What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for September 2026 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 Wednesday, September 30, 2026:
A tradition that honors voices challenging power and shaping a more just media and communications landscape.
Dr. Ruha Benjamin will deliver a riveting lecture, and Richard Prince will receive the Parker Award.
See Unlearn, imagine, build anew: 44th Parker Lecture challenges tech’s dominant narrative
Learn more about the policy priorities of the companies that make up the backbone of the Internet, including digital copyright, AI, privacy, and encryption.
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We are continuing the Federal Communications Commission's push for more builds, more spectrum, and more out of our public safety and consumer protection rules. First up—permitting reform. For too long, outdated and unnecessary environmental rules have slowed America’s builders down. This has left communities stuck and waiting on the wrong side of the digital divide. That is why we will be voting this month on an order that overhauls the FCC’s approach to NEPA. Second, we are making way for more spectrum that can be used for faster broadband from space.
Broadband maps go beyond location. By visualizing this data into maps, the Illinois Broadband Lab translates broadband policy into community action by informing state strategy. Learning how to use these powerful tools will make broadband data accessible, actionable, and understandable for decision-makers at all levels.
When Jordan Arnold became Director of the Washington State Broadband Office in January 2026, the state was on the cusp of a major broadband milestone. Just weeks later, Washington received federal approval for its final BEAD proposal, unlocking more than $1 billion in investment for broadband expansion. Now, almost nine months into her role, Jordan joins Gary Bolton, President & CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association, to discuss how Washington’s broadband strategy is taking shape and what this early implementation phase is revealing.
BEAD Supplemental Deployment Policy Notice
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) provided new guidance to Eligible Entities (States, Territories, and the District of Columbia) regarding the next step in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program implementation.
Broadband Heresies: Or, what Twilight, Harry Potter, X-Men, and The Incredibles can teach us about telecommunications policy
If the character Edward Cullen of the ubiquitous Twilight saga taught us anything (aside from the fact that Robert Pattinson’s hair can do no wrong), it is that being a heretic can be cool. In the series, the Volturi—the Vampiric Council—operates as an authoritative government dictating the terms of vampire life: encouraging slaughter of humans, forbidding certain romance, and eventually seeking the destruction of Edward and Bella’s baby. Cullen went against these vampire norms to protect his loved ones, doing so in a way that made many hearts flutter.
Tech CEOs, Trump Administration Ask G-20 to Adopt Pro-AI Policies
Tech executives and Trump administration officials urged policymakers from other leading economies to minimize artificial-intelligence regulations, arguing that strict rules could strangle an industry capable of supercharging global growth and curing diseases.