Federal

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved and recommended for award an application from Washington, allowing the state to request access to more than $15.9 million to implement its Digital Equity Plan. This funding comes from the $1.44 billion State Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program, one of three Digital Equity Act grant programs created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Washington will use the $15,983,29 in funding to implement key digital equity initiatives, including:  

In my first public remarks on the space economy after becoming Chairwoman, I laid out three priorities for the FCC’s space agenda.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, wants the FCC to crack down on news broadcasters that he perceives as being unfair to Trump or Republicans in general. Carr's stated goals would appear to mark a major shift in the FCC's approach to broadcasters.

Donald Trump is undergoing quite the fêting ahead of his second term—and it’s a whole lot cozier than his descent into Washington eight years ago. Tech titans are pouring millions of dollars into his inauguration and parading through West Palm Beach for meetings with the president-elect. 

The Federal Communication Commission should not become a tool for President-elect Donald Trump to lash out at news broadcasters, tech companies and others he sees as adversaries, the agency’s outgoing chair, Jessica Rosenworcel, said in an interview. The FCC is an independent agency overseeing U.S. communications networks, though its chair and commissioners are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate.

A week before he was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr issued an extraordinary letter to the chief executives of Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Apple.

The headline isn’t entirely accurate because of the use of the word lien. However, the government maintains what it calls a property trust relationship in assets constructed with federal grant dollars, which is similar to, but not the same as a bank lien.

The Broadband Data Task Force announces that the sixth Broadband Data Collection (BDC) filing window for submitting broadband availability and other data as of December 31, 2024, will open on January 2, 2025. In addition, the December 2024 update of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric) is being made available to existing Fabric licensees in advance of the opening of the window.

The US Supreme Court rejected a broadband industry appeal and let New York become the first state to cap rates for low-income households. The high court, without comment, refused to consider industry arguments that a federal telecommunications law precludes New York and other states from regulating the rates charged for internet service. Business groups told the court that other states are now likely to follow New York’s lead, creating a patchwork of rules around the country.

Through the Connect Baltimore Broadband Grant Program, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and the Office of Broadband and Digital Equity—a division of the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology—have awarded Waves a $2 million grant as part of the Scott Administration’s efforts to improve internet access, adoption, and utilization in underserved neighborhoods. Waves, a division of the nonprofit Digital Harbor Foundation, is an internet service provider based in Baltimore.