Federal Agency

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Nevada’s Final Proposal for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative to connect everyone in America to affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. Nevada’s Final Proposal outlines its plan for using the more than $416 million in allocated BEAD funding to connect 43,715 households and businesses.

In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the FCC seeks to unlock the full potential of broadband in the 896–901/935–940 MHz band (900 MHz band) by proposing a framework that will enable increased broadband deployment on all ten megahertz of the band’s spectrum while also maintaining the option of narrowband operations to meet the needs of incumbents in the band.

Following recent reports involving an intrusion by foreign actors into U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission selected 707 participants for the Schools and Libraries Cybersecurity Pilot Program, including 645 schools and districts, 50 libraries, and 12 consortia. Participants in the three-year pilot program will receive support to defray the costs of eligible cybersecurity services and equipment and provide the FCC with data to better understand whether and how universal service funds could be used to improve school and library defenses against increasing cyberattacks.

Republican Senate aide Olivia Trusty has been picked as a commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, President-elect Trump announced on Truth Social. Trusty currently serves as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Before that, she was policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee, where "she has fought tirelessly to grow the Economy, empower Innovation, and reignite the American Dream," said Trump. Trusty has staffed Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH).

On January 13, 2025, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced its approval of Louisiana’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal. Delaware’s approval followed the next day. With those two landmarks, coming as the fourth year since the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) begins to elapse, the BEAD program is at last beginning to bear fruit.

In late 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Commerce Data Governance Board launched the AI and Open Government Data Working Group. The working group, consisting of AI and data experts throughout the Department of Commerce (Commerce), was tasked with evaluating how the Department could enhance the creation, curation, and distribution of its open data assets to best meet the needs of users who leverage generative AI applications to interact with Commerce’s open data. This guidance provides actionable guidelines and best practices for publishing open data optimized for generative AI systems.

On Jan 16, the Federal Communications Commission denied four filings that asked the FCC to use the agency's licensing authority to penalize broadcast television stations because of content or coverage aired on the stations. In a statement released alongside the denials, outgoing FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel explained the decision, writing, "The facts and legal circumstances in each of these cases are different. But what they share is that they seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.

A look at the impacts of universal service support mechanisms and the method used to finance them. Section 1 of the report provides an update on industry revenues, universal service program funding requirements, and contribution factors. Sections 2 through 5 provide the latest data on the low-income, high-cost, schools and libraries, and rural health care support mechanisms. Section 6 presents recent U.S.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has a "fairly lengthy list" of last-minute Biden regulations that Republicans may try to undo in the coming weeks. The Congressional Review Act (CRA) gives Congress until mid-May to reverse what Republicans are calling the "midnight rules" of the Biden administration.