What if a single fiber network could serve every client segment in a community, bring competition and choice for internet and services all the way to the desktop, and form the foundation for securely modernizing other critical infrastructure. Cities across the U.S. need all of the following: ultra-fast and affordable internet for residents and small businesses; modern connectivity solutions for enterprises, hospitals, and schools; “smart” transit and mobility solutions; responsible energy creation and power grid optimization; and sustainable water systems. Looking at this list, we are forced to reckon with the role of critical infrastructure in the fabric of communities, and driven to think differently about what we must build. This is about more than just internet access; we must challenge ourselves to create a new solution that serves the holistic connectivity needs of cities—now and into the future. Moving past the prevailing understanding of “open-access” with its exclusive focus on “internet”, we can deliver true competition and equal access to all kinds of services to every end connectivity “consumer”—residents to utilities—in a flourishing city.

[Bob Thompson is the Founder & CEO of Underline, a company that deploys modern fiber networks and technology to serve community goals—from equitable internet access, to secure and modernized water systems, and responsible energy creation.]

The Senate Commerce Committee scrapped plans for a markup of wireless spectrum auction legislation that had already been punted several times. Sen Maria Cantwell (D-WA), attributed the markup’s cancelation to Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX). Sen Cruz has has own spectrum bill with Sen John Thune (R-SD), that is considered more industry-friendly and also refrains from spending auction proceeds on a variety of purposes as Cantwell’s bill would, such as restoring broadband subsidies that ran out in May. The Federal Communications Commission’s spectrum auctions are often used as a revenue-raiser by Congress to pay for other spending or to help offset the losses from tax cuts. In addition to renewing lapsed auction authority for five years, the Cantwell bill would use proceeds to fund several Biden administration priorities, including the Affordable Broadband Program, a federal grant program for semiconductor manufacturers, National Science Foundation research programs and more.

The Los Angeles school board set in motion a plan to ban cellphones all day on campus, saying the devices distract students from learning, lead to anxiety, and allow cyberbullying. The ban would take effect in January 2025 after details are approved in a future meeting by the Board of Education, with the goal of enforcing it across a student’s entire time at school, including lunch and other breaks. The board action adds momentum to growing campaigns in California to restrict or eliminate cellphone use at schools amid reports about how the devices, coupled with the use of social media, coincide with skyrocketing anxiety and other harms to children. State leaders are moving in the same direction as L.A. Unified. California Assembly Bill 3216, introduced in February 2024, would require school districts to adopt a policy to limit or prohibit student use of smartphones while at school or under the supervision of a school employee. The law would go into effect July 1, 2026. The measure has the support of Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA).

When California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom laid out an ambitious, if hazy, plan to remove smartphones from public classrooms in the interest of kids’ safety, it marked a turnaround that would have shocked any hyper-ambitious Democratic politician from a generation ago. “Connecting kids” was once an obvious political winner. In a 1990s photo op, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore physically unspooled the wires that would connect children to the internet in a California high school. Initiatives like “One Laptop per Child,” the brainchild of MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte, popularized the idea that to instill digital fluency in children was to prepare them for tomorrow’s global economy. Now, the mark of political ambition is to pry those tiny computers out of kids’ hands. 

People expect unfettered and affordable access to communication services—and a media system that provides accurate news and information. A significant and bipartisan majority of Americans want to make sure their communications and internet activity are private, and do not want to see discrimination or intentionally false information online. Free Press Action's policy platform is a guide for candidates and policymakers seeking to uphold their constituents’ rights to connect and communicate and is supported by our members across the country, including in every state and territory. A recent public-opinion poll hows broad support across the political spectrum for policymaker action on these priorities:

• Close the digital divide
• Protect broadband consumers
• Build resilient communications infrastructure
• End prison-phone exploitation
• Protect online privacy and civil rights
• Stop unwanted government surveillance
• Prevent algorithmic discrimination and biased Artificial Intelligence
• Require tech transparency
• Preserve free expression online
• Diversify media ownership
• Revive local journalism
• Secure media reparations