Charter has received funding to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to 260,000 more rural locations from state and “other” sources, said Charter CEO Chris Winfrey. And there likely will be more to come. “Our BEAD chances are very good,” said Winfrey, in a reference to the upcoming $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. The company was one the largest winners in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, which awarded funding for an area to the company that committed to deploying service for the lowest level of government support. Charter is now ahead of schedule on its $5 billion RDOF build, to which the government contributed about $1 billion. Winfrey cautioned, though, that the company might not seek BEAD funding in some states, depending on the rules that those states put in place. The company, he said, wants to make sure that rules work for private capital – an apparent reference to rules that some states have contemplated that would require public ownership of BEAD-funded projects.

The Data Protection Commission (“the DPC”) concluded its inquiry into Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (“Meta Ireland”), examining the basis upon which Meta Ireland transfers personal data from the European Union/ European Economic Area to the US in connection with the delivery of its Facebook service. Meta Ireland infringed Article 46(1)  General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when it continued to transfer personal data from the EU/EEA to the USA following the delivery of the Court of Justice of the European Union’s judgment in Data Protection Commissioner v Facebook Ireland Limited and Maximillian Schrems. While Meta Ireland effected those transfers on the basis of the updated Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCCs”) that were adopted by the European Commission in 2021 in conjunction with additional supplementary measures that were implemented by Meta Ireland, the DPC found that these arrangements did not address the risks to the fundamental rights and freedoms of data subjects that were identified by the CJEU in its judgment. The DPC includes:

1. an order, made pursuant to Article 58(2)(j) GDPR, requiring Meta Ireland to suspend any future transfer of personal data to the US within the period of five months from the date of notification of the DPC’s decision to Meta Ireland;
2. an administrative fine in the amount of €1.2 billion (reflecting the EDPB’s determination that an administrative fine ought to be imposed, to sanction the infringement that was found to have occurred. The DPC determined the amount of the fine to be imposed by reference to the assessments and determinations that were included in the EDPB’s decision); and
3. an order, made pursuant to Article 58(2)(d) GDPR, requiring Meta Ireland to bring its processing operations into compliance with Chapter V of the GDPR, by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, in the US of personal data of EU/EEA users transferred in violation of the GDPR, within 6 months following the date of notification of the DPC’s decision to Meta Ireland.

The federal government has been trumpeting its efforts to expand access to high-speed internet service for underserved areas across the US, namely through $42.5 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding. But in BEAD’s shadow stands another obstacle to closing the digital divide: a massive shortage of fiber technicians. Flume Internet CEO Prashanth Vijay put a salient reason for that shortage simply enough. “There's just not much enthusiasm to go and like… dig a trench,” he told Fierce Telecom. Flume Internet is a fiber provider of gigabit services that started in New York City and has since expanded to Los Angeles and Philadelphia, with plans to reach areas of Connecticut. The Government Accountability Office estimated that around 34,000 workers might be needed this year to support the government’s broadband-expansion programs, depending on ever-changing project timelines. Some internet service provider have even offered hiring bonuses up to $5,000 for technicians in high-need markets. “This issue of alignment and aligning calendars between crews that are available in your city, that have the skill set you need at the time you need it, is something that a lot of ISPs are having issues with,” Vijay added.