Democratic mayors from major U.S. cities discussed the critical need to maintain affordable internet access for their constituents to mitigate impacts of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program’s expiration. The mayors outlined strategies to bridge the gap left by the program’s end during a discussion hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association at the Democratic National Convention. The ACP, a federal initiative that provided low-income and Tribal households with subsidies for internet service, had been a crucial resource for more than 23 million American households. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego highlighted the importance of cities pursuing private-sector partnerships to expand internet access and adoption, while Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens spoke about the stop-gap measure the city provided using American Rescue Plan dollars to offer temporary relief to residents struggling with their internet bills.

Once considered only a place to borrow books, libraries are emerging as a resource to educate Californians on how to navigate the Internet, providing access to employment and training opportunities, online services like telehealth, and much more. To ensure that library patrons can make the most of these opportunities, libraries also provide in-house digital navigators trained to assist patrons in getting online and acquiring necessary digital skills. However, one in five Californians lack high-speed broadband Internet access, giving them few chances outside of the library to practice these skills. A panel of experienced library and policy experts recently discussed the opportunities and challenges faced by digital navigators in expanding broadband access throughout the state. During the panel, library professionals discussed how, given budget restrictions, most staff members are being trained to serve as digital navigators and guide those seeking help. But with 184 library systems statewide, a wider protocol is lacking for how to approach digital literacy.

Nokia recently announced that it is introducing radios that will increase both the capabilities and performance of fixed wireless access (FWA) cellular broadband. The technology that probably will have the most impact on wireless performance is the use of MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) antenna arrays. Nokia recently announced that it will be deploying Massive-MIMO antennas that will allow for 16 layers of data transmission, up from 4 layers deployed in today’s cellular antennas. These coming improvements are going to mean better performance for FWA. T-Mobile, Verizon, and now AT&T are outperforming the rest of the industry with FWA. When technology improves speed and performance, FWA is likely to be even more disruptive than today. I’m still of the opinion that a landline signal is going to be more reliable than a wireless connection—but cable companies and fiber ISPs are going to have to lower prices to compete with FWA. Good news for consumers—bad news for stock prices.

Open-source AI is everywhere right now. The problem is, no one agrees on what it actually is. Now we may finally have an answer. The Open Source Initiative (OSI), the self-appointed arbiters of what it means to be open source, has released a new definition, which it hopes will help lawmakers develop regulations to protect consumers from AI risks. Though OSI has published much about what constitutes open-source technology in other fields, this marks its first attempt to define the term for AI models. It asked a 70-person group of researchers, lawyers, policymakers, and activists, as well as representatives from big tech companies like Meta, Google, and Amazon, to come up with the working definition. According to the group, an open-source AI system can be used for any purpose without securing permission, and researchers should be able to inspect its components and study how the system works.