Agenda

As electric cooperatives descend upon Washington (DC) for their fifth-annual Broadband Leadership Summit, they bring with them a number of policy priorities and concerns. Among those is their growing distress at the direction of the federal government's $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

Whether they fully appreciate it or not, Californians will be deciding on the future of global AI regulation when they head to the voting booths on June 1. AI is a hot button issue across the world, but much of the national and international policy governing the technology still begins in California, where the most advanced AI labs are headquartered.

Another federal broadband subsidy may soon be restructured to account for the growing role of SpaceX’s Starlink. The low-Earth orbit satellite internet provider, having already gained legitimacy within broadband deployment programs administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has also found a receptive audience at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

Americans depend on our national rail network in much the same way we depend on wireless networks: to connect communities and keep our economy running. But the two sectors have very different footprints on the map, leading to very different outcomes—and it is time railroads get the chance to catch up with the wireless marketplace. Over the past decades, private investment has transformed U.S. wireless networks into a largely seamless, nationwide system.

The Illinois House of Representatives passed a landmark bill Wednesday that would set a new standard for regulating America’s leading AI companies if Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) signs it. The bill, SB 315, mirrors existing provisions in legislation in California and New York requiring frontier AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to create, publish, and annually update plans to address severe or catastrophic risks from their AI models. It would also mandate annual independent third-party audits of such AI companies on safety issues, which would be a first for any AI legislation in the U.S.

President Donald Trump’s sudden decision to scrap an AI executive order on May 21 has exposed a rift within the White House on how to regulate the emerging technology. There are three main camps in the West Wing, per two senior White House officials. The first, which includes former AI czar David Sacks, favors less regulation to help the industry compete against China.

Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty visited Nebraska on a visit hosted by Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), where she met with government, military, nonprofit, and private-sector stakeholders working to strengthen U.S. leadership in advanced communications technologies. "During my recent trip to Nebraska, I saw firsthand the critical role advanced communications technologies play in keeping Americans safe and connected, including in some of the nation’s most rural communities,” said Commissioner Trusty.