Analysis

In an increasingly congested wireless spectrum, conflict is both inevitable but often resolvable. Between commercial applications (e.g., terrestrial and non-terrestrial wireless communications, navigation, and telemetry), scientific activities (e.g., radio astronomy, polar research, earth observation), and other vital spectrum-dependent uses (e.g., air traffic control), competition for spectrum access will only increase with new and emerging applications and technologies.

On November 5, 2024, Donald J. Trump was elected to serve as the 47th President of the United States. The election will result in changes not just in the executive branch but in Congress as well. Even with results still coming in, we take a look at changes to the Congressional committees that oversee broadband policy, the Federal Communications Commission, and the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

From communities in Appalachia and Florida to the Hawaiian Islands, no part of the US is untouched by the increased climate-related disasters we’ve seen in the past few years. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is updating and publishing a disaster response framework, and the National Digital Inclusion Alliance submitted comments to advocate for stronger integration of digital inclusion activities into post-disaster efforts. NDIA's key recommendations fall under five main categories:

The industry is suddenly awash with talks of acquisitions and mergers. In September, Verizon announced the acquisition of Frontier Communications in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion. T-Mobile has announced two acquisitions of fiber overbuilders.

Presidential elections have real impacts arriving quickly. I think the following changed policies and strategies will happen fast, because the glidepath is both well-lit and pre-planned. 

Across the country at federal, state, and industry association meetings there are dire warnings being issued that the cost involved on getting onto poles is going to be a huge hindrance to the implantation of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants. Everybody who is talking about this is right, but this is not a new topic—we’ve been talking about this for decades. Now that we are on the eve of finally seeing broadband offices reviewing BEAD grant applications, these warnings feel like too little too late for me.

For Cherokee citizens living on and off the reservation, staying connected is more than just having access to the internet. It’s about staying close to their Tribe and culture and feeling part of the digital world. The Cherokee Nation is making strides toward improving broadband access on their reservation, which spans an incredible 7,000 square miles in rural northeastern Oklahoma.

The Affordable Connectivity Program lapsed in May 2024. At the time the program ended, there were more than 13 million ACP recipients getting a discount on a cellphone plan and 10 million getting a discount on landline broadband.

As the federal government makes unprecedented investments to expand high-speed access to the Internet, unbeknownst to most outside the broadband industry is that nearly a third of the states in the U.S. have preemption laws in place that either prevent or restrict local municipalities from building and operating publicly-owned, locally-controlled networks.

In April 2024, Free Press released a report on social-media companies’ commitments to 2024 election integrity. We analyzed 12 major technology companies’ readiness to address political disinformation, manipulation and hate on their networks. Free Press scored the companies’ responses (or lack thereof) as either “Adequate,” “Partial,” “Insufficient” or “Fail.” Now, less than a week before Election Day, Free Press has revisited and updated its April analysis.