What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
To unleash AI innovation, stop model providers from picking the winners
Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to find its way into every corner of our digital lives. The headlines focus on ever-bigger models, but the future will be determined by applications built on those models. Who builds those applications—the ones that will reshape medicine, education, software development, and mundane back-end enterprise services—has not yet been decided. Whether future applications will be determined by oligopolists or entrepreneurs depends on who controls the infrastructure those applications need.
The AI Infrastructure Revolution Happening in Your Community
While headlines focus on massive hyperscale data centers in remote locations, a quieter but significant infrastructure shift is unfolding closer to home. Smaller AI computing centers are beginning to appear deep in America’s towns and cities—at existing telecommunications facilities, at the base of cell towers, and even at power substations—often without local and state officials realizing it.
SpaceX: Sunset High-Cost Programs
On May 11th through 13th, SpaceX met with the offices of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Carr, FCC Commissioner Trusty, and FCC Commissioner Gomez, and with the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, to discuss reassessment of High-Cost programs in the context of satellite broadband services delivering broadband at competitive rates throughout the areas supported by High-Cost programs... The rapid growth of low-Earth orbit satellite broadband service in recent years has made high-speed, low-latency broadband access available throughout the entirety of the United States.
The discussion will get into the details regarding the commercial and technical merits of different bands of spectrum slated for study by the NTIA pursuant to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the evolving relationships between low-earth-orbit systems and terrestrial mobile networks, and the status of efforts to do more with less via more efficient spectrum-based protocols and equipment. And it wouldn’t be a D.C.
Witnesses
Kristin Darby
Chief Information Officer, the State of Tennessee
Colin Ahern
Director of Security and Intelligence, the State of New York
Warren Sponholtz
Chief Information Officer, the State of Florida
Samir Jain
Vice President of Policy, Center for Democracy & Technology
Rhode Island Legislators Take Aim at 16-Year-Old Broadband Law
Rhode Island lawmakers are looking to overhaul a 2009 broadband law they say limits the state's ability to hold internet providers accountable for pricing, outages, and service quality. The Rhode Island Broadband Oversight and Accountability Act would revise the state's Broadband Deployment and Investment Act and allow officials to collect broadband performance and availability data independently. “I was shocked to learn how extensively this 16-year-old Rhode Island law restricts Rhode Island
See a quick breakdown of the Fiber Broadband Association Curated Conference Programs planned for Fiber Connect 2026. May 17-20, 2026.
Hispanic Federation, Hispanic Tech and Telecommunications Partnerships (HTTP) and leading national and community-based advocacy organizations are mobilizing a nationwide response to protect digital access programs through the launch of the “Digital Equity Act Month of Action."
The effort marks the one-year anniversary of the cancellation of the Digital Equity Act (DEA) , a federal program designed to expand digital access, skills, and opportunity nationwide.
The Digital Equity Act Is About Universal, Meaningful Connectivity
A year ago today, President Trump abruptly “canceled” the Digital Equity Act (DEA) for being a “woke handout.” The DEA, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021, directed funding to states, territories, and community organizations to address the Digital Divide and ensure that everyone has internet-enabled devices, reliable internet service, and the skills needed to use broadband to improve their lives.
The current state of broadband deployment under the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, with a focus on how funding is translating into on-the-ground infrastructure. Panelists will provide an update on state implementation efforts, subgrantee selection, and evolving compliance obligations, while highlighting key legal and regulatory issues emerging during deployment.