Upcoming policy issue

Criticism is mounting against the 5G Fund, a long-gestating US government program that would distribute billions of dollars to wireless network operators with the goal of funding the construction of 5G networks in rural areas. Indeed, the issues are so lengthy and complex that T-Mobile has suggested just ending the program altogether.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and its Media/Telecommunications Task Force co-chairs, UnidosUS and United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry, wrote to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee demanding that they delay the confirmation hearing for Olivia Trusty to serve as a Federal Communications Commissioner until the administration provides a binding commitment that it will keep the FCC fully staffed with five commissioners, two of whom must be Democrats.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick has indicated he’ll make fundamental changes to the $42 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. These changes, such as giving a stronger preference for satellite internet, could force states to restart their broadband grant programs. On April 3, a group of 115 state legislators from 28 states sent Secretary Lutnick a letter requesting that any BEAD changes be optional rather than mandatory.

A recently unveiled cybersecurity labeling program for smart products might be expanded in the near future to include other equipment beyond household internet appliances, Republican Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington said at an Information Technology Industry Council event. The label, known as the Cyber Trust Mark, was designed initially for consumer internet of things devices to inform shoppers that applicable products meet certain government-vetted cybersecurity standards.

Elon Musk’s social media company X has asked the Supreme Court to shield its users from US law enforcement, intervening in a case that could force the federal government to produce a warrant to access private data. In a brief filed to the high court, X said it was concerned about “broad, suspicionless” requests, adding that platforms should “not be coerced into helping governments undermine their users’ privacy.” The supporting brief comes in a long-running case brought by James Harper, a user of crypto exchange Coinbase.

Recipients of Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) grants have expressed worries that years of planning to bring internet to underserved rural households could be stymied by the Trump administration’s shift in the program’s direction.

Governor Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) announced that West Virginia has been granted a 90-day extension to submit its final proposal to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) accused President Donald Trump of illegally refusing to spend $2.9 billion approved by Congress, teaming with Democrats in an early salvo in the simmering struggle between Congress and the White House over which has the ultimate power over federal spending.

Missouri was the first state to ask the Federal Communications Commission to return Rural Digital Opportunity Fund broadband funding awarded to providers in the state who later defaulted on their awards.

The Trump administration is making changes to the Broadband Equity and Access Deployment Program (BEAD) Program that will benefit satellite internet providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink, but some state and federal officials worry the technology isn’t robust enough to connect Americans on a mass scale and at affordable rates. State and former federal officials, several of whom spoke to Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity, described pitfalls with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s new approach, which gives more opportunities for satellite terminals that are initially inexpensive, but can