Daily Digest 3/6/2025 (Selwyn Norman Raab)
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Thu, 03/06/2025
Today's top broadband news
The Last Broadband Gifts of the 118th Congress
Thursday, March 6, 2025
March 2025
Analysis
Analysis
| Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | |
| 7:30 a.m. | Registration Open |
| 7:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast
All Day Beverage Station |
Snacks and beverages will be provided.
Federal Grant Program Opens Door to Elon Musk’s Starlink
The Trump administration will overhaul a $42 billion federal grant program aimed at expanding high-speed internet to the nation, including easing some rules that could benefit Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink. The program will be revamped to “take a tech-neutral approach” in its distribution of funds to states, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
Commerce Department revamping broadband program after ‘woke’ Biden-era mandates
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that his department is “ripping out” the “pointless requirements” inserted by former President Joe Biden into a major broadband program that is set to deliver high-speed internet to millions of Americans. Some broadband analysts have shared Lutnick’s frustration with the requirements in BEAD, which has been in planning and contracting for three years.
Commerce Secretary’s Comments Raise Fears of Interference in Federal Data
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently suggested that he plans to change the way the government reports data on gross domestic product in order to remove the impact of government spending. His remarks have renewed concerns that the new administration could seek to interfere with federal statistics—especially if they start to show that the economy is slipping into a recession. The basic definition of gross domestic product is widely accepted internationally and has been unchanged for decades.