1. Monthly archive
  2. March 2025

March 2025

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Dismayed by Reports of Trump's BEAD Meddling

The BEAD Program is on course to ensuring that every location in the U.S. has fast, reliable, and affordable internet access over networks that can be easily upgraded to keep up with the connectivity demands of Americans for decades to come. Secretary Lutnick's reported meddling is likely to leave millions of Americans with broadband that is slower, less reliable, and more expensive—while at the same time surrendering US leadership in the global race for high-speed broadband. Americans deserve better.

Not ‘deregulation’ but heavy-handed regulation at the Trump FCC

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has cagily created a new and coercive technique for operating outside the agency’s established statutes and procedures to attack corporate decisions he and Donald Trump do not like. That technique is to use its powers—or the threat thereof—to micromanage the activities of companies without needing to follow the niceties of commission votes and judicial review.

When it comes to understanding AI’s impact on elections, we’re still working in the dark

Ahead of the 2024 U.S. election, there was widespread fear that generative artificial intelligence (AI) presented an unprecedented threat to democracy.

Texas Pauses the Use of Federal Funding to Expand Digital Opportunity

Due to ongoing federal government realignment to meet the priorities of the new administration, the Texas Broadband Development Office (BDO) will pause all grants and contracts related to the state’s allocation of the federal State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program. Given this uncertainty, the BDO wants potential applicants to avoid investing significant time and resources into preparing applications until the office receives more clarity on the future of the program from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

The Michael Jordan of Broadband: Meet the Indiana State Broadband Director

Stephen Cox was enjoying retirement in Florida when the opportunity to become Indiana’s broadband director arose. Like Michael Jordan, Cox is back better than ever after his initial retirement. Unlike Michael Jordan, he did not have big shoes to fill—when he came back to Indiana, the state broadband office was just Cox and one other person. Cox said the $868 million Indiana received for their Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program broadband expansion is “right in the ballpark” of what the state wanted.

Massachusetts Broadband Institute Debuts $9.44 Million Launchpad Program

The Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s Massachusetts Broadband Institute debuted their Launchpad Program, a new initiative to expand Wi-Fi access, device distribution, digital literacy training, and internet adoption across Massachusetts. The Program will provide financial support to organizations that are interested in addressing digital access gaps. This includes non-profits, community-based organizations, and municipalities.

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