Tech Brew

At her first Federal Communications Commission meeting since gaining Senate confirmation, it became clear that Commissioner Anna Gomez would be a changemaker.

Regulators and members of the telecom industry are ratcheting up the pressure on Congress to renew an expiring internet subsidy program, which just downgraded its monthly subsidies from $30 to $14 as it enters its final month of operation. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) will fully cease providing financial support at the end of May if lawmakers fail to imbue the program with new funds. If nothing changes, more than three-quarters of participating households said they’ll have to change their internet plan or forgo service entirely, according to a Federal Communications Commission 

When Dorothy Burrell’s lupus flares, she has days she can’t walk or get out of bed.

When an underwater volcanic eruption severed a key internet conduit in 2022, the island nation of Tonga lost most of its connection to the outside world for more than a month.  Thanks to a new subsea cable project Google unveiled on January 17, South Pacific islanders are less likely to be cut off from the global internet in the future.

When Alisa Gusterer tells farmers that her company’s technology can flag that their cows are getting sick before it actually happens, the most common response is happy disbelief.