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More than $53 million in middle-mile broadband expansion grants were recommended for approval by the Oklahoma Broadband Governing Board. The Oklahoma middle-mile projects, recommended for approval by the Grants Review Committee, are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. Several additional projects were recommended for approval “should funding become available.”

The latest stakeholder to send a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is Sky Fiber Internet, the largest Nevada Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment awardee in the rural broadband funding program. In the letter, the company urged Lutnick to expedite contract finalization and issue guidance so construction can begin. “Delays not only risk higher costs and lost labor but also erode public confidence in what is arguably the most ambitious and promising broadband investment in our nation’s history,” said Sky Fiber Internet CEO Garry Gomes in the letter.

GoNetspeed hopes that a change in Massachusetts pole attachment rules will enable the company to complete its planned $250 million fiber build in the state more quickly. As Jamie Hoare, GoNetspeed's Chief Legal Counsel, explained, Massachusetts is one of multiple states where communications network operators are not bound by Federal Communications Commission One-Touch-Make-Ready rules. Instead, the state sets its own pole attachment rules.

The U.S. Commerce Department is not likely to announce changes to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program until June or July, according to Blair Levin, policy advisor for financial analyst firm New Street Research. Previously, an announcement had been expected around mid-May. Levin pointed to the Senate’s recent nomination hearing for Arielle Roth as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. While Republicans tended to ask Roth softball questions, those from some rural states were a bit more probing.

Missouri’s Office of Broadband Development reported that scoring and initial determinations for Round 1 of the state’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program process could result in preliminary awards for 150,712 eligible locations. The state is not announcing who the winners are, however. Missouri is set to receive $1.736 billion in BEAD funding. The OBD is part of the state’s Department of Economic Development.

California Assembly Bill 353—which promises affordable internet for those who qualify for it—recently advanced when it passed the state’s Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee by a vote of 7 to 2. The bill faced hefty opposition from the telecommunications, cable, and broadband industry. AB 353 would require internet service providers operating in California to offer affordable home internet to eligible residents of the state, according to a press statement made by California Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, who introduced the bill to the California Assembly earlier in 2025.

BBB National Programs’ National Advertising Division is taking exception to some of Cox Communications’ advertising claims. The National Advertising Division is recommending that Cox, a broadband service provider, modify its multi-gigabit advertising claims, particularly the comparison to AT&T. The two companies offer competing internet services in some U.S. markets. Specifically, the advertising division is recommending that Cox discontinue the claim “Multi Gig Speeds Everywhere” or modify it to accurately reflect the availability of its 2 Gbps tier service.