Federal

There has been a lot of recent press about the new ability for households to challenge broadband coverage claimed at their homes by internet service providers (ISP). The Federal Communications Commission's new National Broadband Map also allows folks to challenge the coverage claimed by cellular carriers. There are two ways to challenge the claimed cellular coverage – by individuals or by local governments. The challenge process for individuals is as follows:

House Republicans plan to launch a new investigative panel that will demand copies of White House emails, memos, and other communications with Big Tech companies. The new panel, the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, is partly a response to revelations from Elon Musk in the internal documents he branded the "Twitter Files." The subcommittee will be chaired by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) — a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and a favorite of the hard right. The probe into communications between tech giants and

In November 2021, President Joe Biden (D) signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law.

Back in August 2022, the U.S. Treasury approved Indiana's plans to use $187 million of Capital Projects Fund support for its Next Level Connections program. That was 92 percent of the state's total Capital Projects Fund and earmarked to provide funds for the deployment of broadband infrastructure to provide eligible broadband service to unserved end users, which include households, businesses and community anchor institutions, such as schools and health clinics, across Indiana.

The Federal Communications Commission's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau announces the grant of four long-form applications and the issuance of 12 licenses for Auction 108. On August 29, 2022, the FCC completed the auction of new flexible-use geographic overlay licenses in the (2.5 GHz) band and announced the results of that auction on September 1, 2022.

On Friday, December 30, 2022, the Federal Communications Commission released its third Communications Marketplace Report. In the RAY BAUM’S Act of 2018, Congress requires the FCC to assess the state of competition in the communications marketplace.

The $8.6 billion Universal Service Fund, a linchpin of US communications funding since the late 1990s, helps more than 8 million people afford phone and internet service. The conservative advocacy group Consumers’ Research filed lawsuits in three US courts saying the program should be invalidated because its funding is set by regulators, rather than by Congress, which has taxing authority. There’s a high chance one of the courts will strike down the program in 2023, shifting the battle to the Supreme Court, where justices skeptical of US regulatory agencies could hand the challengers a win.

Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) announced over $234 million in 29 preliminary grant awards for broadband internet expansion through the Capital Projects Fund Grant Program. These awards will improve connectivity for communities, households, businesses, and anchor institutions in 28 Georgia counties.

For the first time in my memory, the Senate does not have the votes to approve the nominated FCC Commissioner, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]. This has meant that the FCC has been on hold and we’ve had a two-year deadlock between the two Democratic and Republican Commissioners on any controversial issues. There are a number of FCC initiatives that are on hold until there is a fifth Commissioner:

The Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology begins operations at the Department of State. Secretary Blinken established the office as part of the wider modernization agenda because the constellation of critical and emerging technologies reshaping the world is now an integral part of the conduct of US foreign policy and diplomacy.