Individuals who primarily Reside in a Rural Area

Typically, when I’m on the road, I split my time between sharing what’s happening in Washington (DC) and gathering information on what’s happening in the field. But the conversations during my recent two-stop swing were unexpectedly different. To be clear, we still did the “DC update,” compared notes on operational issues, and talked a lot about the interaction of the two. That’s so valuable, and I can’t pass up those opportunities.

A federal broadband subsidy program under financial duress could get bailed out by AI-related companies, as policymakers consider making major users of broadband infrastructure contribute to universal service. Universal service reform could expand the pool of companies that help finance broadband networks to include hyperscalers, cloud providers and other major users of internet infrastructure, according to former Federal Communications Commission officials and broadband advocates. 

Awards from a $50 billion federal rural health fund included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act from July 2025 are now paying for digital health care records and home monitoring devices. But whether that remote care reaches a patient still depends on the connection in the patient's home or pocket. Maine's first-year share of that fund is $190 million, according to Andrew Solomon, a senior program manager at MCD Global Health, the Maine public health nonprofit administering the work.

President Donald Trump has been adamant about one thing: the United States is in an existential race against the People’s Republic of China to win the biggest prize of all: AI dominance. President Trump has also weighed in on the side of data centers to meet the demand provided by accelerated AI adoption. Microsoft recently reported a $680 billion backlog in demand for its cloud services—an 84 percent increase over the previous year.

The Oklahoma Broadband Office is celebrating the completion of eight broadband infrastructure projects by Indian Electric Cooperative that will expand fiber-optic connectivity across several rural Oklahoma communities. The projects were funded through Oklahoma’s American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund broadband program. IEC received approximately $17.7 million for four last-mile and four middle-mile projects. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development invested nearly $25 billion in loans and grants in fiscal year 2026. These investments are helping rural communities grow and maintain critical services that families, farmers, and businesses rely on every day. Rural Development invested $267 million (yes, 1% of the USDA's investment in rural America) to expand internet access to rural households, farms, businesses, and community institutions.

Governments spend billions of dollars to bring broadband to places that lack it. This report asks how much of the new service in the places six programs came from the subsidies, and how much would have arrived anyway. We compare the areas each program funded with similar areas it did not fund, track both over time, and call the difference the program’s effect. The main measure is access, whether a location can buy at least 100/20 Mbps from a wired or licensed wireless provider.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) launched a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the E-Rate program, asking if E-Rate is still necessary and how the program should change. This proceeding could drastically impact the work of the schools and libraries that rely on E-Rate funding. Every state has E-Rate coordinators that help schools and libraries navigate the federal program.

Consumers' Research is a nonprofit consumer-education organization. Its members and the individual consumers with whom it works pay a "Federal Universal Service Charge" as a separate line item on their phone bills. That charge is a tax. It is now, by the Federal Communications Commission's own proposal, 42 percent of interstate telecommunications revenues for the fourth quarter of 2026—the highest contribution factor in the history of the Fund. The High-Cost program is the principal reason.

Spectrum announced completion of its multi-year rural construction initiative to expand its fiber broadband network, making Spectrum Internet services available to more than 1,300 homes and small businesses in Somerset County (MD). The expansion encompassed more than 133 miles of construction. Combined with state and County contributions totaling more than $10.3 million, total project investment, including more than $2.1 million from Spectrum, is more than $12.5 million.