December 2024

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, cable industry lobbyists and others asked a federal appellate court to block the Federal Trade Commission's new click-to-cancel rules, which aim to make it easier for consumers to end subscriptions to newspapers, gyms, retailers and other businesses. Those rules require companies to offer subscribers a simple cancellation mechanism, and let consumers cancel subscriptions through the same medium that was used to purchase them.

A new report based on a huge data pool from more than 400 regional broadband service providers pinpoints a benchmark to achieve with subscriber churn. Less than 3 percent annual churn is the target to aim for, reported by 45 percent of respondents.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award applications from Florida, Iowa, Montana, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam, allowing them to request access to more than $61.2 million to implement their Digital Equity Plans. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The states can now request access to:

Thanks to Congress’ work on the infrastructure law, America has the funding to make internet coverage reliable nationwide. Where broadband goes, economic growth and educational opportunity follow. But despite the federal government’s efforts, including decades of work and billions of dollars, too many Americans still lack reliable connection, an unacceptable fact in today’s digital world. The problem boils down to bureaucratic disorganization. Today, over 100 separate initiatives, managed by 15 individual federal agencies, have been deployed to address the digital urban-rural divide.