Level of Government

When President Joe Biden nominated Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, the longtime consumer advocate expected to face criticism over her desire to expand free internet access and improve competition among broadband providers. Instead, Sohn found herself the target of an aggressive campaign funded by a conservative group that doesn’t have to disclose its donors. The American Accountability Foundation called Sohn too partisan, anti-police, and soft on sex trafficking.

The South Carolina Broadband Office (SCBBO) created a $100 million grant program based upon the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) 

Governor Laura Kelly (D-KS) highlighted a new program aimed at helping Kansas communities that lack high-speed internet. The Lasting Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (LINC) program will provide $30 million in competitive funding opportunities to build the infrastructure needed for more homes and businesses to access broadband. The goal of the LINC program is to reduce the cost of internet service, increase its availability, and improve its performance for users. LINC will provide opportunities for increased adoption of the internet by focusing on funding for: 

The cellular coverage in rural areas is drastically different than the national coverage maps that cellular carriers have been advertising for years. The Federal Communications Commission announced a process to address this issue in October 2020 when it announced the creation of a 5G Fund for Rural America. This will be a $9 billion fund that comes from the Universal Service Fund and that will provide subsidies for wireless carriers to build and equip new rural cell towers.

Newton N. Minow, who as President John F. Kennedy’s new Federal Communications Commission chairman in 1961 sent shock waves through an industry and touched a nerve in a nation addicted to banality and mayhem by calling American television “a vast wasteland,” died on May 6 at his home in Chicago. He was 97. On May 9, 1961, almost four months after President Kennedy called upon Americans to renew their commitment to freedom around the globe, Mr.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is embarking on an inquiry into whether more privacy protections are necessary for people who have registered “.us” domains on the Internet. NTIA administers the contract for the country code top-level domain, for the United States, .us. The .us domain is used by American businesses, individuals, and localities. NTIA’s contractor, Registry Services, is required by the agency to maintain a publicly accessible database of .us domain name registrations.

Governor Kristi Noem (R-SD) and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development announced the latest ConnectSD broadband grants. These awards will make quality, high-speed internet available to underserved households in South Dakota. Over $32 million in grants were awarded for 13 projects from nine applicants.

Legislation aimed at regulating telecommunications operators is in the works and companies should hasten to prepare for what’s to come. A bill introduced to the Senate in March 2023 proposes to do away with “junk fees,” which are financial charges that President Joe Biden denounced in his State of the Union address.

While CEOs of the companies leading the AI wave met at the White House on May 4, the leaders of the Biden administration's antitrust campaign against tech giants were also gathering for a stock-taking a few blocks away. In each arena, the industry has so far lapped its would-be regulators — but at least with AI, the race is still young.