The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to reaffirm its revocation of an award authorizing Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s Starlink to receive broadband deployment subsidies through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF).  The Committee seeks information from the FCC to ensure that the Commission followed established processes and is not improperly using the regulatory process for political purposes. The devasting impact of Hurricane Helene—and the millions of Americans stranded without cell service or power—illustrates the importance of expanding broadband access to rural areas and using innovative technologies to do so. To assist the Committee’s oversight in this matter, we request the following documents and communications, as soon as possible but no later than October 21, 2024.

1. All documents and information provided by Starlink to the FCC in support of its long-form application;
2. All documents and communications regarding the FCC’s initial decision to award Starlink broadband deployment subsidies through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund;
3. All documents and communications regarding the FCC’s decision to deny Starlink broadband deployment subsidies through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund;
4. All documents and communications regarding the FCC’s decision to reaffirm its choice to not award Starlink broadband deployment subsidies through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund; and
5. All documents and communications between FCC personnel regarding Elon Musk, the acquisition of X (formerly known as Twitter), and Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (or SpaceX), and Starlink, between December 2020 and the present. 

In the last two years, members from our National Digital Navigator Corps have learned a lot from working on the ground in their communities, and we’re excited to share their insights, stories, and lessons with you! This is the first in a series of blogs about their experiences and what we can all learn from them, and in 2025, we’ll publish an updated digital navigator toolkit full of practical guidance. Here’s a sample of the things we’ve learned about digital navigators in rural and Native communities in particular:

• Digital navigators should be members of the communities they serve.
• Partnerships are key, digital navigators often rely on a strong referral network, and all of this takes time.
• Measures of success in rural and Native communities may vary from urban or suburban settings.
• Digital navigators in rural and Native communities agree that logistics for meeting clients are their top challenge.
• There are unique cultural factors in digital inclusion work for Native communities.

We at Mobile Experts have been tracking the fixed wireless access (FWA) market for many years. In 2017, we predicted that 5G FWA would be a success. In recent months, that prediction has been validated: Confidence in it as a wired broadband alternative has substantially increased. First, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has left the door open for FWA to be eligible for a mass of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD)-funded projects rolling through the complicated approval process involving various state broadband offices and the NTIA. Another proof point of the growing confidence in FWA is T-Mobile’s newly stated goal of reaching 12 million FWA subscribers by 2028—a 50% increase from its prior goal of 8 million FWA subscribers by 2025. While FWA had historically been viewed as a technology of last resort, today it is considered a wired broadband substitute, and it is effectively competing against the incumbent broadband technology of choice—cable—taking most of the broadband net adds in the U.S. in the past year.

[Kyung Mun is a senior analyst at Mobile Experts LLC, a network of market and technology experts that provides market analysis on the mobile infrastructure and mobile handset markets.]

Charter Communications, SpaceX’s Starlink, and Verizon announced how they are providing free internet and wireless phone communications—and financial and other resources—to residents in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. Charter announced that last week it had opened close to 90,000 Spectrum out-of-home Wi-Fi access points in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and bordering areas. These access points are available to all users at no cost through Monday, October 7. SpaceX has sent at least 500 Starlink kits to help restore internet for residents, according to an October 1 post on X regarding Hurricane Helene relief. On September 26, Verizon announced that it would support customers in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina impacted by the disaster by waiving postpaid domestic call/text/data usage through October 5. In an updated post, however, Verizon said it was extending and expanding their Hurricane Helene relief, “which is the largest storm-related offer we’ve ever given our customers.” Verizon plans to waive domestic call/text/data usage from September 28 to October 27 for postpaid consumer and Verizon Small Business customers in listed counties in those states.

Congressman Andrew Clyde (R-GA) introduced the Ending FCC Meddling in Our Elections Act. The legislation would prohibit the use of federal funds to enforce the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) notice of proposed rulemaking related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in campaign advertising. In May, the FCC, led by a Democrat-appointed majority, voted 3-2 to propose new regulations impacting the use of AI in campaign advertising. The proposed rules would mandate that television and radio providers issue an on-air disclosure every time an AI-created ad is aired. This decision was supported exclusively by Democrat-appointed Commissioners despite the FCC not possessing the authority to single-handedly impose new regulations on the expression of political speech.