What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
From Crumbs to Connections: Minnesota’s Broadband Future
When it comes to federal efforts to close the digital divide, Minnesota has been left behind. Program after program has promised transformational change—yet time and again, your communities are still waiting. But Minnesota has the power—and the track record—to build its own broadband future. Federal broadband programs have failed the state. They promised a feast and delivered crumbs. In the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, ISPs defaulted on 80% of more than $400,000,000 in state RDOF funds and on 78% of the over 142,000 RDOF locations.
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for September 2025 Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the September Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 30, 2025:
Celebrating OTI’s 15 years of impact and reimagining the next 15 years of tech policy
Tech CEOs Take Turns Praising Trump at White House Dinner
President Trump led leaders of the world’s biggest technology companies in a version of his cabinet meetings, in which each participant takes a turn thanking and praising him, this time for his efforts to promote investments in chip manufacturing and artificial intelligence.
The number of satellites in orbit, nearly 12,000, has grown dramatically in recent years. SpaceX has more than 7,800 low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, serving millions of customers in the United States alone. And with its application pending at the FCC, SpaceX plans to launch a Gen-3 constellation with up to 30,000 satellites—each with 10 times the downlink capacity and more than 20 times the uplink capacity of current satellites. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Kuiper has begun launching its LEO constellation, which will consist of 3,200 satellites.
Rural Co-op Executives Press Congress to Modernize Universal Service Fund
Rural broadband executives told lawmakers that Congress must modernize the Universal Service Fund to keep small town networks affordable and sustainable. “USF doesn’t just cover network construction, but also ongoing operations, maintenance, and upgrades,” said witness Karen Jackson-Furman, CEO of West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative.
This hearing will examine President Trump’s artificial intelligence strategy, Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan, which emphasizes the need for accelerated development and deployment of American AI products to preserve the United States’ competitive advantage over China, achieve global AI dominance, and usher in a new golden age of human flourishing that will increase the standard of living for all Americans. The hearing will also explore legislative actions to foster AI innovation by preventing overregulation, streamline the development of American AI infrastructure,
More BEAD Draft Final Proposals Are Released for Public Comment
Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program draft final proposals continue to pour in as each state prepares to submit its final plans to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Each state is deciding how to connect its un- and underserved locations in what is called the Benefit of the Bargain application round. Today's edition of this series covers ten more states' draft final proposals.