Upcoming policy issue

Two government watchdog groups have demanded investigations into whether Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty violated ethics requirements by accepting luxury gala tickets from Paramount as the company sought government approval for its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros.

The regulation and competition within the electronic communications market has changed fundamentally over the last 25 years. Initially, the focus was on opening up previously monopolistic telecommunications markets. The electronic communications markets, which were originally clearly demarcated, have since given way to a highly dynamic and complex ICT ecosystem consisting of diverse market participants, technologies, infrastructures, digital services, platforms, and political objectives.

This July marks the one-year anniversary of the Big Beautiful Bill’s enactment.

On June 25, 2026, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) seeking comment on a wide array of questions about how to update the E-Rate program to reflect how schools and students actually use the Internet.  This item is part of the FCC’s “top-to-bottom” review of all Universal Service Fund programs to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability. The E-Rate program was created in an era when many schools and libraries lacked access to the Internet, or service would be too expensive for schools to purchase themselves.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and its contract partner CostQuest have been agonizing over the U.S. broadband map for more than five years. They really doubled-down on the effort to create an accurate nationwide map when the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program started. Now, coming in at the 9th inning, the U.S. Senate has passed a bill—SB 2585 MAP for Broadband Funding Act—that would require the FCC to reevaluate its national broadband map.

Broadband programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration have supported the construction of broadband networks in some of the most expensive-to-reach rural areas. NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment Program is one of the largest federal broadband programs to date.

On July 16, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a draft Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) and Order in its long-running Promoting Telehealth in Rural America proceeding (WC Docket No.

If you are a school or library seeking E-Rate discounts, a rural health care provider, a Lifeline provider serving low-income households, or a carrier deploying networks with high-cost support, you deal with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC)—the private, not-for-profit corporation that administers the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Universal Service Fund (USF).

Every year, the Federal Communications Commission releases an annual performance plan that outlines the FCC's agenda and the goals it seeks to achieve. On July 6, the FCC released its Agency Performance Plan for Fiscal Year 2027, which provides the public with a general outline of what the agency is prioritizing in the near future—and what it is not.

The Utility Reform Network (TURN) has filed a motion to intervene in AT&T’s federal lawsuit against the California Public Utilities Commission and California Attorney General. TURN submitted this filing in partnership with the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC), and the Communications Workers of America (CWA). AT&T’s lawsuit aims to have the federal courts determine that California’s Carrier of Last Resort (COLR) rules do not align with federal policy.