Level of Government

“A star is born: Elon,” said Donald Trump in a lengthy shout out to his biggest donor while claiming victory in the US presidential race on Wednesday morning.  Trump’s win ushers in a new era for Musk—already the world’s richest person with a $260bn fortune—whose gamble on a knife-edge US election paid off as he is set to become one of the incoming president’s most influential political and business advisers. Musk’s promised role as head of a new Department of Government Efficiency will give the billionaire sweeping powers to recommend deep cuts to what he deems a “vast federal bureaucracy 

Satellite-based communications businesses have been making news recently, including a brand-new start-up.

Hackers linked to Chinese intelligence used precision strikes to quietly compromise cellphone lines used by an array of senior national security and policy officials across the U.S. government in addition to politicians. This access allowed them to scoop up call logs, unencrypted texts and some audio from potentially thousands of Americans and others with whom they interacted.

Comcast’s CFO Jason Armstrong said that two years ago the company used to increase its broadband footprint by passing 800,000 more homes per year, but now it’s pacing at around 1.2 million new homes passed yearly. Armstrong recently reiterated what Comcast executives have been saying for several quarters now—that fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber are its two key competitors in terms of technology. Jason Livingood, VP of Technology Policy, Products and Standards with Comcast, said the company has been focused on building in rural areas over the last couple of years, and Broadband Equity,

Across the country at federal, state, and industry association meetings there are dire warnings being issued that the cost involved on getting onto poles is going to be a huge hindrance to the implantation of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) grants. Everybody who is talking about this is right, but this is not a new topic—we’ve been talking about this for decades. Now that we are on the eve of finally seeing broadband offices reviewing BEAD grant applications, these warnings feel like too little too late for me.

In 2016, to address the unique needs of providing broadband service in Alaska, the Federal Communications Commission established the 10-year Alaska Plan to support the maintenance and deployment of voice and broadband fixed and mobile services. This Plan, along with other frozen support and model-based support, has resulted in substantially increased deployment of both fixed and mobile broadband services.

On October 31, NRECA sent a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration expressing concern about the potential for BEAD funds being used to overbuild locations with fiber-to-the-home connections. CEO Jim Matheson wrote "As state broadband offices begin opening BEAD application windows and evaluating proposals, I write to express concern about the potential for BEAD funds being used to overbuild locations with fiber-tothe-home connections.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced an initial award of about $18.5 million in grant funding benefiting 17 counties across the state as part of the Texas Broadband Pole Replacement Program. This initial funding will support the deployment of broadband to rural, unserved areas by partially reimbursing grant awardees who’ve replaced more than 11,000 poles that support retail broadband services. Awardees include Bartlett Electric Cooperative, Charter Communications, United Electric Cooperative Services Inc. and MidSouth Electric Cooperative.

The three-judge panel hearing the case over the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) now-stayed order to regulate the internet using Title II rules peppered the parties in the case with questions about the definitions of “information services,” “telecommunications” and “telecommunications services.” The panel also questioned the relevance of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Chevron doctrine and the ambiguities created by the FCC find

For Cherokee citizens living on and off the reservation, staying connected is more than just having access to the internet. It’s about staying close to their Tribe and culture and feeling part of the digital world. The Cherokee Nation is making strides toward improving broadband access on their reservation, which spans an incredible 7,000 square miles in rural northeastern Oklahoma.