State

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is turning her attention to AI's impact on workers, launching a series of listening sessions

The Senate GOP campaign arm, in a private memo to top AI companies, warns that toxic views of U.S. data centers are killing the party

We urge the Commonwealth to expand its efforts to comprehensively address the digital divide, including the issues of broadband affordability and adoption. Specifically, we recommend that Pennsylvania:

I first want to set the scene by telling you what I heard from a rural firefighter who participated in a focus group I held for a project sponsored by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania about how the lack of internet impacts first responders and public safety in rural Pennsylvania: “If you lose signal, you can’t communicate, you better have God sitting on your shoulders because that’s the only person that’s gonna be able to help you.” This quote has stayed with me since I heard it last summer, because it encapsulates the dire need for meaningful, affordable, connectivity throughout the Commo

The affordability of key services such as home broadband is front and center for citizens and policymakers alike. For broadband, a number of points are important to keep in mind when thinking about service affordability:

Throughout my career—as an educator, school board member, volunteer firefighter, fire chief, and community leader—I have learned that every important investment we make is ultimately an investment in people. Broadband is no different. It is not simply about technology. It is about opportunity. It is about whether a child has the same educational opportunities regardless of where they live, whether a volunteer firefighter has access to life-saving training, whether a family can connect to healthcare, and whether a rural community can participate fully in Pennsylvania's future.

After several stalls and an administration overhaul, Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment money has at last started flowing into states, and—according to rural service provider Vistabeam—households.

The California Public Utilities Commission approved nearly $32 million in California Advanced Services Fund grants to expand high-speed internet access, bring free broadband to affordable housing residents, and help thousands of Californians gain the digital skills needed to participate in today’s online world. The CPUC approved up to $24 million in CASF Broadband Infrastructure Grant Account funding for three Frontier California Inc. fiber projects currently serving 590 unserved homes in Fresno, Merced, Plumas, and Tulare counties. The projects include:

There seems to be an increasing chance that the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program is back in play. In a status report filed by the Department of Commerce in the lawsuit where the National Digital Inclusion Alliance filed to reinstate the grant program, the government said it is targeting a December 2026 opening date for applications for the Digital Equity Competitive Grant Program. Like everything associated with the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and the Digital Equity Grant programs, nothing is final until this is put in place.