Press Release

Surf Internet has been selected to provide high-speed internet connectivity to the South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC), one of Indiana’s largest school districts serving over 15,000 students. This initiative will connect 33 district sites, including schools and administrative buildings, to a dedicated high-speed fiber network. Each site will receive a 10 Gbps connection, with Surf supplying 20 Gbps of dedicated internet service districtwide.

Conexon Connect, the internet service provider (ISP) arm of rural fiber broadband leader Conexon, has reached another key milestone in Florida.

Sen Roger Wicker (R-MS) reintroduced the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act. The legislation requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to develop a national strategy to close the digital divide, as well as a plan to implement this strategy. Previous reports from the Government Accountability Office found that federal broadband efforts are fragmented and overlapping.

Federal Communications Commissioner Anna M. Gomez announced changes to her staff. Hayley Steffen, who has served as her Legal Advisor on Wireline and Space issues, will be joining the FCC’s Office of International Affairs. Jessica Greffenius, who has been serving as her Acting Legal Advisor on Wireline and Public Safety issues, will be returning to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. And Jonathan Uriarte will be joining Commissioner Gomez’s office as a Strategic Communications and Policy Advisor.

AT&T reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year results that showcased solid momentum in gaining and retaining profitable 5G and fiber subscribers. Highlights include:

• 482,000 postpaid phone net adds with an expected industry-leading postpaid phone churn of 0.85 percent
• Mobility service revenues of $16.6 billion, up 3.3 percent year over year
• 307,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; 200,000, or more, net adds for 20 consecutive quarters
• Consumer broadband revenues of $2.9 billion, up 7.8 percent year over year

T-Mobile reported fourth quarter and full-year 2024 results. Highlights include:

Rep Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) introduced H.R. 791, the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act (FADPA), to prevent foreign-run piracy sites from exploiting loopholes in existing law. The introduction of the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act follows months of roundtable discussions and negotiations involving the content and tech communities to ensure the bill does not include undue liabilities and is both feasible and constitutional. The bill: 

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced bipartisan legislation to keep kids off social media and help protect them from its harmful impacts. The Kids Off Social Media Act (S.278) would set a minimum age of 13 to use social media platforms and prevent social media companies from feeding algorithmically-targeted content to users under the age of 17.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr ended the FCC’s consideration of a rulemaking proposal that would have subjected tower builds to environmental reviews. That proposed rulemaking plan had been under consideration at the FCC since 2022. He said, “It is time for America to build. It is time to unleash the growth and opportunity that has been stifled by misguided and outdated infrastructure policies. Just look back at the last four years.

On January 24, 2025, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr ended the FCC’s consideration of a 2024 proposal that sought to regulate so-called “bulk billing” arrangements. These bulk billing programs have enabled families living in apartments and other multi-tenant environments to pay lower prices for Internet service. Chairman Carr said, "During the Biden-Harris Administration, FCC leadership put forward a ‘bulk billing’ proposal that could have raised the price of Internet service for Americans living in apartments by as much as 50 percent.