Coverage of how Internet service is deployed, used and regulated.
Internet/Broadband
Biden-Harris Administration Approves Mississippi and South Dakota’s “Internet for All” Initial Proposal
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approved Mississippi and South Dakota’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This approval enables Mississippi and South Dakota to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service. This action allows states to request:
In national broadband rollout, rural landscapes pose a challenge
The state of Kentucky was allotted $1.1 billion to get every home hooked up to high-speed internet.
How a small Kentucky town was 10 years ahead of the government
The town of McKee (KY), population 800, was ahead of the curve. The federal government is currently implementing the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, with the goal of connecting every home to high-speed internet by 2030. In McKee, the nonprofit Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative already did that—a decade ago. PRTC has about 55 employees and is based in Jackson County, where McKee is the county seat. PRTC borrowed $45 million from the federal government—in part from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a Great Recession-era stimulus bill.
Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Deliver More Projects More Quickly, Accelerates Federal Permitting
The Biden-Harris Administration is announcing two new actions that will help build more projects, more quickly.
CrowdStrike and digital ecosystem transitivity
On July 19, 2024, a major global outage was caused by a faulty software update issued by CrowdStrike, a prominent cybersecurity firm.
FWA Wins 2Q 2024
Broadband subscriber additions from the first two quarters of 2024 give us an insight into some industry trends. Cable companies are starting to lose an increasing number of customers. Fixed wireless access (FWA) cellular carriers collectively added 933,000 customers in Q2. Telephone companies collectively showed a small gain for Q2, although all of the telephone companies reported significant fiber sales.
California AI bill passes State Assembly, pushing AI fight to Newsom
The California State Assembly passed a bill on August 28 that would enact the nation’s strictest regulations on artificial intelligence companies, pushing the fierce fight over how to regulate AI toward Gov.
California passes school cellphone restrictions
At Dymally High School in South Los Angeles, test scores are slightly up, fights are down and teachers can better focus on instruction—and Principal Darvina Bradley credits her campus cellphone ban. This scene is one California lawmakers are hoping to replicate with their approval of statewide school cellphone restrictions. The Phone-Free Schools Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Assemblyman Josh Hoover (R-Folsom), sailed through the Legislature and requires all public schools to devise a policy by July 1, 2026, to limit or prohibit smartphones during the school day.
Memorandum of Understanding Between the FCC and Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Privacy Commissioner of Canada Philippe Dufresne to strengthen information sharing and enforcement cooperation between the two regulators.
Appeals Court Raises Questions Over Section 230 Law Giving Social-Media Companies Legal Immunity
The Philadelphia-based Third U.S.