Level of Government
West Virginia officials prepare for changes to federal broadband expansion program
After three years of working with the federal government for more than $1 billion in broadband expansion funding, state officials are bracing for what will come next after a pause was announced. West Virginia Broadband Office Director Kelly Workman said they are expecting changes in the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program but aren’t quite sure what those might include. Officials with the Trump administration announced a “rigorous review” of the $42.5 billion program. “There are some suggestions that have been raised concerning efficiencies that can be gained through the enviro

Maine's Message to Secretary Lutnick on BEAD
The Maine Connectivity Authority believes there are several ways to both accelerate and improve the BEAD program, reducing barriers and maximizing the Return On Investment (ROI):

SHLB Secures FCC Extension for Rural Health Care Program Deadline
The Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition commends the Federal Communications Commission for granting a 60-day extension of the Funding Year 2025 Rural Health Care Program application filing window, moving the deadline from April 1, 2025, to June 2, 2025.

Three Western NC Counties Set to Receive High-Speed Internet
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity announced more than $10 million in Completing Access to Broadband program projects to connect 2,762 households and businesses in Cherokee, Clay and Macon counties to high-speed internet. These projects will be funded by more than $7.5 million from the federal American Rescue Plan awarded by NCDIT and nearly $2.6 million from selected broadband providers:

Broadband Expansion May Hinge on States’ Processes for Attaching Lines to Utility Poles
Increasing broadband deployment has been a critical component of the United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and a central aspect of the recent wave of funding aimed at modernizing the country’s infrastructure. However, achieving the goal of those federal commitments will require a new degree of public and private sector collaboration, and one issue in particular is causing a disproportionate amount of uncertainty: the attaching of lines for broadband to utility poles. To better understand pole attachment challenges and begin to identify possible policy solutions, The Pew Charitabl

Proposed Second Quarter 2025 Universal Service Contribution Factor
The Federal Communications Commission's Office of Managing Director (OMD) announces that the proposed universal service contribution factor for the second quarter of 2025 will be 0.366 or 36.6 percent. Contributions to the federal universal service support mechanisms are determined using a quarterly contribution factor calculated by the FCC. The FCC calculates the quarterly contribution factor based on the ratio of total projected quarterly costs of the universal service support mechanisms to contributors’ total projected collected end-user interstate and international telecommunications re
BEAD bonanza disappears from vendors' 2025 hopes
It was initially viewed as a "once in a lifetime" funding effort, a moonshot geared toward connecting all Americans to the Internet after the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the extent of the digital divide in the US.

Conexon Connect celebrates milestone tenth fiber network completed within four years of business launch
Conexon Connect, the internet service provider formed by rural fiber broadband leader Conexon, continues to extend access to high-speed internet across rural America.
Minnesota’s Broadband Expansion Faces New ‘Roadblock’
Minnesota’s push to bring high-speed internet to every corner of the state could hit a roadblock.