Internet/Broadband

British Telecom is buying TalkTalk Telecommunications and its subsidiary PlatformX Communications for about $540 million. BT said it’s buying the companies to “keep them out of administration,” which is a U.K. process similar to bankruptcy in the U.S. BT said that by buying the companies it is protecting services for 1.5 million TalkTalk residential broadband customers along with 1 million wholesale customers. TalkTalk and PlatformX were taken private by Toscafund in 2021 and subsequently backed by major creditor Ares Management. TalkTalk is not an infrastructure-based broadband provider.

The Federal Communications Commission's Space Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau grant-in-part and defer-in-part the application, as amended, of Space Exploration Holdings, LLC to deploy and operate a new constellation of 15,000 non-geostationary orbit satellites. The D2D System is authorized for the provision of direct-to-device services using Mobile Satellite Service and Supplemental Coverage from Space operations in the United States, MSS and MSS direct-to-cell outside of the United States, and related Fixed-Satellite Service operations. With this action, SpaceX’s planned depl

On August 18, 2026, OpenAI announced ChatGPT for Teens, promising "stronger built-in safety protections," including parental notifications for dangerous chats, a Study mode that can be controlled by parents, and reduced "friend"-like behavior. We tested more than 4,000 prompts before and after the Teen mode launch and rated ChatGPT an Unacceptable Risk for all children under 18. We call on OpenAI to pause marketing the product and to keep teens off of ChatGPT until it can offer a safe, developmentally appropriate experience.

On June 4, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, seeking comment on “measures the Commission can take…to better protect children when using E-Rate funded networks, including to limit screen time.” In response, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration held a virtual listening session, FCC’s E-Rate and Screen Use NPRM, on September 16, 2026.

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.

While the Internet has become essential infrastructure for modern life, online linguistic diversity remains limited, with only about ten languages accounting for most content despite more than 7,000 languages spoken worldwide. As artificial intelligence accelerates the pace of digital interaction, this concentration threatens to deepen linguistic homogenization at an unprecedented scale, quietly excluding billions of people from the opportunities the Internet provides.

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.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced that, following an open and competitive selection process, Identity Digital has been selected as the new administrator of .us, the United States country code Top Level Domain (usTLD).

Ofcom opened an investigation into whether Meta has failed to comply with its duties under the UK’s Online Safety Act, by not adequately assessing the risks posed by Instagram Instants before it launched. Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, tech firms must assess and mitigate the risk of people in the UK encountering illegal content, and platforms likely to be accessed by children must also assess and mitigate the risk of under