Federal

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote to Jason Matheny, president and CEO of the RAND Corporation to express concern about RAND's involvement in drafting the Biden-Harris' Artificial Intelligence Executive Order. Specifically, he asked Matheny to answer the following five questions:

A long-running issue resurfaced recently asking if light poles should be made available for telecommunications.

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington replied to letters from Sens Ed Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) calling on all Commissioners to act objectively, in accordance with the Communications Act and the First Amendment, in license grants, renewals, and transfers. Commissioner Simington replied: “I am pleased to commit to making license determinations objectively and fairly, in compliance with the Communications Act and in a manner that upholds the First Amendment.

Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington released a statement regarding the ongoing negotiation between Disney and DirecTV. He touched on three concerns about the media marketplace. "One: about a third of linear network content distributed in the United States is now delivered by over the top, streaming platforms. Two: there is zero harmonization, whether in our rules or in industry practice, between network video content distribution over traditional linear MVPDs versus over the top, streaming MVPDs.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded Phoenix College more than $4.25 million from the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program to improve high-speed Internet service capacity and workforce development training.

Merit Network and Michigan State University have completed the MOON-Light initiative, a multi-million-dollar project funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Infrastructure Program. This effort established Michigan’s Open Optical Network, addressing critical infrastructure gaps by deploying middle-mile fiber optic technology across 74 counties. By connecting local internet service providers (ISPs), MOON-Light brings affordable, high-speed broadband to underserved areas, benefiting over 28,000 homes.

Internet service providers including Charter, Verizon and Comcast are shifting customers away from the Affordable Connectivity Program, an expired federal internet subsidy that helped low-income households pay for broadband. The $14.2 billion program, which went into effect in December 2021, served roughly

Lawmakers working to revamp an $8 billion-per-year broadband subsidy still haven’t come to an agreement, said Rep Bob Latta (R-OH). The Fifth Circuit ruled in July 2024 that the fund in its current state is unconstitutional, which the government intends to appeal. The Capitol Hill group includes members of both parties and chambers of Congress.

Charter Communications' top executive appears to be warming up to the Biden administration’s $42.5 billion broadband expansion program. However, he said it will still depend on individual state rules. Charter CEO Christopher Winfrey has previously expressed disappointment with the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program’s rules around capped plans for low-income households and labor standards. He emphasized the company would stay out of states, which have some flexibility in implementing the program, where rules were unfavorable. 

The city of Superior (WI) recently broke ground on a city-owned fiber network that aims to lower costs and provide more reliable internet service for residents. Utility crews began installing tubes that house fiber optic cables for the first phase of the ConnectSuperior network in a neighborhood near the University of Wisconsin-Superior.