Reporting

LTD Broadband has filed a petition for review of the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to deny it funding as part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. LTD, which largely offers fixed wireless broadband, filed a request for judicial review with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on February 2, contesting the agency decision on December 4, 2023. The action follows a series of events stemming from the FCC's proposal for a $21.7-million fine against LTD for defaulting on its bids in the RDOF broadband subsidy program.

A broadband coalition called the Accurate Broadband Data Alliance (ABDA) is warning the Federal Communications Commission that its national broadband map contains errors that "will hinder and, in many cases, prevent deployment of essential broadband services by redirecting funds away from areas truly lacking sufficient broadband." In a filing, ABDA alleges that "significant errors" exist throughout the broadband map, due in part to incorrect reporting by some internet service providers. "A number of carriers, including LTD Broadband/GigFire LLC and others, continue to overreport Internet se

SNAP recipients will soon be able to use their funds at an online-only grocery store for the first time. Many in the SNAP program—commonl

Volker Türk, the UN's high commissioner for human rights, was in Silicon Valley last week to deliver a simple message to tech companies: Your products can do real harm and it's your job to make sure that they don't. Technologies like artificial intelligence hold enormous potential for addressing a range of societal ills, but without effort and intent, these same technologies can act as powerful weapons of oppression, said Türk. New regulations are often where the tech debate lands, but Türk tells Axios that the firms should already be ensuring their products comply with the existing 

EarthLink has acquired QX.net, a fixed wireless access provider specializing in business customers in Kentucky. QX.net has operated in the state since 1997. According to EarthLink, it built the state’s largest dedicated wireless internet network. The provider offers internet, voice, data center and SD-WAN services to businesses in different industries. Earthlink plans to expand in other markets in Kentucky. QX.net employees will be retained, EarthLink said. 

A federal appeals court tossed a $1 billion verdict won by music publishers against Cox Communications, ordering a new trial on how much the internet provider should owe in damages for illegal downloads by its customers. The case stems from a 2018 copyright-infringement lawsuit filed by leading record companies and music publishers, including Sony, Universal Music and Warner Music.

Illinois Broadband Director Matt Schmit is no newbie, nor is the state’s broadband office. In 2019, Illinois’ $45 billion capital investment plan included $400 million to fund a new broadband program that would be dubbed “Connect Illinois.” That summer, Schmit was recruited from Minnesota to stand up the office that would oversee the grant program and Illinois’ broadband efforts.

For Gen Z, catching up on the news is often a side effect of time spent on social media apps like Instagram and, in particular, TikTok—and media outlets are adapting to serve that behavior. "Gen Z is being fed the news whether they want it or not," Stephanie Kaplan Lewis, CEO of the college-aged media portfolio Her Campus Media, tells Axios, noting that Gen Z news consumers are less likely than Millennials to visit trusted news sources directly. 

For decades, privacy experts have been wary of snooping from space. Now, quite suddenly, a startup is building a new class of satellite whose cameras would do just that. “We’re acutely aware of the privacy implications,” said Topher Haddad, head of Albedo Space, the company making the new satellites. He claims the company is taking administrative steps to address a wide range of privacy concerns. Anyo

The good news is UScellular ended 2023 with 114,000 fixed wireless access (FWA) customers. The bad news? The company lost about 53,000 postpaid phone customers, exacerbating a string of previous losses. Besides competing with the Big 3 mobile carriers, UScellular, a regional wireless carrier, is grappling with the rise of cable companies in wireless.