirements” inserted by former President Joe Biden into a major broadband program that is set to deliver high-speed internet to millions of Americans. Some broadband analysts have shared Lutnick’s frustration with the requirements in BEAD, which has been in planning and contracting for three years.