Research

The Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research program, created and funded by the by the U.S. National Science Foundation and industry consortium partners, announced that the Federal Communications Commission has created a new spectrum Innovation Zone to promote rural connectivity and precision agriculture research at the site of the ARA wireless testbed in Central Iowa.

This monthly installment of the Broadband in America Report builds on the prior semiannual 

A new "consensus-driven roadmap" on the future of the Universal Service Fund argues that universal service should be understood as an ongoing responsibility, not a goal to achieve, and offers six principles for Universal Service Fund reform.

Until the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the federal government alone was responsible for paying for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Under OBBBA, starting in October 2027, states potentially will be required to pay a share of SNAP benefits, with the required share determined solely by the state’s “payment error rate” for the relevant fiscal year. After the first year, a state’s payment error rate from three years prior will determine the state’s cost shift, meaning that a state’s FY2026 payment error rate will be the basis for the FY2029 cost-shift amount.

U.S. 5G fixed wireless access connections from Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T topped 17 million in Q1 2026—capturing 13.74% of the nation’s 123.75 million home broadband subscriptions, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s January 2026 American Community Survey. Ookla looked at FWA performance trends throughout the first half of 2026 and found steady progress in speeds and latency.

For low-income Americans, the Lifeline program is not merely a discount—it is essential access infrastructure. With 91% of subscribers preferring mobile wireless service with hotspot capability over fixed broadband, it is clear that mobility is a functional requirement, not a preference, for this population. The current benefit level supports incremental use but falls short of providing the sustained connectivity needed for full, consistent access to telehealth, remote work, and coursework.

More and more Americans are using AI chatbots, including turning to them for health information. These chatbot health users are motivated by a host of reasons, ranging from making diagnoses to learning about their lab results.

This paper examines changes in the labor market for occupations exposed to generative artificial intelligence using high-frequency administrative data from the largest payroll software provider in the United States. We present six facts that characterize these shifts. We find that since the widespread adoption of generative AI, early-career workers (ages 22-25) in the most AI-exposed occupations have experienced a 13 percent relative decline in employment even after controlling for firm-level shocks.

Your home internet isn’t just a utility anymore—it’s your invisible lifeline. We use it to support our careers, entertainment and maybe even our mental health. But finding a great internet service provider and plan without falling into price traps is a minefield of confusing terms and hidden fees.

In 2024, one-third of Americans said they had used a chatbot at least once, and a