Telecommunication

A coalition of public interest groups filed a formal challenge to a recent bureau-level decision at the Federal Communications Commission to delay rate caps that would make prison phone calls more affordable. Public interest groups including Worth Rises, the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, filed an application for review urging the FCC to overturn the 

On July 31, Comcast reported its second quarter 2025 results. Comcast pivoted its go-to-market strategy and tactics, including the launch of new, national internet plans with Everyday Pricing and Everything Included; a 5-year internet price guarantee; a free Xfinity unlimited mobile line included for one year; and a new premium Unlimited Wireless Plan that delivers gigabit speeds, upgraded features, and significant savings. Domestic wireless customer line net additions were 378,000, the best quarterly result on record.

Frontier Communications reported its second-quarter 2025 results, citing a "breakout quarter" for the company. Frontier reported 334,000 added fiber passings to reach 8.5 million total locations passed with fiber, and 126,000 added fiber broadband customers, resulting in fiber broadband customer growth of 20 percent year-over-year. The company posted revenue of $1.54 billion, an increase of four percent year-over-year, as growth in fiber-based products was partly offset by declines in copper-based products.

After a regional effort to bring broadband to the lakes region west of Augusta (ME) fell through, the town of Vienna, population nearly 600, decided to go it alone. Around five years ago, major broadband providers, including Consolidated Communication,s declined to extend cables there, citing its small population. In March 2023, voters approved a municipal network. On August 1, 2025, Vienna Broadband will switch on for its first customers. It opens with new competition.

Clearnetworx, a fast-growing fiber-to-the-home subsidiary of Vero Fiber, has officially acquired Ting's fiber infrastructure across key portions of Montezuma and La Plata County (CO) and San Juan County (NM). The acquisition bolsters Clearnetworx's footprint in the Four Corners region and reinforces the company's position as a dominant fiber player across Western Colorado and the Southwest more broadly. With this move, Clearnetworx assumes control of key strategic network assets.

The West Virginia Public Service Commission (PSC) is taking the side of an internet service provider in a dispute over who pays for pole replacements when adding broadband attachments. In an order issued July 28, the PSC prohibited Appalachian Power from enforcing a “pre-existing violation” policy to place the cost of repairs or replacement of utility poles on internet service providers, instead of the electric utility that owns the poles. Appalachian Power has cited its pre-existing violation policy when issues are discovered with the pole or prior attachments to the pole during make-ready

This week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved updates to its pole attachment rules aimed at accelerating broadband deployment. I’m about to lose you as I write the next two words—pole attachments—but, if you’ll kindly unglaze your eyes, this is a crucial issue in efforts to ensure broadband networks reach everyone in the U.S.

The Federal Communications Commission voted to remove 11 outdated and useless rule provisions—covering 39 regulatory burdens, 7,194 words, and 16 pages—from its books as part of its “In Re: Delete, Delete, Delete” docket. This action repeals rule provisions identified throughout the agency that plainly do not serve the public interest any longer because they govern obsolete technology, outdated marketplace conditions, expired deadlines, or repealed legal obligations.

The Federal Communications Commission launched a rulemaking to accelerate the transition from aging copper line networks to the modern, high-speed ones that Americans want and deserve. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted looks to encourage the swift transition to IP-based networks and advanced communications services for consumers.

New York will make phone calls free for incarcerated people starting in August 2025, lifting a financial burden for the loved ones of the state’s more than 30,000 prisoners. It will join five other states and New York City, all of which have moved in recent years to adopt similar policies.