Some 8,000 households and businesses in Wisconsin will be connected to high-speed internet access due to the American Rescue Plan Act’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. In his January 2021 State of the State Address, Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) declared 2021 “the year of broadband access" in Wisconsin. Proposing a $200 million investment in broadband over the next two years, he sought to ensure every Wisconsinite has "access to reliable, high-speed internet.” In his 2019–21 Executive Budget, Governor Evers proposed an accessibility goal for the State of Wisconsin that by 2025, all homes and businesses within the state have access to high-speed broadband that provides a minimum of 25 megabits per second download and 3 megabits per second upload (or, 25/3 Mbps). This was the first time that a governor had established an accessibility goal for the state. As of May 2021, the state had awarded $78 million to 279 projects since the Wisconsin's broadband funding program was launched in 2014 under former Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI). 

This study documents the rise of competitive broadband service in Boston; describes steadily increasing City efforts to close gaps in broadband affordability, devices, and skills; characterizes the remaining gaps in these areas as defined by stakeholders and available data; and makes nearterm policy recommendations to address these gaps in light of current federal funding opportunities. This report also provides a high-level estimate of the cost of building a third competitive fiber network in the City, in addition to the residential services of Comcast and Verizon. This report presents three major findings:

• High-speed wired broadband is ubiquitously available in Boston, and a new competitive dynamic has emerged with Verizon’s Fios service
• City programs were created and then expanded in recent years to address broadband gaps related to affordability, devices, and skills—but gaps remain
• Building a new City-owned fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network would cost an estimated $825 million to $961 million, depending on the number of households who elect to take service

[Prepared for the city by CTC Technology and Energy. An executive summary of the report is available here.]

In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – especially by opposing free speech restrictions they say are rife at those sites. These newer sites have created a small but satisfied community of news consumers, many of whom say one of the major reasons they are there is to stay informed about current events. This study included a survey of US adults along with an audit of seven alternative social media sites – BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – and a detailed analysis of prominent accounts and content across them. Although fewer than one-in-ten Americans say they use any of these sites for news, most who do say they have found a community of like-minded people there. And news consumers on the four sites with large enough numbers to be analyzed individually – Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – largely say they are satisfied with their experience getting news on the sites, that they find the information there to be mostly accurate, and that the discussions are mostly friendly. At the same time, however, the study finds signs that these sites may be another symptom of the increasingly polarized public discourse – and Americans’ partisan divisions in the broader news media environment.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 27, 2022. The Commission will consider:

1. Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and the Connect USVI Fund: a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would ensure continued support for mobile carriers and extend the support phase down for incumbent fixed broadband providers in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
2. Considering 12.7 GHz Band for Next-Generation Wireless Services: a Notice of Inquiry to seek information on the current use of the 12.7-13.25 GHz band, ways to encourage more efficient and intensive use of the band, and whether the band is suitable for mobile broadband or other expanded use.
3. Caller ID Authentication on Non-IP Networks: a Notice of Inquiry launching a broad inquiry on caller ID authentication technology for non-Internet Protocol networks.
4. Improving the Security of the National Alert and Warning Systems: a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to strengthen the operational readiness of the Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts, including by reducing the vulnerability of these systems to cyberattacks.
5. Restricted Adjudicatory Matter: a restricted adjudicatory matter.