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Roger Timmerman, CEO of Utopia Fiber, called out the "army" of lobbyists that are keeping broadband speed standards down in the US. "The problem is we've got an $8 million a week lobbying effort from big telecom, and so anytime the federal government – or even now at the state level – when any of them try to raise that bar for the standard of what consumers need for broadband, there's an army of lobbying that goes up and opposes that.

The Federal Communications Commission is contracting communications firm Porter Novelli Public Services (PNPS) to carry out a "consumer education plan" in order to broaden public awareness of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The FCC detailed its plans to work with PNPS in a contract opportunity posted on Sam.gov, with an award date of February 1, 2023.

T-Mobile's fixed wireless access (FWA) Internet business appears headed into a new phase that will likely involve an expansion into rural areas of the US. "We believe this is the beginning of a slowdown in the pace in existing markets," said analysts at Evercore. However, Evercore analysts noted that T-Mobile is also in the midst of expanding its speedy 2.5 GHz mid-band 5G network to around 35 million new locations – mostly in rural areas – during 2023. That project, they said, will help prop up T-Mobile's fixed wireless growth curve, albeit with a rural focus.

US cable's big wireless gains in 2022 and expected to continue paired with a broader deceleration across the wireless industry will make it difficult for mobile's "Big Three"—AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon—to beat and raise their subscriber targets. "The twin headwinds of decelerating industry growth and share loss to Cable are not sufficiently reflected in industry and company expectations, in our view," said MoffettNathanson Analyst Craig Moffett. US cable raked in more than 40% of wireless industry net adds in 2022. Growth for the Big Three mobile carriers slowed in 2022, ending with a

Charter Communications is upgrading its widespread hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) networks to support faster speeds. But the demand for lofty upstream speeds is not being driven by actual customer usage, according to CFO Chris Winfrey. "The upstream demand today is much more of a marketing campaign as opposed to any real product demand," said Winfrey. Upstream usage soared during the early stages of the pandemic as people worked and schooled from home, but downstream usage still exceeds upstream usage by a wide margin.

Whether or not the US closes its digital divide may come down to the fate of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP): the $14.25 billion program currently subsidizing broadband by $30/month for over 15.7 million households (up to $75 on tribal lands). That's the view of the National Urban League (NUL).

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a case regarding New York's Affordable Broadband Act, a 2021 law that would have mandated that internet service providers (ISPs) offer a $15 service option for low-income consumers. That law, signed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), was quickly put on ice when industry groups representing ISPs sued the state. But New York appealed that decision, with support from consumer groups and other states, bringing the parties back to court.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made multiple announcements releasing funds to help states develop plans for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. With dollars in hand or incoming, a ticking clock, and few internal resources, several states are now turning to consultants for help. States have 270 days from receipt of planning funds to submit a five-year action plan to NTIA on how they will structure their BEAD and digital equity programs to close their digital divides.