Level of Government

The Federal Communications Commission announced the anticipated rechartering of the Consumer Advisory Committee and solicited nominations for membership. The FCC intends to recharter the CAC for a period of two (2) years following consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Service Administration. It is anticipated that after this consultation, the renewed charter will become effective on or before October 13, 2024.

How much power may Congress hand off to the Washington bureaucracy? That’s a live question, so grab the popcorn to read a decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a 9-7 en banc ruling, it invalidated a “universal service” surcharge added to cellphone bills.

In March 2024, the Federal Communications Commission circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, or NPRM, seeking input on how to best “lower costs and address the lack of choice for broadband services available to households in apartments, condos, public housing, and other multi-tenant buildings.” Public Knowledge and 30 other organizations

Hopes came alive again in Congress that the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which lapsed in June, could actually get funded. First, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a House bill on July 30, matching the language of a Senate bill that would extend the ACP with $6 billion and modify the program. On July 31, Democrats in the Senate Commerce Committee voted to advance an earlier bill – the ACP Extension Act – by attaching it as an amendment to the Plan for Broadband Act, legislation that would direct the NTIA to create a coordinated federal broadband strategy. Sen.

Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search, Judge Amit Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled, a landmark decision that strikes at the power of tech giants in the modern internet era and that may fundamentally alter the way they do business. Judge Mehta said that Google had abused a monopoly over the search business.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Arizona's Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.

In 2022, the Colorado Broadband Office (CBO) commissioned a survey of 2,000+ Coloradans, 18+ agencies, 200+ local governments, nonprofits, and organizations serving marginalized populations to assess the current state of broadband in Colorado. At the time, only approximately 76 percent of households in Colorado subscribed to broadband despite over 90 percent having access.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Montana, Oklahoma, and Vermont's Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Montana, Oklahoma, and Vermont to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Missouri and Tennessee’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program, a cornerstone of the Biden-Harris Administration’s “Internet for All” initiative. This approval enables Missouri and Tennessee to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program—a major step towards closing the digital divide and meeting the President’s goal of connecting everyone in America with affordable, reliable, high-speed Internet service.

The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S.