Reporting

Look at funding resources on the webpages for Maine Connectivity Authority (MCA) and you’ll find multiple funding programs, each with its own set of rules. 

Palisade Infrastructure has successfully concluded the acquisition of Mashell, the parent company of Rainier Connect. Ranier Connect, a fiber and hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) broadband provider in Washington State, will now operate under Palisade’s new Lightcurve brand. The rebranding represents the “beginning of significant investments in the fiber optic internet infrastructure.” The infrastructure investment company originally announced its plans to acquire Rainier Connect in December 2022. Lightcurve currently serves Tacoma, Eatonville, Centralia, Chehalis and Graham in Washington.

Henderson County (TX) Commissioners approved an agreement with Brightspeed LLC to enhance broadband services within the county. The project will combine $2.3 million in American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds with other state money to connect all of Henderson County to high-speed broadband internet when the projects are completed. Ultimately, the projects are expected to total $8 million and combine federal and state money. Brightspeed will deliver 114.7 miles of fiber and connect nearly 5,000 locations within Henderson County.

Three local providers were the big winners in the latest round of Minnesota’s Line Extension Connection broadband funding program. Two larger companies—Mediacom and Midco—also won funding in this round of the program, which awarded a total of almost $4.4 million. Mediacom won $190,501 to extend service to 37 locations and Midco won $166,800 to extend service to 21 locations.

Internet speeds have come a long way since the days of the dial-up modem, but sometimes you can’t beat the millennia-old method of carrier pigeon. At certain data volumes and distances, the pigeon is a quicker option for large swaths of rural America, where internet speeds can lag far behind the national average. Whether a pigeon can best the internet depends on three things: internet speed (check your own here), distance and data. It doesn’t make a difference online whether you’re sending a file across town to your neighbor

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Austria cannot force Google, Meta, and TikTok to pay millions in fines if they fail to delete hate speech from their popular social media platforms. Austria had attempted to hold platforms accountable for hate speech and other illegal content after passing a law in 2021 requiring tech giants to publish reports as often as every six months detailing content takedowns.

Officials at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a branch of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), have overhauled how the federal government assesses the costs and benefits of regulation and some government spending programs, clearing a path for more aggressive efforts to fight climate change and help the poor. OIRA finalized a new and complicated set of rules that would change how federal agencies tally and weigh the potential value and harm of new regulations related to climate change, taxation, the distribution of disaster relief assistance, and mor

Regional operator Vexus Fiber is expanding its network across Louisiana, New Mexico, and its home state of Texas, and it’s planning to roll out multi-gig service by the start of 2024. CEO Jim Gleason said Vexus is constructing fiber on a pace of around 12,000 new homes passed per month, spanning roughly a dozen markets in Texas, three in Louisiana, and three in New Mexico.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to vote Nov 15 on an order on preventing digital discrimination, but a new round of industry filings, plus commentary from FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, suggests there may be legal challenges ahead to the new rules. According to filings with the FCC, industry groups and service providers are taking issue with the agency’s definition of digital discrimination, along with other aspects of the draft order.

In an attempt to boost broadband competition, Canada's telecommunication regulator, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), is forcing large phone companies to open their fiber networks to competitors.