Government & Communications

I understand why folks are confused about the Federal Communications Commission's maps, because there are several major mapping timelines and issues progressing at the same time. The first issue is the FCC mapping fabric. The FCC recently encouraged state and local governments and internet service providers (ISP) to file bulk challenges to the fabric by June 30. The first mapping fabric issued in June 2022 was largely a disaster.

Citing a smear campaign to continue to prevent Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] from being seated as the fifth Federal Communications Commissioner, former Fox and ABC/Disney executive Preston Padden has written the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee to call out those tactics and advocate for Sohn, with whom he is not aligned politically. Padden also said he had been in contact with Fox’s Rupert Murdoch, an opponent of the Democratic nominee.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules to help ensure that the public has access to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline if a service outage occurs.

Access to broadband—high-speed internet—has become critical for everyday life. But its cost may keep some people from having access to it. The Federal Communications Commission's Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) offers eligible low-income households discounts on the cost of their broadband service and certain devices. FCC reimburses participating internet service providers for providing these discounts. To make it more affordable for low-income Americans, the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program offers monthly discounts on broadband service to eligible households.

The Iranian government's attempts in recent months to stifle protests through internet blackouts, digital curfews, and content blocking have presented a particularly extreme example of how far regimes can go in restricting digital access.

The Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration is developing guidance that will clarify how states should handle the process of distributing Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program funding. Addressing the US Conference of Mayors, NTIA Senior Adviser Sarah Morris said the agency is working to answer many state officials asking how they should manage the distribution of BEAD funding at the local level, including concerns over which projects are worth funding and how to find reliable data.

So often when we think about 5G in the United States we talk about our phones. But if we do this right, our phones will be the least interesting thing about our 5G future. This is not about the small icon that appears—and sometimes disappears—in the upper right-hand corner of a mobile device. It is a whole lot bigger than that. We are talking about using 5G technology to lay the foundation for digital transformation around the globe. Because we are fast heading to a world where next-generation wireless networks connect everyone and everything around us.

Rep. James Comer (R-KY), House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) introduced the Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act (H.R. 140).

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

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced the agenda for the January 26, 2023 Open Commission Meeting. The FCC will consider: