Nick Niedzwiadek

The head of the Federal Communications Commission left the door open to taking further actions to ensure everyone has broadband access — including price regulation and combating digital redlining. Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at Politico's Tech Summit that the FCC is “laser-like focused on getting this service to everyone, everywhere,” and that it is trying to take a broader approach to the issue than the agency had in the past.

The public health crisis has exposed New York’s digital divide. Lawmakers representing communities in upstate New York have voiced concerns about the issue for years, fighting to increase access to high-speed internet in rural communities that often struggle to even get a bar of cell service. But despite repeated pledges by state officials to remedy the situation, access to high-speed broadband internet remains elusive in the state’s bucolic areas.