Internet/Broadband

OpenAI spotted and disrupted two uses of its AI tools as part of broader Chinese influence campaigns, including one designed to spread Spanish-language anti-American disinformation. AI's potential to supercharge disinformation and speed the work of nation state-backed cyberattacks is steadily moving from scary theory to complex reality.

Frontier Communications reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results. Full year highlights include:

• Added 1.3 million new fiber passings to reach 7.8 million locations passed with fiber
• Added a record 385,000 fiber broadband customers, resulting in fiber broadband customer growth of 19.2% year-over-year

Fourth quarter highlights include:

On November 1, 2024, the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) and its Wisconsin Broadband Office (WBO) received over $13 million in Digital Equity Capacity Grant Program funding from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). With this funding, WBO will implement the activities in its state Digital Equity Plan.

Vermont Community Broadband Board (VCBB) has preliminary applications from internet service providers (ISPs) to serve nearly every eligible address in the state under Vermont’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (VT-BEAD) Program. Vermont’s allocation of BEAD funds is almost $229 million. The applications were from a preliminary round, which was a mandatory step for any ISP seeking VT-BEAD funds for broadband construction.

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been following T-Mobile’s 5G expansion into small towns and rural areas of the U.S., but Ookla made it official this week, crowning T-Mobile the leader for its 5G coverage in rural areas.

Ericsson’s analyst and media day at County Hall on the banks of the River Thames in London, England last week heralded a significant shift — not just for the Swedish vendor, but for the entire communications industry.  “We are at an inflection point,” Erik Ekudden, Ericsson’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), pointed out in his opening remarks. After a sticky start, carriers have recognized the value of 5G and are finally starting to successfully monetize it in new ways beyond just selling capacity, moving beyond POCs (proofs of concept) to launching revenue-generating services.

With all the buzz around what will and won’t happen to the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, it’s easy to forget the government’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is chugging along – albeit on a road rife with defaults and rural areas left behind. As of 2025, internet service providers (ISPs) have defaulted on $3.3 billion of the $9.2 billion total in RDOF awards, according to a study from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.

 A public-private partnership (PPP) that uses public resources (e.g., grant funds) to leverage the expertise of private firms (e.g., established ISPs) is the most effective way to extend broadband networks into unserved and underserved areas. Across the country, states are increasingly relying on PPPs with incumbent ISPs to close digital divides and will likely continue to do so as BEAD funds are doled out. PPPs are governed by contracts, allowing parties to ensure that priorities, timelines, budgets, and other parameters of a project are memorialized and legally protected.

The Federal Trade Commission launched a public inquiry to better understand how technology platforms deny or degrade users’ access to services based on the content of their speech or affiliations, and how this conduct may have violated the law. Censorship by technology platforms is not just un-American, it is potentially illegal. Tech firms can employ confusing or unpredictable internal procedures that cut users off, sometimes with no ability appeal the decision.

The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition appointed Joseph Wender as its new Executive Director, effective March 10, 2025, succeeding founding Executive Director John Windhausen. This transition comes at a pivotal moment in broadband policy, including a pending Supreme Court decision on the future of the Universal Service Fund (USF). Since its founding, SHLB has led efforts to ensure that every school, library, healthcare provider, and anchor institution has access to affordable, high-speed broadband.