The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the federal agency tasked with running the Biden Administration’s $42.45 billion effort to close the digital divide, reported that more than 2.4 million previously unserved homes and businesses have been connected since President Biden entered office in January, 2021. However, the press release did not name the programs that led to the increase or provide details about the locations of the newly connected.

Minnesota is one step closer to being awarded federal funds for improving broadband infrastructure around the state. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) held a short press conference, on Sept. 26, to announce that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has approved Minnesota’s plan for broadband infrastructure deployment. In June 2023, the U.S. Commerce Department awarded $651,839,368 in federal funding to Minnesota. Klobuchar’s announcement was an update on the progress to deliver the funding to Minnesota for deploying broadband availability, which will bring the state closer to actually using the funds to build this infrastructure and advances Minnesota to the next step in their planned affordable broadband rollout across the state.

You've probably heard of Project 2025—the not-so-secret plan the Heritage Foundation cooked up for the next Republican administration. Project 2025’s contents are so noxious, unpopular and anti-democratic that even Donald Trump has repeatedly tried to distance himself from them—though at least 140 former Trump officials contributed to the plan. What you might not know is that just one of Project 2025’s authors currently works for the federal government: Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, the agency's senior Republican. Commissioner Carr has sided with big companies and against the public interest on nearly every important issue to come before the FCC. He’s also learned what it takes to get ahead in Trumpworld: telling lies, cozying up to the far right, insisting Trump can do no wrong, sucking up to billionaires and telling more lies. Angling to be FCC chairman in a possible Trump administration, this once mild-mannered government lawyer has gone full-on Fox News fire-breather in a despicable-if-calculated attempt to get a promotion.

[Craig Aaron is president and Co-CEO of Free Press Action.]

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the appointment of Ira Keltz to serve as Acting Chief Engineer. Keltz, an electrical engineer, will lead the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) which maintains the U.S. table of frequency allocation, manages spectrum policy for unlicensed devices, oversees the FCC’s experimental licensing program and equipment authorization program, and conducts engineering and technical studies. Keltz began working on spectrum policy issues at the FCC in 1994 and most recently served as Deputy Chief of OET. He has also held management positions in OET’s Policy and Rules Division and Electromagnetic Compatibility Division and worked for the agency’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau – then the Private Radio Bureau.