Level of Government

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved New Mexico and Virginia’s Initial Proposals for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This approval enables New Mexico and Virginia 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 action allows states to request:  

As with every U.S. election in recent memory, 2024’s is turning out to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride. We took a dive into how a Trump Federal Communications Commission (FCC) might look and act different from a Harris FCC, and what issues each might run into. 

When it comes to cable earnings, the outlook hasn’t been exactly optimistic. Cable broadband “may decline for the foreseeable future,” Wolfe Research recently predicted, as valuation multiples for Charter and Comcast “near all-time lows.” Charter and Comcast lost 149,000 and 120,000 broadband subscribers, respectively, in the second quarter.

States and localities find themselves in a historic moment in relation to broadband investment.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced the fourth round of recommended awardees for last mile broadband projects as part of the $2 billion Last Mile Federal Funding Account Grant Program. This program expands broadband internet access for underserved and unserved communities across California.

On July 24, the U.S.

For as long as the internet has existed, there’s been a gap between those who have access to it—and the means to afford it—and those who don’t. The vast majority of federal broadband spending over the past two decades has gone toward expanding internet access to rural areas. Only $14.2 billion went to making the internet more affordable through the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has approved Massachusetts' 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 Massachusetts to request access to funding and begin implementation of the BEAD program. The BEAD program is a $42.45 billion state grant program authorized by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

In a letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Reps Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) requested information about the agency’s internet domain name registry agreement with Verisign. “With both a role in advising ICANN and as a party to the Cooperative Agreement, the NTIA bears responsibility for supporting a domain name system that enables the growth of online commerce. Both individual consumers and businesses depend on responsible management of the .com system.

Rep Katie Porter (D-CA) introduced legislation to protect social media users from hate speech and increase transparency from tech companies. In 2023, more than half of adults and teens reported being harassed online, up 12% from 2022, but experts lack data to evaluate how well social media companies are protecting users from hate speech. The Digital Social Platform Transparency Act would require social media companies to provide clear and accessible Terms of Service to users and report on internal content regulation processes.